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My Private Professor

My Private Professor Mobile App

UX Researcher, UX/UI designer

Project Overview

My Private Professor is an all-in-one app that transforms knowledge-sharing into a seamless experience in just three simple steps. Share your expertise to earn credits, then use those credits to unlock lessons on topics you’re eager to explore.

From the start, the goal has been to design a flexible platform where users have options—whether it’s earning credits through teaching, exploring alternative methods, or simply paying for lessons directly.

Company Overview

Empowering Students Through Exceptional Tutoring. My Private Professor empower students with expert tutoring tailored to their unique learning needs. Our qualified tutors provide sessions designed to enhance academic performance & build confidence. With a focus on flexibility & personalized support, they ensure that each student receives the attention they need to excel. Their commitment to educational equity also means that your tutoring helps support free tutoring hours for students in need.

Research Goals

  • Explore how users interact with EdTech platforms to uncover their needs and behaviors.
  • Understand the ways users exchange various types of knowledge through a digital medium.
  • Identify opportunities to make knowledge-swapping more intuitive and engaging within a tech product.
  • Gain insights into user preferences to design a platform that fosters seamless knowledge-sharing.

Methodologies

  • Competitive Analysis
  • User Interviews

My Role

Research

User Interview

User Persona

User Flow

Wireframes

Visual Design

UI/UX Design

Usability Test

Project Toolkit

Project Duration

The design process involves several steps to ensure a smooth and user-friendly experience for customers and visitors. Which consists of research, wire-framing, prototyping, design and usability testing.

This project was conducted on
March 20, 2023 - July 15, 2023

Days
0

Project Timeline

Design Process

My working process is thinking as a user, what they want, then I can define the problem. After that, I brainstormed with my team about the problem, then find out various solutions. After discussion, I will apply the best solution and proceed to the prototype design. Finally, I tested the project to ensure there were no issues or problems.

Discover

User Research
User Interviews

Define

Personas
Empathy Map

Ideate

User Flow
Information Architecture

Design

Wireframes
Visual Design

Test

Usability Test
Implementing Feedback

Competitive Analysis

User Interviews

Overview

Five people were interviewed: 2 Teacher/Student users; 2 Student users; 1 Not really a user. All interviews have been conducted remotely by using Google Meet

Affinity Mapping

Discovering the optimal approach: comprehensive training and essential soft skills

EdTech for comprehensive courses or enhancing practical skills
This is something I would personally consider engaging with only after completing university

These days, I frequently use EdTech apps—at least once a week—because of my job

For me, online education is something I associate primarily with post-graduation learning
I would recommend online platforms for practice
I use the course to prepare for a specific certification exam

The Strength of Community and Social Connections

I greatly benefited from the community. It was fascinating to virtually connect with other students
The community is often your greatest ally
Engaging with the community, sharing information, and tackling new challenges are key aspects of the experience
I would prefer to have access to one-on-one live classes, as I favor face-to-face instruction
Not being able to meet your colleagues and professors in person can feel isolating.
There’s a lack of direct interaction, or it’s less frequent compared to traditional courses
Freedom to choose your timing – available whenever you’re ready!
Procrastination! Without proper organization, it can be challenging to complete the course
I can fit training into my work tasks and personal schedule
Staying committed can be tough—planning is essential!

Scheduling my time for this can be quite demanding at times.

Without putting in genuine effort, success becomes nearly impossible

You can only finish an online course if you genuinely want to

Supplementary findings
The sheer volume of information can be overwhelming

It can be overwhelming because there’s just so much available

I would like every course and teacher to be evaluated by real, qualified individuals each time
I would expect to be assessed when submitting something initially
I need to be completely certain that it is used by qualified individuals

Research Findings

Insights and conclusions gathered from user research, testing, and data analysis that inform design decisions and improve user experience.

Discovering the best approach

Comprehensive training and essential soft skills

Strength of community

The desire for social interaction

Managing your freedom of time

Learning at your own speed

Having too much of something

There’s a need to organize into categories.

User Persona

I created different user personas based on the target user group and all the information gathered by the research, I was able to create two fictional characters who represents the target user group of the company.

Sarah Smith

Age: 31
Location: Suburban area, outside a major city
Marital Status: Married, two teenage children
Occupation: Administrative Consultant

Sarah is a 31-year-old Administrative Consultant who relies heavily on EdTech platforms to stay ahead in her field. She’s tech-savvy and uses online courses to enhance her skills in project management, communication, and leadership. With a busy schedule, she values flexible, mobile learning options that allow her to grow professionally while balancing work and personal life.

Goals

  • To fit learning new things into her work tasks and personal life.
  • To head straight home after work and potentially skip the commute for any in-depth training.
  • To be part of a community where she can receive prompt feedback on classes and projects.

Challenges

  • Scheduling her time for educational tasks can sometimes be too demanding, causing her to not allocate enough time and attention to assignments.
  • She’s worried about getting lost or falling behind, particularly when she feels like a beginner in a specific training.
  • At times, she feels overwhelmed by the sheer number of courses she wants to take.

Tom Harvey

Age: 35
Location: Inside a major city
Marital Status: Married, 1 teenage children
Occupation: Visual Merchandiser Manager

Tom is a 35-year-old Visual Merchandiser Manager who’s skeptical about EdTech platforms but open to exploring them if they align with his practical, hands-on learning style. He aims to enhance his skills in visual merchandising and stay updated with industry trends, but is cautious about investing time or money in platforms that don’t offer real-world, applicable content.

Goals

  • To have in-person meetings with professors or mentors whenever learning something new.
  • To enroll in a Project Management course.
  • To earn certifications during his studies to enhance his CV.

Challenges

  • He fears that without a clear deadline, he would procrastinate and ultimately fail.
  • He feels discouraged from taking the Project Management course due to its cost.
  • He worries about feeling isolated without in-person interaction with colleagues and professors.

Project Goals

While the business goals were primarily focused on attracting as many users as possible by clarifying how the application works, I had a deeper understanding of what users truly wanted and was able to identify where the two objectives aligned.

Features Roadmap

After the initial draft of P1 features, I realized I needed to streamline the effort and focus only on the essential features required for the MVP. In the final version, I included core features such as signup, settings, and search, along with key additions like the teacher application and credits system.

Information Architecture

I created a sitemap by organizing primary, secondary, and tertiary navigation. First, I developed the primary navigation by identifying the key actions users might take: tutor, study, credits, and my classes. Then, I explored and expanded each of these sections further.

User Flows

I quickly identified two primary user flows:

  • Become a tutor
  • Redeem your credits

The rationale was that for users to engage actively with the application, they needed to both teach and learn.

Ideally, I would have liked to explore a third potential user flow: Earn alternative credits. However, since this was the MVP, I decided to focus on the core functionalities.

Task Flows

After designing user flows, transitioning to task flows felt intuitive. I delved deeper into the process, further exploring the specific actions users take:

  • Submitting an application to become a music and arts tutor
  • Redeeming credits to book a Spanish lesson

Wireframes

For the first flow, I designed the homepage and application form, breaking it down into four main steps: Personal Information, Past Experience, Skills, and Additional Information.

For the second flow, I concentrated on the student profile, categories and tutors, the booking system, and the checkout process.

UI Design

Design Guidelines

Create a clean, user-friendly interface that appeals to both homeowners and professionals by emphasizing a minimalist design. I developed a color palette consisting of one primary color, two secondary colors, and three neutral shades. For typography, I selected Mulish, a sans-serif font with a good x-height to ensure legibility.

With these design elements in place, I transitioned from low-fidelity to high-fidelity wireframes.

Aa

Mulish

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q  R S T U V W X Y Z
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q e s t u v w x y z

Regular

Medium

Bold

Brand Colors

#D7575D
#E69E4A

Additional Colors

#3982AB
#1B252D
#D1F2F6
#EDF3F5
#ffffff

UI Library Components

High-fidelity key-screens

Usability Test

Prototype

Throughout the project, I primarily worked with components and variants, which made building the prototype a smooth process.

To maintain a clean and cohesive flow, I applied a consistent mild transition effect across most screens. However, for the Intro and Get Started transitions, I opted for a more dynamic, bouncy effect to convey the excitement of something new beginning.

Additionally, I created a loading animation to enhance the prototype’s realism and overall user experience.

Outcome​

Overall, the usability test was quite successful, confirming the viability of the general flow. I implemented a few adjustments to further streamline and enhance the user experience.

What Worked

General flow

Application flow

Excellent messages such as: ‘Well done!’ or ‘Good choice’

Color scheme and overall tone

The length of the application form: balanced—neither too long nor too short.

Homepage shortcut to access the Spanish lesson

Needs Improvement

I expected the CV upload process to be more straightforward, without the need for double confirmation.

You need to ensure the “Add one more” option for past experience is functional.

I didn’t immediately realize if I had enough credit.

I didn’t expect to have to confirm the CV upload a second time.

The only issue I encountered was with uploading my CV.

Questions

Can I add more job experience?

Is the CV upload working properly?

So, when can I use my credit?

Ideas

I was expecting to easily activate the account

Having a receipt at checkout to view your remaining credit.

I would always navigate to the top left of the navbar to return to the homepage.

Iterations

  • To enhance the "Create an Account" experience, I added an activation message: a dedicated overlay with a validation code to enter.
  • To improve the "Application Form" flow, I added a loading animation and a confirmation message indicating successful upload.
  • To enhance the checkout experience, differentiate information about "Your Credit" and "Study Credits" using distinct colors. Additionally, I included details about the Remaining Balance details.

Test Project Prototype

Key Takeaways

Challenges

  • Identifying the right perspective and crafting a compelling story in a widely explored industry like EdTech.
  • Making significant prioritization efforts when developing a Minimum Viable Product.
  • Anticipating and addressing detailed user needs when designing an application form.

Lessons Learned

  • Keeping things simple can greatly impact the final outcome, from flowcharts to the prototype experience.
  • A well-designed UI library, built with components, variants, and frames, is essential.
  • Consistent design practices significantly streamline the entire process.

© 2025 Frey Suan ♥