The User Experience... It's Something Familiar
When the software developers at Infinum Education began working on Aviso they made certain to keep the user experience at the forefront of their design. They knew that Aviso could not just be a “pretty and shiny” new product, but rather that this leader in Social Advising software must have a design which complemented its function. Of course our web/graphic designer Francisco Inchauste wouldn’t let us forget this goal, and reminded our developers– via his own blog – that design and function must be harmonious in order to ensure a great user experience.
The function of Aviso is such that it allows a workspace for students and faculty and/or professional advisors to interact and create academic plans that align with a student's goals and intent. It provides a vehicle for student services, financial aid and bursar's staff to alert students and advisors about looming deadlines -registration, scholarships/grants, payments, etc. Faculty can alert or warn students and advisors about class absences, poor grades, or grade point average. All of these pieces work in tandem to form the backbone of Aviso's core - Plan, Collaborate, Succeed.
While, sure, other systems could (and can) accomplish these goals, we are confident that none can do it in a manner that promotes student-advisor interaction. Aviso is designed functionally to allow these interactions to occur in either the face-to-face or virtual setting without disrupting the integrity of the advising relationship.
The design elements of Aviso is where Francisco comes back into the picture. As I mentioned, our developers knew they wanted to focus on the user experience and felt like they had created the foundation for a great one in the application/product itself, but they needed to ensure that it had the proper environment in which to be showcased. Fully aware of the multi-generational users, the team set out to create a design that was unique, yet familiar. Francisco reminded us that the user experience has a lot do with desirability, so the team took care to create a well designed application that would also be desired. How? Familiarity.
Aviso takes many of its design cues from today's most widely known (and presumably most popular) social applications/technologies. For example, the advisor caseload, which appears after loggin in, displays with images of advisees and a summary of updates/alerts (read: status updates) about each. Messages between students and advisors are captured in threaded discussions similar to a smartphone text conversation. Students and advisors collaborate to create advising plans using a drag and drop system like those used in favorite "apps".
But this state of familiarity does not exist alone; it complements the function. Aviso doesn't just look different, it is different. And, it provides a different kind of advising experience whereby students and advisors collaborate and plan for measurable student success in and environment where design and function are harmonious.
Kristin is an implementation consultant at Infinum Education, LLC and a higher education professional with 8 years experience in advising and student success.