It was wonderful meeting so many of our customers at PebbleBash in June. We had many good conversations, and it was inspiring to see so many different use cases for PebblePad that are improving outcomes for students in higher education across the globe. Your insights from PebbleBash have directly inspired this blog on enhancing usability, showcasing how your feedback shapes our journey.
In these conversations and others that we have had with you over the years, there’s one important product aspect that stands out: its usability.
At PebblePad, we are constantly striving to enhance usability to make your experience and your learners’ experience smoother and more intuitive. We’re excited to share our latest improvements and the Product team who are responsible for driving them forward, providing a bridge between customers, our customer-facing teams and our technical development team.
Why Usability Matters
Usability is at the forefront of our development process. We understand that an intuitive, user-friendly interface is essential for:
- saving time
- reducing frustration
- helping you achieve your goals efficiently
That’s why we continuously listen to your feedback and test new solutions to fine-tune every aspect of our platform. Read on to learn about our most recent product improvements and the processes involved in their development.
Recent Improvements
Streamlining Workflow: Favourites and Bookmarking
We’ve introduced the ‘Favourites’ feature and are working on a new bookmarking tool. Both features are designed to streamline your workflow and are based on your valuable feedback. We talked to Rachel, one of our product managers, to learn more about the process for working with development teams and customers to ensure new features meet our users’ needs.
Collaborating with Customers on Usability
Rachel explains, “It all starts with a deep dive to understand our users’ needs and challenges. We run user surveys and work closely with our Customer Success team to gather insights. Additionally, we conduct usability tests and directly engage with customers throughout the development process.
For instance, when developing the Favourites feature, we shared prototypes with selected users at different stages. Their feedback was invaluable in refining the feature continuously and ensuring it met their expectations before launching it fully. We also hosted interactive sessions where users could suggest improvements and highlight any issues. This collaborative approach allows us to make real-time adjustments based on user feedback.”
Agile Methodology: Iterative and Flexible Development
Rachel continues, “Our agile approach allows us to iterate on features rapidly, incorporating user feedback at every stage. For example, during the development of the Favourites feature, we could refine the feature continuously through multiple iterations before its full launch.
Seeing how these features positively impact our users is incredibly rewarding. The collaborative efforts between our development team and our dedicated customers truly drive the innovation and usability of PebblePad. Your input helps us create tools that are not only functional but also delightful to use.”
Addressing Customer Needs: Connectivity
PebblePad plays a crucial role in the higher education ecosystem. Ensuring seamless connectivity with major Learning Management Systems (LMSs) and Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) is essential for a seamless user experience. This integration is achieved through Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI), which allows for effective synchronisation of data – such as LMS groups and PebblePad sets.
Gareth, our Senior Product Manager for integrations, is at the forefront of making these connections even more effective. We caught up with Gareth to understand how his work is enhancing the flexibility of ATLAS.
Enhancing ATLAS Sets Flexibility
Gareth explains, “While integration work might seem technical with all its acronyms, the heart of it is about making life easier for educators. Our goal is to ensure that teachers and assessors have the best tools to support and evaluate students’ learning journeys efficiently.”
We’re committed to making it easier for educators to access and assess students’ work through our platform. To support this goal, we are making significant improvements to ATLAS (Active Teaching, Learning, and Assessment Space), a key tool in PebblePad. ATLAS helps teachers, mentors, and supervisors manage student submissions, provide feedback, and track progress.
The upcoming changes will give course creators more flexibility with sets in ATLAS. They’ll be able to choose which workspaces use LTI to synchronise LMS groups to PebblePad sets. You will also be able to add tutors and external assessors to LTI created sets.
These enhancements will streamline workflows, ensuring that all educators have the necessary access to support and evaluate students more effectively. By focusing on these improvements, we’re directly responding to your feedback and adapting our platform to better meet the needs of educational institutions.”
Accessibility Enhancements to Improve Usability
Accessibility is a cornerstone of higher education, and we’re committed to ensuring that every student, including those with disabilities, can succeed. By making our platform more accessible, we promote inclusivity and help institutions comply with legal requirements.
To celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day, we hosted a ‘Contrastathon’ to improve the minimum colour contrast across our platform. Read more about the ‘Contrastathon’ in this blog. These changes enhance the overall readability and accessibility of PebblePad, making text and elements more visible for users with low vision or neurodiversity.
Fabienne, our accessibility champion, shares her thoughts: “It’s my role to ensure our products are accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. Our commitment to accessibility is a big part of who we are. It was exciting to see the positive impact of changes made during the Contrastathon. Accessibility is something we think about every day in product development. Holding a specific event has two benefits, it helps our development team focus on one area and it raises awareness across the whole company. We’re excited to keep pushing forward and making our product even better for all our users.”
Improving Features through User Experience (UX) Testing
We actively commit to ensuring that our features meet the highest standards of usability. An important part of this process is UX testing, where we design and test prototypes with real users before they are launched. Alex, our UX Designer, plays a crucial role in this effort.
Alex explains, “User research is at the heart of what I do. It’s essential for refining our features and ensuring they truly meet user needs. I’m grateful for the incredible community that participates in our usability tests and interviews. Your feedback helps us create a product that’s not only functional but also enjoyable to use.”
Why UX Testing Matters to Usability
Alex highlights the importance of user participation for
- Informed decisions: Testing prototypes with users provides valuable insights that help us make informed decisions about feature development.
- Enhanced usability: Feedback from real users ensures that new features are intuitive and user-friendly.
- Continuous improvement: Regular testing and feedback loops allow us to continuously refine and improve our product based on user needs and preferences.
Many of you have already participated in our usability testing sessions, and we encourage more of you to get involved.
Get Involved in Usability Testing
By signing up for usability research, you’ll have a direct impact on shaping our developments and ensuring that PebblePad remains efficient, user-friendly, and enjoyable for everyone.
If you want to know more about usability testing, please check out our Introduction to Usability Testing at PebblePad.
Want to get involved? Sign up for usability testing
Thank you for your continued support. Together, we’re making PebblePad a better tool for everyone. Stay tuned for more updates and make sure your voice is heard through our usability testing sessions.
