Scout

Built for teachers, not stakeholders

Teachers couldn't find an observational assessment application that actually met their needs. Pearson decided to lead the charge and build one. One of their largest product teams came to the UXMen with the problem, and I led the UX side of the product, championing users throughout and keeping their needs front and center over stakeholder preferences.

Five priorities, one cohesive app

The biggest challenge upfront was figuring out how a sprawling set of requirements could work together without overwhelming the teacher. We ran ideation sessions to prioritize what needed to be accessible at a glance versus what could live deeper in the structure.

• Quick access to the dashboard from anywhere in the app
• Fast editing of student contact and personal information
• One-tap access to student notes with easy inline editing
• Media capture, assignment, and annotation, with a quick-capture button added after round 1 testing
• Data and reports from ongoing observational assessments

Tested to high usability scores

The end product tested exceptionally well, scoring high across all usability testing metrics. Every major screen was designed with the classroom context in mind: teachers standing, moving, making quick decisions in real time.

Note creation and ongoing assessment views

Media gallery items and assessment checklist editing

What I learned

• 1IA that feels simple is the hardest kind to make. With five distinct capability areas, the information hierarchy required serious prioritization before a single screen was designed.
• 2Test early enough to act on findings. The quick-capture button came directly from round 1 observations, and it meaningfully changed the product for the better.
• 3Being a champion for users means sometimes pushing back on stakeholder requirements that don't serve the people actually using the product.