Transforming their web presence for a better reach and engagement. Mulligan’s manor is a non-Profit group home, offering foster care for LGBTQIA+ teens in Arizona.
User Research and UX Design Case Study
industry
Non-Profit
my role
User Research, Usability Testing, UX Design
timeline
14 Weeks
tools
Figma, Adobe XD, Miro, Webflow
The organization’s mission is to provide a loving family-oriented group home for at-risk LGBTQIA+ youth, along with tools and programs designed to help them build life skills for a fulfilling and happy future.
There are approximately 18,000 youth in the Child Protective Services system in Maricopa County, AZ meaning that in all likelihood there are hundreds of LGBTQ children in need of respectful housing.
Mulligan’s Manor is the only LGBTQIA+ non-profit group home in Arizona with a vision to create a supportive and safe environment for Arizona Department of Child Safety's LGBTQIA+ youth. Their team is committed to child safety and mental well being.
Currently they offer a safe home, professional counseling, and education that leads to family reunification when possible, or creates a pathway to future independence. They pride themselves in the fact that 98% of every dollar goes directly on helping their kids.
The Challenge
Improve the organization's online presence to enhance their public outreach and engagement.Their current website is facing significant usability issues that hinder users from effectively navigating and engaging with the site's content. The challenge was to identify and address usability issues while navigating through the site.
Solution
Improve the organization's online presence to enhance their public outreach and engagement.Their current website is facing significant usability issues that hinder users from effectively navigating and engaging with the site's content. The challenge was to identify and address usability issues while navigating through the site.
Result
A brand new website with re-defined IA, consistent layout and intuitive interactions.
Design Process
Initial Research
Stats on LGBTQIA population in the state of Arizona.
I used Jacob Nielsen's 10 Usability Heuristics and a 4- step rating scale to identify issues with the current website. Below are 5 Heuristics with a rating of 3 or above.
Check the complete Heuristic Evaluation here.
Key findings and Areas of concern
1. Task Completion - The website is more informative to consume but lacks to guide the users to complete a task in some areas. Supportive texts and clear labels can mitigate this issue. 2. Error Prevention - Better designed error messages can guide the users to rectify any mistakes and complete their tasks efficiently. 3. Navigation - Users may struggle to find the information they seek quickly. The site’s IA must be structured better to help users locate specific pages, or services offered.
User Survey
I surveyed 15 potential users of the website to understand their experience with non-profit websites and volunteering. The questions were framed around discovery of an organization online and finding the information they need on their website.
Stakeholders
Based on their interaction with the website, the stakeholders are sorted into two groups:
Information Seekers
1. LGBTQIA Teens/ Foster parents/Guardians - The primary audience for the website, they rely on it for information about Mulligan's Manor's services, programs, and resources. Foster Parents/Guardians seek information about becoming foster parents, accessing support services, and staying updated on news and events related to foster care.
2. General Public - They visit the website to learn about LGBTQIA youth in foster care, access educational resources, and support Mulligan's Manor's mission through volunteering, donations, or advocacy. 3. Board of Directors and Staff - These stakeholders are more of information providers than seekers. They ensure that the website accurately reflects the organization's mission, values, and programs. They may also use the website to communicate with other stakeholders and share important updates.
Task Performers
1. Donors and Funders - The tasks performers are also information seekers. They visit the website to learn about Mulligan's Manor's mission, impact, and funding needs. Additionally, they use the website to make donations or inquire about sponsorship opportunities.
2. Volunteers - They use the website to learn about volunteer opportunities, sign up for volunteer shifts, and access resources for training and orientation.
User Interviews
I interviewed users to understand their needs and pain points. Then I showed them the current interface and asked them to perform some information seeking and task performing tasks and I mapped the success rate of these tasks.
Personas
Based on the User interviews, I generated demographic and psychographic profiles of the information seeker and task performer personas.
User Interviews and Insights
Four user scenarios were laid out for the User Interviews, to empathize with the user’s needs and understand how they navigate through the current website.
Check out the User stories.
5
Participants
10
Usability issues
6
Tasks tested
7
Areas tested
90%
Task completion rate
Area
Insight
Web Content
60% of the participants agreed that sufficient information was available to complete the given tasks.
Information Architecture
80% of the participants spend more time in finding a specific piece of information on the website.
UI
40% of the participants disagreed that they would suggest the website to a friend, but would talk about the organization.
Web Content, UI
40% of the participants reported that the look and feel of the website is an indication for them whether it seems reliable and up to date.
Userflows
The average task completion rate for 5 participants is 90%
User needs and Project scope
The website needs to cater to two types of users: Task performers and Information seekers in three areas: Discoverability, Clear CTAs and task Completion.
Discoverability
This is a primary requirement for information seekers browsing the website, as they seek relevant information to understand the non-profit organization's purpose and locate desired features or content efficiently
Solution: The new navigation bar presents all organization menus and features at a glance, enhancing user-friendliness and improves customer engagement with web content.
Clear CTAs
There are interactive sections across the website: to access detail pages, schedule appointments, or subscribe. The strategic placement and visual hierarchy of these call-to-action elements boost the likelihood of users clicking on them.
Relevant CTAs based on the users’ interests and motivations were employed, that aid the users to complete their tasks on the website.
Task Completion
Apply to a volunteer job and Donate are users’ high level tasks on the website.
These user tasks are streamlined with digestible steps and multiple entry points.
Wireframes
A new layout for the webpages and updated content for better usability
Prototype
A new layout for the webpages and updated content for better usability
Usability testing
Four user scenarios were laid out for the User testing sessions, to evaluate the re-designed interface on the task completion rate by 5 representative users.
Check out the Usability testing user stories.
5
Participants
2
Usability issues
6
Tasks tested
7
Areas tested
100%
Task completion rate
Learning
There are 2 takeaways from this project:
1. Authenticity : Donors are willing to contribute, only if they find an organization’s cause and work to be authentic. This can be achieved by adding more content related to the work done by the organization like articles and media articles. A different medium can be leveraged to achieve this, for example social media to increase users engagement and to market their work. SEO can also help with marketing the website to a larger audience.
2. Networking : Getting more hands on deck for administrative and volunteering activities can be achieved through networking. A major percentage of networking for charity work happens through word of mouth. It can help people with similar interests and goals to discover this organization’s work. Interview participants answered that 40% of finding a non-profit is based on its location. Its easier to reach and travel to. So promoting the organization locally can increase user engagement.
