Research

Research Objectives

•Understand the existing pain points in the current experience.

•Discover what is most important to our hiring managers when using the Talent Board.

•Prioritize features based on the needs of hiring managers.

•Better understand how hiring managers behave

Cognitive Walkthrough

I started by auditing the Talent Board. I met with stakeholders, identified the key tasks and user goals, and evaluated each step against four usability lenses. The audit found issues in every category.

Areas of Focus

After completing the audit, data was compiled and a few areas of focus were identified. This process included calling out potential user pain points, project goals, questions, and tasks for a usability test.

Key areas of focus included:

•Entry into the Talent Board

•Creating an Account

•Searching for Candidates

•Creating an Alert

•Saving Candidates to a List

•Requesting an Interview

•Future Feature Additions

Questions & Kano Analysis Features

Based on the areas of focus, specific questions and tasks were formulated to guide our usability test. Potential future features were also identified and low-fidelity sketches were created for a Kano Analysis. In the analysis, users rated the usefulness of proposed features on a scale of one to seven. Based on answers from our users, I created a usability test script.

Testing

Usability Testing

I ran five one hour usability tests with hiring managers to see how they navigated the site and used its features. I also asked about their recruiting background, the other tools they use, and how relevant the board was to their work, and I tracked how their feelings changed throughout each session.

Findings & Recommendations

Based on the observations and findings, a Research Findings Report was created. Pain points and opportunities were categorized into four areas: Intuitive Tools with Clearly Defined Expectations, Quick and Easy Workflow, Detailed Searches, and Qualified Candidates and Trusted Relationships. These areas aligned with what we heard from hiring managers when asked about what they value in the hiring process.

Recommendations

I turned the findings into recommendations, organized by the four areas hiring managers valued most. I rated each one by priority and effort so the team could see where to start. The quick wins were small fixes with a big payoff, like making key features easier to spot and sending people back to their task after they create an account. The bigger bets, like consolidating search and filters or rethinking account creation, would take more work but address the biggest pain points.