Summary
Texas CREWS (Consumer Resource for Education and Workforce Statistics) web application is a joint project of the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). The interactive dashboard tool provides comparative information about Texas public 2-year and 4-year postsecondary institutions. By evaluating programs and institutions based on resultant wages and student loan levels, Texas CREWS allows parents and students to make informed decisions about college and get the best return on their educational investment.
My Role
I served as UX architect for the project and was responsible for designing the mobile-first experience through an interactive dashboard that adheres to WCAG 2.1 AA Accessibility Guidelines, incorporating a Spanish language option, a more intuitive workflow, and improved navigation. In addition, I created a design system, prototype, and high-fidelity wireframe to guide the design approval process and ensure accurate implementation.
USER RESEARCH
To kick off the six-month project, I conducted discovery interviews with stakeholders, students, parents, and data engineers to understand the goals and pain points as well as the underlying data that was available. To meet the demand for an application that could be equally valuable to Spanish and English speakers, the design needed to incorporate language translation.
Design options
The project statement of work required three design options incorporating:
Mobile-first design
WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility guidelines
Interactive dashboard design
Logo redesign
View the three designs:
https://xd.adobe.com/view/d9006b98-70b6-453e-bde1-d62070350328-8c53/grid
accessible Style guide
Once stakeholders selected their preferred design, I created an accessible style guide including:
Multi-state buttons
Multi-state links
Color palette
Interactive Prototype
Using Axure RP, I built an interactive prototype to allow stakeholders to try the application flow and dashboard interactivity, including:
Dropdown functionality
‘Sticky headers’
Mobile and desktop design
Working navigation