Masai Student Onboarding Process Redesigned

Overview

Onwards is the onboarding experience of Masai School, designed to help new students transition smoothly into their learning journey. As Masai School focuses on outcome-driven education, onboarding plays a crucial role in setting the right expectations and ensuring students are well-admitted to the course.

In this project, I redesigned Masai's onboarding process to make it more intuitive, engaging, and seamless. The goal was to reduce steps, save time by improving clarity, and create a structured yet welcoming experience for new students. By refining the user journey, streamlining key steps, and enhancing the UI/UX, this redesign helps students take the necessary steps to become a part of Masai.

My Role

I'm the lead product designer for this project. I collaborated directly with CEO (Prateek Shukla) and Product Manager (Kajal) throughout the project.

Problem Statement

Problem 1: Lengthy Navigation and Low Retention

The previous onboarding experience at Masai School involved a long list of questions, many of which were important but not all were essential at the beginning. This made the onboarding process time-consuming and slow, creating friction for new students and increasing drop-off rates.

Challenge:

To streamline the experience without losing critical information, ensuring students felt welcomed and prepared for their learning journey.

Solution:

Revised Form Placement for Better Experience

• Since asking too many questions upfront was overwhelming, the form was moved after MSAT completion.
• This allowed users to focus on their admission test first and then provide additional details at a more natural point in the journey.

Problem 2: Disorganized Dashboard Experience

Once users landed on the dashboard, the primary focus was on taking the admission test. However, the information was scattered, making it difficult to navigate. Additionally, the UI was not intuitive, and the content was spread across three separate pages, increasing cognitive load.

Solution:

We structured the dashboard layout into three sections, following a 20:60:20 ratio:

1. Left Navigation: This section houses the primary navigation elements, including Home, Courses, Self-Learning, Activities, and MSAT.
2. Central Dashboard: Occupying the largest portion of the screen, this section guides users through three key steps to begin their journey.
3. Right Panel: This area features a Community Card and Alumni Testimonials, aimed at fostering trust among users.

The entire experience was structured into three main steps:

Step 1: Webinar Registration – A doubt-solving session with experts, helping users gain clarity and confidence in the course.

Step 2: MSAT (Admission Test) – An introductory video explained the test clearly, ensuring users understood its purpose and process.

Step 3: Onboarding Process – Further divided into five smaller steps, providing users with a clear sense of progress and actionable next steps.

Problem 3: Post-Test Complexity

After completing the test, if a user passed, the next steps involved document verification, onboarding to Zoom and Slack. However, these steps were not clearly structured, leading to confusion and inefficiencies in the process.

Solution:

Results screen is more explanatory plus not cluttered with other onboarding details

Divided entire onboarding process into 4 small steps:

• Since asking too many questions upfront was overwhelming, the form was moved after MSAT completion.
• Providing users with a clear sense of progress and actionable next steps.
• Next few steps included ID verification, Consent forms, and Zoom, slack onboarding.

Other enhancements

Increased Engagement with Interactive Elements

• Activities Section: Provided practice exercises to help users enhance their skills.

• Alumni Connect: Allowed users to schedule meetings with alumni, fostering trust and offering real-life insights into the course experience.

• Self-Learning Section: Ensured users who failed the MSAT had resources to continue learning and prepare for another attempt.

Dedicated MSAT Information Page

• A separate page for MSAT was created, allowing users to explore details about the test at their convenience.
• This ensured that users who needed more information could access it easily without cluttering the main dashboard.

Conclusion

The redesigned onboarding dashboard for Masai School led to significant improvements in user experience, engagement, and efficiency. By strategically refining the onboarding flow, we achieved measurable results:

• Onboarding time reduced from 15-20 minutes to just 5 minutes, making the process faster and more seamless without compromising essential steps.
• Drop-off rates decreased by 40% due to a smoother, more structured journey that eliminated friction points.
• User engagement increased, with more students attending the webinar, completing MSAT, and utilizing self-learning resources.
• Higher conversion rates, as clearer navigation and trust-building elements (alumni connect, testimonials, and community interactions) helped students feel more confident in continuing their journey.

By prioritizing clarity, reducing unnecessary steps, and incorporating engaging elements, the new onboarding experience not only improved usability but also enhanced student retention and trust in the platform. The streamlined approach ensures that new students transition smoothly into their learning journey at Masai School.