How we helped prepare students to apply to college and university
What is Kira Talent?
Kira Talent is an online interview platform, currently being used by some universities as part of their admissions process. This article will highlight the steps taken to design Kira Prep. Software that helps students prepare to take then Kira Talent assessment.
The Challenge
Many universities across North America use Kira Talent to assess the competencies of an applicant through written and video assessments. For the applicant, this process can be stressful because they want to make a great impression.
Applicants want to feel prepared and confident before they take their Kira assessment, but the resources currently out there don't do a great job of simulating a real Kira assessment.
Role
My role on the team was that of a product designer. I was responsible for the design of the app. I worked with a core team consisting of a project manager, and three developers.
Research
I conducted a series of meetings with members from admissions teams, administrators, and applicants. My research encompassed -
• Understanding the application process
• Roles and responsibilities of members at each level
• Goals and day to day tasks
• How is the success is measured
Findings
Some of the early findings found during discovery interviews revealed the following themes:
- Applicants find the application process to be very stressful - you only have one chance at taking a Kira assessment.
- The cost of prep software often exceeds $300, which prohibits many students from preparing in that way.
- Students want to know how they're doing before they take the test.
Conceptualization
The following images illustrate the process of kicking off the project, brainstorming with the team, and converging on a solution.
The Final Design
Summary of the Results and Learnings
This project showed the team that we could create a new revenue stream and inspired ideas of a suite of complementary applications under the Kira Talent umbrella.
This project provided a lot of experience leading design workshops and design with the users.
Let's Connect
Feel free to reach out for collaborations or just a friendly hello
aaronalfred1@gmail.com
