Revamping content discovery to boost engagement with digital mentoring resources

Design Approach

Defining Users through Archetypes / Missions

Based on our initial discovery research, I developed user archetypes to represent key customer segments across TMP’s services. These archetypes helped align our team on user needs, decision-making processes, and how TMP’s free resources support mentoring programs. They also provided stakeholders with a clearer understanding of pain points unique to different user groups, ensuring our solutions addressed their specific challenges effectively.

Concept Testing

To start ideating the most valuable solution, we identified risks to test early on through prototypes such as what defines helpful discovery assistance and what would be adopted by users. During the first round of prototype testing, one theme consistently emerged: users valued advanced search assistance above all other features. This influenced my team to integrate more discoverability of resources and services where users were naturally looking for content — within the current search experience.

Impact

By leveraging human-centered(UX) research and design methods, our project had both short-term and long-term impacts on our client, TMP.

• Reduced search steps by 60%, cutting search time to less than one min on average compared to 3 min with the previous website, enabling users to spend less time searching and more time discovering resources.
• Identified and addressed key website issues that caused drop-off and low traffic, leading to a more efficient and empowering resource exploration experience based on usability testing feedback.
• Helping TMP form a standardized way to understand their client base through archetypes and understand specific challenges for different clients.
• Developing a high impact solution that fits client constraints, which included limited technical resources and maintenance staff, while leveraging existing services.

Learnings

• Advocate with data, and compromise when needed
  By respecting the client’s preferences while advocating for user needs through data, we delivered a solution that provided support in the most valuable way for their users. The targeted approach also satisfied the client’s initial hesitations about a redesign, creating impact without disrupting the broader site structure.
• Small changes with a big impact
  This project reaffirmed the importance of thoughtful design in elevating overlooked touch points like search.  It highlighted how even relatively small, focused changes—like transforming search—can have a significant impact on usability and organizational goals.
• Adaptability and faith for the process
  At the beginning of our solution-building phase, we experienced ambiguity and uncertainty around what the solution should be. By jumping in and testing ideas while conducting additional research in parallel, we refined our understanding of what would and would not work as we progressed.
  
  The critical, specific need to improve search became clear only after our first round of testing, underscoring the importance of adaptability and the ongoing nature of problem discovery. Learning about the problem doesn’t end with initial discovery research; it evolves throughout the design process.