User persona
Student seeking help
- Goal
- Resolve a problem and continue studying.
- Barrier
- Unfamiliar systems
- Need
- Find the right support route.
A clearer route to university IT and studio support.
Emily Carr University’s Service Desk is where students find guides and request help with accounts, equipment, and studio access.
Overview
The Service Desk is Emily Carr University’s online portal for IT and studio support. Students use it to find setup guides, look up services such as the fabrication shops and studios, and send requests to the support team. Workshop observations suggested that students valued staff help but were often unsure where to find it. I worked on it as a business analyst at the university from 2023 to 2024, connecting each guide and service to the right request so a stalled task leads straight to help.
What I did
- UX research
- Drew on student experience-mapping workshops to build a persona and empathy map of students looking for help.
- Structure & flows
- Organized the portal into a knowledge base, service catalog, and request management, with a flow from two-factor authentication (2FA) guidance to a support request.
- Interface design
- Redesigned the account guides so setup steps, a support action, and related guides sit on one page.
- Interaction design
- Designed the studio support route: finding a service, requesting help with project details, and replying when staff follow up.
- Prototype
- Built a working prototype of the portal home, from search to the support route.
- Design system
- Defined the colors, type, and reusable controls shared by guides, services, and request forms.
UX research
A proposed persona and empathy map explore how students find and use university support.
Empathy map
- Says
- Finds staff helpful.
- Thinks
- Where do I look?
- Does
- Navigates unfamiliar systems.
- Feels
- Unsure where to find help.
Based on workshop observations.
Experience mapping workshop
Students map their experience from application to enrollment.
Structure & flows
Site routes and a proposed support flow connect self-service guidance with help from the service team.
Sitemap
The sitemap separates guides, service information, and request management.
Service Desk Home
Knowledge Base
2FA guide
Account request
Service Catalog
Shops + Studios
Studio request
Manage Requests
View My Tickets
Approvals
User flow
The flow connects 2FA guidance with a support request when setup stalls.
Start or endScreen or actionDecisionProposed path
Select a route to follow a student whose setup works or one who is still stuck.
Interface design
Account guidance connects setup instructions with a support request when students need more help.
Layout comparison
The 2FA guide keeps setup instructions, a support action, and related guides on one page.
2FA SETUP GUIDE
Interaction design
Students find a studio service, request support with their project details, and follow up when staff reply.
- 1Fabrication + Exhibition
- 2Shops + Studios
- 3Request Support
- 4Project details
Support request flow
A studio support request can stall on unfamiliar service names, missing project details, and an update that doesn’t say where to reply.
Discover
Potential barrier
Unfamiliar service names
Design response
Named service areas
Request
Potential barrier
Missing project details
Design response
Questions about the project
Follow up
Potential barrier
Unclear where to reply
Design response
Visible reply action
Design system
Color, typography, and reusable controls connect the portal’s guides, services, and request forms.
Color palette
Portal teal
#0EAFAAInk
#293134Surface
#F5F5F5