eCampus Ontario Exchange
In 2021, I played a pivotal role in the development of an innovative matchmaking tool. This tool was designed to facilitate connections between postsecondary institutions and service providers specializing in virtual learning and content creation, ushering in a new era of collaboration and educational enhancement.
Role
Product Design, Web Design
Agency
Domain7
Client
eCampus Ontario
Year
2021
Ontario Exchange is dedicated to empowering educators in Ontario by assisting them in identifying the precise skills and expertise required to complement and expand their in-house capabilities. By doing so, they enable them to optimize their budgets by offsetting the expenses associated with external service providers, ultimately enhancing the quality of education and support available to students.
The application was crafted to cater to two distinct user groups: educators and service providers. Educators have the ability to submit their projects as expressions of interest. These projects are then assessed and selected, providing educators with the opportunity to connect with a curated pool of pre-qualified service providers. This streamlined approach significantly simplifies what was once a lengthy and intricate process, enhancing efficiency and effectiveness in project collaboration.
Given the presence of two distinct user bases on the site, I worked on creating tailored experiences for each group. I designed an interface that catered to service providers, facilitating the easy showcasing of their skills, portfolios, and services. Additionally, I ensured that educators could effortlessly create and manage their project Expressions of Interest (EOIs).
To streamline the development process within the project's budget, I introduced a shared UI framework for both user views. This approach enabled us to efficiently reuse components from our established design system while making minor adjustments to accommodate the unique needs of each user group. The result was a leaner, more cost-effective development process that delivered a seamless experience for educators and service providers alike.
Vendors expressed a desire for a streamlined way to prominently showcase their expertise, including services, rates, and portfolio items, without unnecessary clutter. To address this, I devised an efficient profile creation process.
This process leveraged tags and forms to enable vendors to swiftly input essential details. Once the basic information was entered, vendors transitioned to a visual interface designed around a modular, block-based framework. This approach allowed them to intuitively and flexibly customize their public profiles, ensuring that their unique strengths and offerings were highlighted clearly and effectively.
Educators expressed a strong desire to streamline the process of evaluating numerous project matches, eliminating the associated headaches.
In response, I designed an interface focused on expediting the sorting and viewing of potential matches for their projects. The interface incorporated a list format that prominently showcased project-matched vendors. It also placed special emphasis on "Vendors of Record" who had undergone thorough vetting. To further enhance the experience, I introduced a range of filtering options, making it effortless for educators to sort and customize their view, ensuring that they could quickly and efficiently identify the most suitable matches for their specific project needs.
Early in our research and through interviews with educators, we identified that the process of creating proposals could be burdensome and time-consuming. To avoid replicating the frustrating experiences of existing systems, we deliberately steered clear of a "one large form" interface.
During this iterative design process, I conducted rapid testing of various solutions. I experimented with a step-by-step input style akin to Typeform, but feedback suggested that this approach felt overwhelming due to the perceived endless stream of questions.
Ultimately, I arrived at a solution: a wizard-type interface. In this design, project details are entered in small, manageable blocks of content. This approach not only allows users to navigate in and out of the editing flow but also provides a high-level overview of their progress within the process. This user-friendly interface aimed to simplify the proposal creation process and enhance the overall user experience, ensuring that it was as efficient and stress-free as possible.
In the final phase of the project, I undertook the design of a new marketing site for the platform, aligning it with the eCampus branding. This site served as the public-facing representation of the platform, providing an engaging and informative space to showcase its capabilities and benefits.
“We are very excited to provide this service that will help expand top-quality virtual learning output in Ontario. Ontario Exchange also helps level the playing field, giving institutions of all sizes access to the content creation resources they need.”
Robert Luke, CEO, eCampusOntario.