Digitizing Education Administration: Simplifying Clerical Tasks for Government Teachers
COLLABORATED WITH
Samagra Governance, New Delhi
Monsoonfish Studio, Pune
THE TEAM
Project Manager, Lead UX Designer, 3+ Visual Designers, 5+ Developers, Client Team (2+ Project Managers)
ROLE
Lead UX Designer
OVERVIEW
Samagra, a mission-driven governance consulting firm, collaborated with Monsoonfish to develop an ed-tech system designed to streamline the clerical, administrative, and evaluative tasks of government teachers and mentors. In many cases, these teachers handle multiple subjects across various grades, often juggling additional responsibilities such as attendance management, parent-teacher communication, election duties, etc.
The goal of Samagra is to streamline these tasks through a modular system, enabling teachers to focus on building meaningful relationships with their students and maximizing the effectiveness of their teaching time. Currently in its development phase, the platform is being implemented in parts of North India. As an open-source solution, it is also being adopted by other states to enhance their educational governance using this structure.
INTENDED OUTCOMES
Optimized Teacher Workflows – Aimed to digitize lesson planning, attendance, assessments, and communication, helping teachers save time and focus more on teaching.
Scalable & Adaptable System – Designed a modular platform for seamless expansion across states, supporting flexible adoption while maintaining consistency in experience.
MY ROLE
I joined the project three months after its inception, once the basic app structure and visual language for the initial modules were established. My role focused on designing the user experience for all features, starting with understanding module requirements, creating wireframes, and integrating new modules into the existing framework. I also enhanced existing flows and later took a lead role, collaborating with the client on enhancements, designing UX, briefing visual designers, coordinating with developers, and presenting progress.
STARTING WITH 'WHO'
Understanding the users
The user research team conducted extensive field research, providing documentation that offered valuable insights into user behavior, needs, anxieties, and daily responsibilities. Based on this research, the user base was categorized into three primary groups:
Teachers: The primary users, consisting of government school teachers who often teach multiple subjects across various grades.
Mentors: Experienced teachers responsible for inspecting and evaluating the performance of other teachers in different schools.
Admins: District officials who oversee and manage the backend system to ensure smooth operations.
User Pain Points
UNDERSTANDING THE LANDSCAPE
Mapping Features to Interfaces
Designing the information architecture and mapping the app's data points streamlined workflows and clarified task priorities for each user group. I ensured that all data points in the teacher’s app were seamlessly integrated and reflected in the admin's management screens and the mentor's modules.
Information Architecture
STRUCTURING THE INTERFACE
The product's structure featured modules with vastly different components, cards, input types, and interfaces. The challenge was to allow for this diversity while maintaining usability consistency and avoiding a cluttered or scattered experience.
Mobile Wireframes
Desktop Wireframes
TEACHER'S APP
Enabling easy management of time, classes & schedules
The app enables teachers to set and view their timetables alongside their class schedules, flagging potential clashes with school events. Teachers can also compare timetables for effortless rescheduling of classes or lessons.
Viewing Conflicts and Comparison of Schedules
Mobile Wireframes
TEACHER'S APP
Exploring a range of lesson plans & assigning to classes
Through integration with DIKSHA, an open-source database for government schools, teachers can explore a curated range of lesson plans. These plans can be easily assigned to class periods, reducing the time and effort spent organizing teaching material by consolidating everything into a single platform.
Adding Lesson Plans to Class Periods
An intuitive & convenient messaging system for teachers
Parent-teacher communication, a typically time-intensive task, is simplified through customizable templates for absences, performance updates, and permissions. Messages are automatically generated based on a child’s data, and recipient lists are created accordingly. Communication is delivered seamlessly via SMS or WhatsApp.
Automatic Messages Sent to Parents
Sending Instant Messages to Parents
Scheduling Messages to Parents
Intuitive and Modular Backend Console
The admin app oversees data input and configuration for both the teacher’s and mentor’s apps. It manages district-wide data across all schools, including student records, teacher details, class schedules, groups, templates, and app settings.
Given the complexity of the system, we organized the backend into logical modules, ensuring that configurations were intuitive and simple for administrators accustomed to paper-based systems.
Attendance Settings
Calendar Configurations
Registry Settings
Holistic Documentation for Inspections
Mentors conduct monthly visits to assess the quality of education and administration in government schools. Their app supports the full inspection process with a minimal, straightforward design, emphasizing quick actions and easy access to key information.
While the structure parallels the teacher’s app, its design focuses on efficiency and clarity. Unlike the teacher’s app, which includes engaging features to encourage adoption, the mentor’s app prioritizes functionality and speed, catering to their professional needs.
Mentor's Homepage - Visits - School Details
Details of Teachers Assigned to Mentor
Attendance and Assessment Reports
Mentor Logging a Visit
