Pathify Shared Access experience
Creating a scalable account connection system.
Role
UX Designer
Timeline
Nov 2023 – Apr 2024
Clients
Pathify, BYU-Idaho
Team
UX designer (me), two UX Managers, devs & PMs (external)
Status
On hold
Overview
Increasing on-time tuition payments and encouraging student success
I designed an account connection flow for students of BYU-Idaho, intending to eventually scale to all clients of the Pathify platform. During this project, I…
Designed a C2C product allowing students to grant access to approved individuals
Conducted whiteboarding sessions to isolate flow errors and edge cases, iterated on developer feedback, and led design flow meetings
Navigated the conflict between stakeholder desires and user needs
Context
BYU-Idaho transitioned to a new dashboard interface with new capabilities
In October 2024, BYUI switched to a new student dashboard using the Pathify platform. This upgrade introduced widget functionalities. My task was to design a new widget experience and dashboard flow to help students easily share important account information and streamline tasks (like tuition payments).
Problem
External stakeholders gave our team a design challenge, and I was given the lead design role
Pathify had determined that an account connection feature would be beneficial; it had the potential to increase on-time tuition payments and encourage student success. BYU-Idaho's small UX team was asked to spearhead the design of this user flow, and I was assigned as the lead designer.
The Pathify team's original wireframes didn’t match the BYUI design system or integrate with BYUI’s backend structure, so I knew solving these conflicts would be vital to success.
Quick note: project constraints
The account connection experience had to be within a widget
Design needed to align with the BYU design system
The structure of the flow would need to account for all BYUI security measures & backend processes.
Process
Aligning stakeholder project plans with BYUI’s security structure
Connecting BYUI student accounts with external people (such as parents, guardians, etc.) would involve complicated security and privacy measures, so my team and I started brainstorming. I spent time…
Exploring edge cases & all necessary privacy measures
Touching base with stakeholders to ensure the project aligned with client needs
Collaborating with UX managers & other designers to get fresh perspectives
I used initial brainstorming to jumpstart the design process
Whiteboarding the flow, adjusting to changes, and navigating feedback was a constant throughout this process. I went through many flow iterations, allowing me to explore all edge cases and build a clear mental model of this experience. After validating initial designs with the Pathify team and with my UX leads, I went to students to test my wireframes.
Hover to learn more about each image
Talking with students revealed a big gap in understanding
Up to this point, I hadn’t heard much student feedback. I knew that student empathy would be key to making a good product, so I took my wireframes to students and conducted tests and interviews. This was when I learned my assumptions had been very wrong, and it was time to re-evaluate.
My hypothesis
A Shared Access experience will encourage new students to perform better in school and help them with tasks such as tuition payments.
Student feedback
Students and stakeholders want something different… now what?
Testing revealed that a little less than 1/3 of students were interested in the feature. This was a bit of a surprise.
I realized this project had conflicting stakeholder and user expectations. So, I reevaluated my task. Instead of just designing an onboarding flow, I discovered my true job was to design an experience that aligned student & stakeholder conflicts, but I mistakenly avoided this problem for a while. First, I focused on making usability and UI improvements.
Improving the experience based on student feedback
As I mentioned earlier, while planning how to better align the product with student needs, I also refined the widget design. The students (while not excited about the feature) gave great feedback on the design, allowing me to create a flow that aligned more closely with their expectations.
Adding permissions flow
(before testing)
Students found the permissions flow confusing. It lacked context, the optionality was unclear, and there was too much reading.
(after testing)
Deleting permissions flow
(before testing)
(after testing)
Through user testing, I found a solution that balanced the conflicting needs
Continued testing had similar results as the first round. Although stakeholders saw this feature as beneficial, not all students thought the same. Students are autonomous adults who generally don’t want their parents to be involved, but this wasn't true for all students I interviewed. I learned that I needed to…
Redesign the context of the experience to mitigate student overwhelm.
Ensure the flow continued to comply with security and legal requirements.
While finding I solution, here's what I kept in mind…
Relocating the feature better aligned with user expectations
Based on test feedback, I changed both the student and parent UI to meet stakeholder needs without overwhelming the users. I was glad I had designed a good task flow structure from the beginning, as without this flow this task would have been difficult.
Like I hinted above, I moved the student flow to the settings page. This kept the average student from getting confused or annoyed with the widget feature.
Empty state add person flow
View after adding a third party person
Results
Project status
This project is currently on hold, and I left the team before the project could fully launch. Since leaving the team I’ve been informed that this scalable feature may be used for all educational institutions using Pathify. Overall, it was a good learning experience and I'm excited to see where this project goes in the future.
Reflection
Lessons learned
Building a strong understanding of the user flow is most important.
Talking with users early on is vital to building a helpful product.
It's important to be flexible and willing to adapt when needed.