Northwestern / STEAMbassadors Usability Analysis

STEAMbassadors is a mentoring and educational program connected to STEAM learning opportunities. The platform was designed to help students understand the program, browse available opportunities, and decide whether they wanted to participate.

The site had useful information, but the structure made that information harder to understand than it needed to be. Users could usually figure out the general purpose of the program, but they had moments of uncertainty when moving between program details, gig listings, application information, and closed opportunities.

I worked on the research side of the project, focusing on usability testing, participant observation, note taking, synthesis, and design recommendations. My work helped turn user behavior into clearer recommendations for navigation, content structure, and page hierarchy.

The project included user testing, interview-style observation, persona thinking, user flows, journey mapping, wireframe direction, and research documentation. The main goal was to understand where users lost confidence and how the platform could become easier to move through.

The research focused on whether the site supported quick understanding and decision-making. Instead of only asking users whether they liked the site, the evaluation looked at where users paused, what they expected to happen next, and which parts of the interface made them uncertain.

• Could users understand what STEAMbassadors was and who it was for?
• Could users find program and opportunity information without getting lost?
• Could users tell the difference between active gigs, closed gigs, and general information?
• Could users understand what action they were supposed to take next?

Testing took place with users who represented likely audiences for the platform. Participants were asked to move through the website, locate program information, interpret gig listings, and explain what they expected to happen while navigating.

The sessions were structured enough to compare patterns across participants, but open enough that users could talk through confusion in their own words. This helped separate surface-level opinions from actual usability issues.

Several users understood the mission of STEAMbassadors, but the website did not always make the next step clear. Some content felt informational, some felt action-based, and some listings appeared to be closed or inactive. Because these content types were not always clearly separated, users had to pause and interpret the system instead of simply using it.

Closed gigs were one of the clearest friction points. When users encountered opportunities that were no longer available, they were not always sure whether the site was showing past examples or current listings. This created a trust issue because the platform started to feel less up to date.

Users also expected stronger filtering. They wanted to sort or narrow opportunities based on interest area, availability, date, or type of experience. Without filters, users had to read too much before knowing what applied to them.

• Users could understand the broad mission, but the homepage needed a clearer first impression and stronger next step.
• Open and closed opportunities needed stronger separation so users did not question whether the site was current.
• Gig pages needed a repeated structure so users could compare opportunities faster.
• Long blocks of text slowed down decision-making and made the platform feel less direct.
• Filtering and sorting would help users move through listings based on their own needs rather than reading every option.

The recommendations focused on making the platform easier to scan, easier to trust, and easier to act on. The goal was not to make the site visually complicated. The goal was to make the existing program feel clearer through structure and hierarchy.

• Create separate areas for open gigs, closed gigs, and general program information.
• Add filtering for opportunity type, interest area, date, and availability.
• Standardize gig pages with repeated sections for description, requirements, timeline, and application steps.
• Use shorter text blocks and bullet points for responsibilities and eligibility information.
• Make calls to action more consistent across the platform.

The final research translated user confusion into specific design and content recommendations. The project showed that the platform did not need a full visual reset to become more usable. It needed clearer organization, stronger hierarchy, and a more direct relationship between what users wanted to do and what the interface showed them.

This project became an important early example of my UX research process because it connected observation to design direction. Instead of treating usability issues as vague user feedback, the research documented where people lost certainty and what structural changes could help restore it.