Actionaly for Parents
A Smarter Parent Portal:
Unifying School Communication with AI
01 Discovery
03 Validation
04 Refine
Early Stage Prototype
Grade Summary
Grades paired with teacher context and recommended resources.
Dashboard with priority alerts.
Centralized dashboard surfaces urgent tasks parents can’t miss.
App integration.
Unified hub reduces platform switching with connected APIs.
Strengthening Usability & Trust
Dashboard
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
Primary CTA moved up.
Improves visibility and quick access.
Removed connected apps.
Reduces clutter, focuses on core tasks.
Removed confusing icons and badges.
Simplifies scanning and navigation.
Naly introduces itself from the dashboard.
Builds trust and user awareness.
Notification redesign.
Matches familiar UI patterns for faster recognition.
Titles added.
Clarifies content structure.
New sections added.
Aligns with 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 overlay.
Creates contrast and focus
Color-coded interactions.
Differentiates AI from user messages.
Multiple response options.
Supports user control.
AI labeled clearly.
Reinforces role transparency.
Greyed-out background.
Directs attention to active interaction.
Retrospective
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.
Problem
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.
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 parent engagement.
Solution
We proposed a mobile-first, AI-powered hub that unifies school communication and daily tasks, giving parents one clear, reliable channel for everything school-related.
Executive Summary
These tests revealed that while parents valued consolidation, poor hierarchy and unclear AI roles undermined confidence guiding our next iteration toward simplicity, clarity, and trust.
Objective
We ran usability testing to ensure the prototype effectively addressed parents’ pain points: simplifying communication, reducing overload, and clarifying AI’s role.
Test Group
7 of our original interview participants returned
Methodology
Moderated remote sessions with 7 returning participants (via Google Meet + Maze prototype).
Parents completed core tasks while we observed interactions in real time.
Follow-up questions probed pain points, expectations, and perceptions of AI support.
Icons lacked meaning, forcing parents to guess their function.
Primary CTA didn’t stand out. Users overlooked the next step.
Users were unsure of which of the suggested options to proceed with
Messages sent to AI felt directionless, reducing trust.
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
Too many options cluttered the screen; unclear icons and badges confused parents.
Overwhelming Layout
Unclear Task Flow
Messaging Confusion
Parents struggled to follow a clear path, causing hesitation and errors.
Parents weren’t sure who received their messages or how Naly (AI) was involved.
KEY INSIGHTS
Team
4 cross-functional UX designers and researchers
My Role
UX Research lead — Led the research strategy across discovery, synthesis, usability testing, and design recommendations to guide the team’s design decisions.
Collaboration
Weekly stakeholder check-ins ensured alignment, provided early feedback on AI interaction behavior, and surfaced opportunities to refine cross-platform integration.
Timeline
9 weeks sprint covering discovery through refinement.
Process Overview
Impact
Reduced app fragmentation and cut average logins by 75%, helping parents access information faster.
Introduced Naly, an AI assistant that surfaced key updates and streamlined tasks, cutting in-app time by 66%.
Shifted parent time from navigating tools to supporting their children, boosting overall satisfaction and trust.
Established a design direction that balanced parent needs with school stakeholder priorities, ensuring long-term adoption.
THEME
INSIGHT
EVIDENCE
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
Translating Research into Design Recommedations
02 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
Methodology
We combined transcription, coding, and affinity mapping (using Condens, TextCortex, and FigJam) to turn scattered interview data into clear, actionable themes that shaped design priorities and solution framing.
Synthesis
KEY INSIGHTS
8 out of 8 users are open to using an AI product if a direct benefit is demonstrated
Cautious Optimism
Competitive Analysis
To better understand the market landscape, we analyzed 10 platforms, 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
Understanding Parents
Identifying Communication Challenges
Determining Expectations
& Opportunities
Research Planning
In the discovery phase, I created a research plan to uncover parents’ needs, frustrations, and expectations with the Actionaly parent hub. My approach included:
* Defining objectives to identify usability gaps and address concerns about AI so design decisions were grounded in real user needs.
* Shaping research questions to explore both functional challenges (ease, effectiveness) and emotional drivers (trust, expectations), ensuring a holistic view.
* Recruiting participants to capture diverse perspectives across family structures, tech skill levels, and communication habits, making insights broadly applicable.
* Structuring interviews to combine contextual inquiry and task evaluation, followed by reflective questioning, so findings revealed not just what parents do, but why.
* Team collaboration to gather multiple perspectives during observation and note-taking, strengthening analysis and reducing researcher bias.
Research Questions
Based on our planning, we defined key research questions to guide discovery and ensure our study stayed focused on parents’ needs and expectations.
How effective is Actionaly in supporting parent-school communication?
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?
We chose to conduct interviews because they offered rich, qualitative insights into parents’ daily experiences and attitudes toward school communication and AI, while uncovering the functional, emotional, and even instinctive factors that shape how they engage with a new platform.
“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
USER FEEDBACK
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
User Interviews
Research Objective
Our objective was to uncover the pain points parents face with Actionaly and competing communication platforms, identify opportunities for improvement, and understand their expectations and concerns about AI in school communication.
Research Objective
Persona
Our primary persona, Meilena Marlione, was created from shared traits and pain points surfaced in research. She represents busy parents balancing demanding jobs and multiple children — those most affected by fragmented school communication tools. Her persona helped us keep designs grounded in real needs, highlighting high cognitive load, time constraints, and the need for streamlined information.
01
discovery
02
design
03
validation
04
refinement
user research,
interviews
flows,
prototypes
iteration,
optimization
usability
testing
View Full User Journey
End State User Journey
Naly, an AI assistant handles:
Task management
Calendar syncing
Communication tools
Key features included:
Seamless access to school updates through a single hub
Smart notifications
Auto-filled calendars
We designed a streamlined, AI-assisted experience that unified fragmented tools into a single hub, helping parents access school-related information quickly and confidently, without platform switching.
Accesses school platforms
via hub assisted by AI
Sync dates and reminders
in personal calendar
Ask AI for specific info
Complete and confirm forms
Views notifications and
can summarize updates
Initiation
Engagement
Usage
Logs in platform
Anticipation
Serenity
Peace of Mind
Trust
Acceptance
These features created a more efficient and personalized experience, guiding parents from initial anticipation to growing trust and ultimately peace of mind.
The map revealed frustration and repetition.
Parents frequently bounced between multiple disconnected platforms.
Many abandoned official tools altogether, relying on WhatsApp groups for reliable updates.
Key pain points identified included:
Platform overload creates unnecessary friction.
Poor navigation leads to repeated searches.
Fragmented communication causes parents to miss critical updates.
View Full User Journey
Sifts through cluttered messages for key info
Turns to WhatsApp for
accurate answers
Overwhelmed, stops
engaging
Switches platforms,
repeats search
Entry
Search
Repetiton
Abandonment
Logs in platform, seeking
updates
Neutral/Hopeful
Annoyance
Resignation
Overwhelm
Frustration
Beginning State User Journey
We mapped the current parent journey to visualize pain points in finding school-related information, highlighting where frustration, inefficiency, and abandonment occur.
We turned research insights into a low-fidelity prototype that tackled parents’ frustrations with fragmented platforms, missed updates, and unclear priorities.
Usability Testing
We refined the dashboard to reduce clutter, surface priority alerts, and turn scattered data into actionable next steps.
The refinement stage focused on addressing the most critical usability issues identified in testing while strengthening parent trust in the AI assistant.
We clarified Naly’s role with clear labeling, visual separation, and choice-based responses to build trust and control.