Plant It Again
Empowering a nonprofit to scale through a personalized, 0 to 1 enterprise platform
Role:
Product Designer
Team
3 Designers, 1 Product
Manger, 10 Engineers
Timeline:
Nov 2023 - May 2024
✨ HIGHLIGHTS
•
Shipped an MVP, finalized V2 designs, and mentored two designers during the school year
•
Delivered complex experiences (7 core features) that scale within SAAS or enterprise environments
•
Received enthusiastic approval from our clients, who tested the minimum viable product (MVP) using a staging URL
BACKGROUND
Creating inclusive
opportunities for adults with
disabilities
As a UX Designer at UCSD's tech-for-good
organization, Triton Software Engineering, I had
the opportunity to collaborate with a nonprofit
called Plant It Again. Their mission is to create
inclusive opportunities for adults with disabilities
through various vocational training programs.
PROJECT GOAL
Providing Plant It Again with
the infrastructure to grow
Plant It Again's student base had recently doubled,
leaving them feeling overwhelmed. They were still
using spreadsheets and other makeshift methods,
which were not sustainable for the long term.
We want to take progress notes every
day, but sometimes we're too tired.
—Karen, Director of Plant It Again
That's when they approached my team for a way to
simplify their operations. Our solution was to build
a robust platform that allowed them to manage
their students and programs, all in one place.
FINAL DELIVERABLE
Project Showcase
My design team put together a demo video for our client and
cross-design team. Tune in to see our product in action!
NEXT STEPS
Measuring success
through KPIs
We decided to withhold handing off the product to Plant It Again until we're
confident it can deliver immediate value to them (our V2 stage). When this
project wraps up in Fall Quarter, 2024, the team will check in with our client in
these areas:
Data
completeness
Percentage of complete student
profiles (i.e. containing all necessary
information).
Average reduction in
task times
Average reduction in completion time
for daily tasks, including locating
student info and taking attendance.
Accessibility compliance
scores
Quantitative compliance score with
WCAG standards. Qualitative usability
feedback from users with disabilities.
REFLECTION
Journey as a UX
Design Lead
What I would've done differently
Earlier Clarifications
I learned the hard way that changes are more time-consuming and expensive at
later stages of the design process. Now I know to seek input from engineering
on feasibility, user flows, and concepts before diving into design.
Challenge
Designing for a specialized user group
To honor their mission, we made it a priority to understand the needs of users
with neurodiversity and logistics of Plant It Again's different programs. It took
time to deeply understand their organization, but once we did, things clicked.
Learning
Leading a design team
This was a special opportunity to mentor two passionate designers. I helped
them learn Figma auto layout, facilitate client meetings, and go on to become the
next gen of design leads in our student org. They were amazing!
