Improving Financial Education Through a Strong Digital Experience
Defining clear user journeys can help educators excel in the classroom.
When we first started talking to the Bureau of Consumer Finance Protection (BCFP), the idea was simple: take a paper copy of a curriculum review tool and turn it into an online, interactive version. However, we all quickly realized that to do it right, we needed to dive deep into best practices. The tool in question is BCFP’s Youth Financial Education Curriculum Review tool. It allows educators to evaluate financial education curricula and determine if they are strong resources. As mentioned, the tool already existed in paper form, so for the most part, the content was already set. However, in bringing any piece of content in the online world, people’s expectations and perceptions naturally shift. The Internet is dynamic and interactive, and so online users expect a certain level of robustness and ease when using a digital tool. Coupled with the endless technical possibilities of the digital world, we understood its strength in making the tool easier to use. If the tool is easy to use, then it’s that much easier for educators to incorporate into their classrooms.
Another scenario of how the user journeys informed our design solutions is when a supervisor requests that an educator evaluate a curricula and then report his/her findings back. To accommodate for this, we designed the tool to include options to either generate a high-level findings report or a more comprehensive report. Similarly, we made sure that there was a printable version of the reports, so that they could print it out and bring it to their next meeting. Providing these options to educators was essential to accommodate for their journeys through the tool. Evaluating the Solution As the tool started to take shape through wireframes and designs, as well as server builds, our team conducted extensive quality assurance (QA). As part of the QA process, we walked through the entire tool to (1) identify any bugs in the development; and (2) ensure that we had designed a solution that truly met the needs of the audiences and journeys we had identified. During this process we also established potential edge cases, e.g., a primary audience member using the tool on a borrowed device and evaluated whether the tool could (or should) accommodate for them. Again: when you design for everyone, you design for no one. If we accommodate for all edge cases, the tool starts working away from those who need and use it most. Basking in the Results Transforming the Youth Financial Education Curriculum Review tool from its paper version to an online interactive tool has made it more approachable, streamlined, automated, and easy to use. In designing the tool according to the user journeys, the tool is guaranteed to fit neatly into the educators’ classroom preparations. Though some states have financial education requirements, it is currently not a national mandate. If we want educators to be able to incorporate financial literacy into their classroom curricula, then we need to make it easy for them to do so. We are proud to have played a role in ensure that this tool’s goal, to help make selecting a curricula easy and clear, is achieved.