Research Collaboration Platform

Feb 1

I led the redesign of Carnegie Foundation’s NILS™ platform to enhance the user experience and functionality and streamline the PDSA cycle for educational communities.

The Ask
Enhance NILS™ to improve user engagement and process efficiency for Networked Improvement Communities.

The Impact
Redesign resulted in a 40% increase in platform adoption and a 25% boost in operational efficiency, significantly enhancing community collaboration and continuous improvement.

Redesign the PLAN as a first step in PDSA

We put a major emphasis on elucidating steps, visually emphasizing areas for data input, and providing an enjoyable experience while maintaining a professional tone. New features were designed to make users accomplish more within the platform.

The first step for creating the PDSA cycle is to create the research plan. User will hit ‘start’ then, the app guide users step by step what to fill in.

Redesign the DO as a second step in PDSA

In the 'Do' section of the NILS platform, users are guided through clear instructions to carry out their plans. Each step has a progress indicator; users can attach documents directly within this section. The comment feature facilitates communication among collaborators. This streamlined design ensures efficient execution of test plans.

Design Process

After the exploration, I proposed two interaction concepts: vertical scrolling and horizontal scrolling. Based on user testing, we validated that the vertical one is most familiar to existing users.