Improving Digital Mentorship: Insights and Recommendations from the Re:Coded Community Platform Case Study

TL;DR

This paper investigates how to optimize digital mentorship platforms for better mentor engagement and experience, using a user-centric approach with interviews, usability tests, and eye-tracking on ReCoded's platform.

Contribution

It provides specific UX improvement strategies for mentorship platforms, focusing on navigation, onboarding, and external tool integration, based on empirical user research.

Findings

Identified key challenges in platform navigation, onboarding, and tool integration.

Proposed UX design improvements based on user feedback and competitive analysis.

Gathered insights from 23 participants to inform platform enhancements.

Abstract

With the rapid growth of technology, emerging IT professionals increasingly require mentorship to secure positions in the field. Recognizing this need, ReCoded has enhanced the skill set of their tech Bootcamp graduates by introducing the community platform -- "ReCoded's Mentorship Platform". To improve the user experience of the volunteer mentors at ReCoded, this thesis investigates optimizing mentors' interactions with digital mentorship platforms and provides suggestions for enhancing these interactions. Multiple third-party collaborators have powered the mentorship platform at ReCoded. This thesis examines the platform powered by StellarUp as a case study. The insights obtained may inform the UX design of any subsequent mentorship platforms considered by ReCoded. This thesis adopted a user-centric approach to solving a UX question. The study identified challenges in the mentors' user journey and their needs by engaging with users via interviews, usability tests, and eye-tracking methods. Three principal issues emerged: platform navigation, the onboarding process, and the seamless integration of external tools. Solutions were derived from desk research for onboarding, card sorting techniques for navigation, and competitive analyses for tool integration. Throughout the research, feedback from 23 participants was gathered, ensuring a holistic understanding and actionable recommendations for developing a user-friendly and efficient mentorship platform.