STARFALL EDUCATION FOUNDATION
CONTEXT
Starfall is a free website that helps children learn to read through games. They have expanded content to songs, books, math, and more, covering standards from Pre-K to 5th grade. Starfall’s mission is to create free and low-cost experiences where children have fun learning in an environment of positive reinforcement.
ROLE
UX Designer,
Synthesis Lead
DURATION
January - May 2025
TEAM
Ice Kulruchakorn
Vivian Lau
Adriana Alcasabas
TOOLS
Figma
THE PROBLEM
Starfall releases new content roughly 2 times a year.
Feedback from stakeholders is crucial to their development process.
However, there is currently no formal process.
FEEDBACK SURVEYS WERE CONDUCTED INDEPENDENTLY ON QUALTRICS
OUR GUIDING QUESTION
HMW design an efficient playtesting system to ensure insightful responses for Starfall’s developers, while being engaging to teachers, parents, and students?
IN OUR RESEARCH, WE CONCENTRATED ON THREE KEY CONCEPTS
Retention
Value proposition
Participant management
User Experience
Recruitment
Branding & messaging
Recruitment webpage wireframe
Participant touchpoints
Participation
Best practices
Content review design
SECONDARY RESEARCH
Understanding a unique space and analyzing best practices.
In our secondary research, our team analyzed existing industry standard for both educational content and game playtesting, as Starfall is the integrates the best of both worlds.
SECONDARY RESEARCH
Developing an end-to-end recruitment to retention strategy.
In our secondary research, our team analyzed existing industry standard for both educational content and game playtesting, as Starfall is the integrates the best of both worlds.
USER INTERVIEWS
Speaking with unique stakeholders in Starfall's product.
In our secondary research, our team analyzed existing industry standard for both educational content and game playtesting, as Starfall is the integrates the best of both worlds.
CONTEXTUAL INQUIRY
Following typical user's interaction within the existing process.
In our secondary research, our team analyzed existing industry standard for both educational content and game playtesting, as Starfall is the integrates the best of both worlds.
EXPERT INTERVIEW
Quantify a child's cognitive ability in the context of playtesting.
Given our time constraints and limitations around privacy and interviewing children, we decided to conduct an expert interview to understand elements we should prioritize when designing for children.
AFFINITY MAPPING OUR RESEARCH FINDINGS
OUR SOLUTION
COMPREHENSIVE UX REPORT
We provided our client with a written report highlighting our key insights from our research, including detailed user personas and journey maps that reflected the goals, wants, and pain points each Starfall stakeholder.
RECOMMENDATIONS REPORT
Using our insights, we created a flow of touchpoints that would lead to a user joining Starfall's playtesting program. To streamline the feedback process, our team created guidelines for writing survey questions for children, examples of questions, and interactive and engaging visual mockups.
PLAYTESTER PROGRAM LANDING PAGE
We created a landing page to expand the outreach of Starfall’s playtesting program to existing Starfall users. It provides a comprehensive overview of the program to inform users and to encourage them to join.
TEAM STARFALL!
