OneGoal
12 months
Oct 2024
Solo Designer
Product 0 to 1, web app
Impacts ✅
Piloted the tool in Oct, 2024, we have reached the following achievements:
More quality conversation
Students spend an average of 13 min/session. Project across four years of high school, this equates to 156 min of total advising time - more than 4x the current estimate.
Better user satisfaction
88% of pilot students rated their advising experiences a 3 and higher - exceeding our critical rate goal of 60%.
Stable user engagement
Active users maintain a steady monthly average of 243 - underscoring the tool’s growing value and consistent use.
CONTEXT
High school students’ futures are shaped by the guidance they receive, or don't receive. Yet today's advising ecosystem has major limitations:
Gaps In the Marketplace
Most solutions for postsecondary success provide either information (curriculum, guidances) or navigation (college-finder apps, advising).
38 min is not enough
The average counselor-to-student ratio is 464:1, which translates to about 38 minutes of advising for high school students.
Talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not
Students from low-income communities are 3x less likely to earn a degree.
College + career =? postsecondary success
The marketplace for alternative pathways begins and ends with career exploration - a limited definition of success.
Product Goal: Extend Beyond the Confines
OneGoal Studio will guide students toward their postsecondary success. by being the one place students visit that can direct them on what to do ( more than colleges or careers ), where to go, and who to talk to.
At the same time, it also helps adults have impactful, data-driven advising sessions where they can direct their students to take immediate action on their advice.
Imagine a house, and each room is a OneGoal tool.
Students and teachers can go on a customized journey through each room of the house, choosing which rooms to go in based on their needs.
Product Vision 🏠
One-For-All Approach
Catered to all OneGoal’s students' and teachers' needs with an accessible approach: demographic, region, race, and culture.
All-In-One Platform
One website, one password, and one username for the entire journey.
Student & Teacher Bonding
A digital platform that supports the human connect between teachers and students in the classrooms.
RESEARCH
Accessibility Check & Design Choices
After rounds of discussion with the Marketing team, leadership levels and key stakeholders, we decided to use the Bento box grid:
4 Month of User Research
Our team used FigJam to collect data, both primary and secondary:
Class visits to Chicago and New York in 2023
5 interviews with both regional and national stakeholders
5 national focus group activities with both teachers and students (alumni)
Data from the past 3 years
User Personas
Summarizing key findings from both sides, we discovered that there is an intersection between the teachers’ needs and students’ needs: 1:1 Conversation
Students value advising support: they see teacher guidance as essential to navigating their postsecondary paths.
Teachers prioritize 1:1 conversations: personal check-ins are their preferred way to connect with and support students.
DESIGN SOLUTIONS
With over 800 components and 100 styles built in the Design system
1:1 Advising Logic
Teachers can prioritize advising students.
*Teacher Side
Note Taking Tool
Teachers can take notes and record advising sessions.
*Teacher Side
Tasks Managing Tool For Tracking Done Work
Students can track their submissions. Teachers can monitor class progress outside of classroom time, freeing up in-class time for more quality advising.
*Teacher Side
To-Do List For Planning Next Steps
Students can complete tasks and assignments more efficiently. Teachers can view class/student performances to plan the next steps.
*Student Side
Financial Supports For Students
Students can access financial and other available resources in one place.
*Student Side
OUTCOME 📈
Takeaways
Beyond Design
I translated the design into both development and management terms:
Defining requirements in Jira
Designing solutions that balance usability, budget, and timelines
Applying product management skills to align design work with sprint planning
UX Awareness In Startup
I advocated for an iterative UX process, took ownership of new products, and emphasized user research and testing.
To align with OneGoal’s culture, I developed a hybrid workflow—80% agile, 20% waterfall—to enhance cross-team collaboration.
Strategic Design
I prioritized intuitive, user-first solutions by:
Balancing short- and long-term needs
Advocating for the best user outcomes
Pushing back on stakeholder requests when necessary to stay true to the product vision.
NEXT STEPS
Design for the edge cases, so that teachers with different teaching styles can find this tool useful
Refine specific interactions, design and analyze user flows in detailed steps
Scalability
Adapt to different products and models
Represent the brand and grow with the brand
Implement new technologies or trends without constantly redesigning from scratch
Gamification
Integrating game-like elements and mechanics into non-game products, services, or systems
Guide students to take specific actions so that they can engage more deeply with the content
