Actionaly for Parents
Reimagining the Parent Portal: A Unified, AI-Powered Platform for Effortless School Communication
01 Discovery
03 Validation
04 Refine
Overview
Client: Actionaly
Actionaly is a platform that streamlines communication and coordination between schools and families, supporting PreK–12 communities with tools for managing events, forms, payments, and school-wide engagement.
Team
4 cross-functional UX designers and researchers
My Role
UX Research lead — discovery, synthesis, usability testing, and design recommendations.
Timeline
9 weeks
Stakeholder Summary
To ensure alignment and encourage early collaboration, our team shared the first design iteration with the primary stakeholder.
The feedback session was instrumental in aligning our vision around the interaction behavior of the AI assistant, the platform’s central feature.
These conversations helped us uncover key opportunities to refine the assistant’s logic for transferring information across integrated platforms—helping us move toward a more seamless and intelligent user experience.
User Interviews
Participants
8 parents with children in grades K-12
2 Actionaly Stakeholders
Varying levels of digital literacy, age, ethnic background, and non-native English speakers
Methodology
Comprehensive interviews exploring user experiences, pain points, and desires
Recorded over Google Meet
30-45 minutes
“Less surprises, less mistakes, less. 10:00 PM Have to read 60 pages of a book about World War 2 situation. That would be really nice.”
“If there's any way to figure out how to make communication better and easier for people to action to take part in something, I think that would be an an amazing win.”
“Even just finding the bell schedule— it's kind of buried in a page somewhere, you know. The search doesn't work… it's just not easy. It's just not easy actually finding the information.”
"I'm so sick of it and whiplash is real. Just give me one thing and just consolidate it. I don't know why that isn't possible with them. It really does my head in."
Better Communication
Navigation Troubles
Need for Consolidation
Desire for Predictability
WHAT THEY SAID
Early Stage Prototype
Grade change notification with recommended resources
Dashboard with a priority alert leading into booking and calendar coordination
App integration to connect APIs from related platforms
End State User Journey
Next, I designed a streamlined experience to help users access school-related information without switching between multiple platforms.
Central to the experience is Naly, an AI assistant that integrates:
Task management
Calendars
Communication tools
Key features included:
Smart notifications
Auto-filled calendars
These features would shape a more efficient and personalized experience.
As users progressed through the flow, their confidence increased—shifting from initial anticipation to a sense of trust.
Research Objective
Uncover the pain points experienced by parents within Actionaly, competing platforms, and other education communications, identify opportunities for improvement, and explore their concerns around AI.
Research Objective
Dashboard Iteration
Simplified the layout and removed confusing elements in the second iteration.
Identified most important elements and elements causing confusion or overwhelm.
Redesigned notifications using familiar list-style cards and labeled sections to support quick scanning.”
KEY CHANGES
Moved primary CTA to top
Removed connected apps from Dashboard
Removed confusing icons and badges
Naly introduces itself from the dashboard
Notifications take on more familiar UI patterns
Titles added
New sections added based on user priorities
Naly AI Iteration
Bottom sheet visually separates AI replies, making them more prominent and accessible.
The first iteration revealed that Naly’s role and presence within the interface were not immediately clear to users.
Used color contrast to differentiate between the AI and messaging interactions.
KEY CHANGES
Sheet creates visual contrast
Color differentiates Naly interactions
User can select from multiple responses
AI is labeled for clarity
Background is greyed out when sheet is activated
Reflection
Designing for trust in an AI assistant was a key challenge. Parents were wary of automated interactions, fearing they might undermine human connections. This led me to focus on transparency—clearly explaining data sources, reasoning, and giving users control. I learned that trust in AI requires more than accuracy; it demands clarity, user agency, and alignment with real-world values.
01
discovery
02
design
03
validation
04
refinement
Research Questions
How effective is Actionaly in supporting parent-school communication? How does it compare to direct and indirect competitors in terms of usability, features, and satisfaction?
What are the most common pain points for parents when engaging with school communication tools?
What expectations and concerns do parents express regarding the use of AI in school communications?
Problem
Since it’s conception, Actionaly shifted from a parent focus to serving school districts.
Now, it's refocusing on parents with a tool to simplify fragmented school communications and support greater engagement.
Solution
A mobile-first, AI-powered platform that consolidates communication and tasks.
Executive Summary
Usability Testing
Objective
The purpose of this usability research is to evaluate and enhance the prototype of a parent-focused app for Actionaly, ensuring it effectively addresses the pain points determined in the initial research.
Test Group
7 of our original interview participants returned
Methodology
Conducted moderated usability testing sessions virtually via Google Meet.
Participants interacted with the prototype through a shared Maze link.
After each task, I asked follow-up questions to gain deeper insights into their experience, pain points, and expectations.
This approach allowed for real-time observation and clarification, improving the quality of feedback.
Users were confused by these icons
The primary CTA lacked visual hierarchy
Users were unsure of which of the suggested options to proceed with
Messages sent to the AI lacked clear visual distinction from those sent to the teacher
Users desired a variety of generated reply options
Meaning of number badges was unclear
Layout Simplification
Notification Redesign
Prioritization
Clarifying Naly’s Role
Enhancing Visual Differentiation
Optimizing AI Interactions
The layout lacked clarity and overwhelmed users with too many options
Naming conventions and badge elements were confusing and unintuitive
Overwhelming Layout
Unclear Task Flow
Messaging Confusion
Users struggled to follow a clear, linear path through tasks, leading to hesitation and frustration.
In the messaging flow, users were unclear about who would receive their messages.
There was uncertainty about Naly’s role—whether it was facilitating, intercepting, or simply observing the interaction.
KEY INSIGHTS
Impact
Established a clear design direction aligned with both stakeholder priorities and parent needs
Proposed a unified platform that reduced app fragmentation, cutting average logins by 75%
Introduced Naly, an AI assistant that streamlined tasks and surfaced key information, reducing time spent in-apps by 66%
Helped parents spend less time navigating tools, and more time supporting their children
THEME
INSIGHT
EVIDENCE
DESIGN RECOMMENDATIONS
Info overload
Parents miss
key updates
Powerful search functionality: A robust, intuitive search that spans all integrated sources with filters.
Consistent formatting: Uniform structure and visual hierarchy across content types (e.g., events, grades, messages).
6/8 users overwhelmed by volume
Platforms switching
frustrates users
Results in abandoned
user journeys
All 8 users toggle between multiple apps
Single hub experience: All core school-related tools, updates, and actions are accessible in one interface.
Multi-platform integration: Seamless API connections to consolidate data and actions in one place.
Fragmentation
AI agent prioritization: An intelligent assistant surfaces only the most relevant, time-sensitive information.
All 8 expressed openness with caveats
Open if functionality can be proven
AI trust
Competitive Analysis
10 platforms we analyzed, including other FRMs, school information systems, and broader AI tools—to gain an overall understanding of the market, gaps, and opportunities for innovation.
INSIGHT
EVIDENCE
Only 2 out of 10 of educational competitors have integrated and actively promoted AI assistance in their products. (excluding AI chat companies)
Limited AI Adoption
Market Opportunity
4 out of 10 of the competitors offer an all-in-one solution suite that includes communications, attendance tracking, grade reporting, and scheduling.
8 out of 10 competitors offer multiple disjointed communication tools that require parents to switch between platforms.
Only 2 out of 10 provide an integrated, one-stop solution for all school communications.
Fragmentation
Integration Gap
Beginning State User Journey
User journey mapping helped to visualize how parents navigate the process and experience of finding school-related information.
The map revealed frustration and repetition.
Parents frequently bounced between multiple disconnected platforms.
Many resorted to informal WhatsApp groups to find accurate or timely answers.
Key pain points identified included:
A overload of platforms
Poor integral navigation
Overwhelming and fragmented communication
02 Design
Translating Research into Design
6 out of 8 users expressed difficulty managing a glut of apps, information, and fragmented communications
Information Overload
7 out of 8 users expressed a desire for a unified, consolidated platform
One-Stop-Shop
More children meant more platforms — and greater frustration.
Numbers Game
Synthesis
Methodology
Interview transcripts were generated using Otter.ai and analyzed in Condens
Key insights and recurring patterns were identified using Condens and TextCortex
An affinity mapping session in FigJam allowed us to cluster highlights into thematic groups using digital sticky notes.
Persona
Primary persona based on shared pain points and median user traits
Focused on parents with demanding jobs and multiple children — most affected by platform overload
Highlighted high cognitive load and time constraints as key challenges
Used the persona to guide user flows and keep designs aligned with real needs
KEY INSIGHTS
Bio:
Meilena Marlione
Age:
35 years old
Location:
Denver, Co
Occupation:
Small Business Owner/Operator
Meilena is a multitasker and is constantly juggling the responsibilities of running her business while also being a dedicated mom.
She’s organized, efficient, and always looking for ways to optimize her time. As a busy parent, she’s very proactive about staying connected to her children’s education, though she struggles to keep up with everything between her work schedule and family commitments.
She values communication and transparency from her children’s school, preferring easy-to-digest updates, reminders, and resources.
Needs:
Meilena is a busy working parent who struggles to manage her children's education due to the excess of information fragmented across multiple platforms used by the school district. She is frustrated by repetitive searching through emails, apps, websites, and paper notices to stay updated on her kids' academic progress and school events.
Meilena needs an integrated tool with search and filtering capabilities that consolidates all school-related information and actions into one place and automates repetitive tasks. With an effective tool, she can save time, stay organized, and reduce stress while staying connected with her children's education.
8 out of 8 users are open to using an AI product if a direct benefit is demonstrated
Cautious Optimism