Vemo Calculation Tool
A web-based calculation tool designed for school financial counselors to perform complex student funding calculations during consulting sessions.
Clients: Purdue University, The University of Utah, Messiah College, General Assembly, etc.
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My Role
Lead UX&UI Designer
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The Team
UX designer, Full-stack Developers, and Project Manager
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Timeline
3 month
Overview
I started by gaining a clear understanding of the project's goals, requirements, target audience, and the current tool through discussions with the project manager and stakeholders.
The Audience
Financial counselors
The Objective
Design an intuitive web-based tool that can be used by financial counselors to seamlessly explore funding combinations and forecast the impact of loans on students' financial futures.
The Need
For counselors to create personalized education financial plans during consulting sessions, both online and offline.
Old Tool Screenshot | Powered by Excel
User Research
I conducted interviews with two key groups to better understand the user flow and pain points of the tool:
Financial counselors – The primary day-to-day users of the tool.
Students – Individuals who closely interact with both the counselors and the tool.
The Interviews
Through these conversations, I discovered that while this tool is essential for counselors, it only supports one part of their workflow. Instead of adapting the tool to their needs, counselors had to adjust their process to make it work, creating friction and inefficiencies. To design a more effective solution, I shifted my focus from simply identifying pain points in the current tool to understanding the full picture of counselors' daily tasks and the students' experience during consultation sessions.
User Journey
This deeper exploration allowed me to visualize the complete user journey, mapping out key actions at each stage along with the specific pain points users encountered. This broader perspective provided a strong foundation for designing a solution that seamlessly integrates into the counselors' workflow.
Design Process
I kicked off the design process by collaborating with the team to assess the feasibility of adding new features to the tool. Most of my proposed enhancements were approved, allowing me to move forward with designing a comprehensive new version of the calculation tool.
User Flow
I mapped out the user flow to visualize key actions at each stage of the journey. While the flow was relatively straightforward, defining clear interaction points ensured a more intuitive experience.
Concept Exploration
Based on assumptions about intuitive ways for counselors to use the tool, I developed three concept variations. Stakeholder reviews helped me narrow down the options and select the most effective approach.
User Testing & Iteration
I collaborated with the project manager to conduct user testing on the final concept. We tested with both financial counselors and students, gathering key insights that led to the following improvements
Final Design
The final design delivers a streamlined, intuitive experience, ensuring counselors can efficiently calculate and adjust student funding in real-time. Below is a step-by-step breakdown showcasing how the new tool enhances usability.
