Alfa is an AI-powered platform designed to simplify and enhance high school teachers' workflows. Combining digital school register functions with a versatile organizational tools, it supports daily tasks, class preparation, agenda management, and test evaluation through an intuitive and teacher-focused design.
Role • UX Design (User Research, Interviews, Information architecture, Wireframing, Usability testing)
Tools • Figma, Miro
Team • Eleonora Rombolà, Paola Dentella, Francesca Sperti, Ippolito Russo
Partner(s) • POLI.Design, Prodigys Technology
Alfa integrates the traditional digital school register functions with AI-powered organizational tools, notifications and reminders to help teachers manage their schedules, prepare lessons, evaluate tests, track progress and more. The platform offers a personalised interface and adaptable functionality, allowing teachers to navigate tasks either through AI assistance or a straightforward manual menu.
The project followed a user-centered design process, beginning with qualitative research conducted via interviews with high school teachers. The synthesis and insights from the initial research informed the creation of user journeys, emphasizing pain points such as scattered resources, time-consuming processes, and lack of intuitive tools. These insights remained the core pillars throughout the whole project, leading to the design of the functionalities and wireframe prototypes - first designed on paper and then on Figma, - focused on integration, clarity, and AI-powered support to streamline everyday tasks efficiently.
The design process | From the user research to the prototype wireframes
PROJECT WORKFLOW IN MIRO
Qualitative research | Interviews & archetypes mapping
We started the research by conducting interviews aimed to understand which tools teachers currently use and how they feel about it, the challenges they face, and their specific needs. We conducted seven qualitative interviews with high school teachers in Italy, representing diverse profiles. This deep dive allowed us to identify four archetypes of teachers, varying in technological independence and preferences for digital versus analog tools. Insights from these interviews led to the creation of a tailored digital solution addressing key user challenges.
Interview Synthesis
Archetypes Matrix
Persona in focus
Insights & Painpoints | User journey as-is and user journey to-be
Through the interviews we identified several pain points that teachers face on a daily basis, such as managing multiple, disconnected platforms for administrative tasks and teaching materials, as well as struggles with asynchronous workflows and communications with the students' families. The existing user journey was fragmented, with challenges like difficulty in tracking student progress and publishing grades in a timely manner. The new journey consolidates all tools into a single, easy-to-use platform, improving communication, integration, and workflow efficiency while addressing time management issues and ensuring seamless transitions between teaching and planning.
Translating the findings into features and functions
To address the identified needs, we translated key jobs into functional features: automated administrative tasks, intuitive grade publishing, and improved material sharing. Features like integrated communication channels (class vs. individual students vs. parents), personalized lesson plan tracking, and real-time progress monitoring provide teachers with the flexibility and efficiency they need. We focused on reducing manual input, integrating platforms, and automating time-consuming processes, ensuring teachers can focus on teaching rather than managing administrative tasks.
Based on the research insights, the platform focuses on five main pillars: seamless integration of tools (for grades, communication, and materials), time-saving automation features (like pre-filled data), real-time progress tracking, customizable lesson plans, and AI support. These pillars ensure that teachers spend less time on administrative work and more time engaging with students, while offering flexibility for various teaching styles and needs.
Wireframes | How we translated the research outcomes into the platform features and functionalities
A single ecosystem for all functionalities
The platform integrates essential tools like the register, communication features, calendar, and teaching materials into one cohesive system. This unified ecosystem ensures that teachers have everything they need in one place, streamlining their workflow and enhancing productivity.
Pre-filling features
Automatic pre-filling of key data like student information, subject, class, schedule, and daily curriculum topics. This feature saves time and ensures consistent progress in lesson plans, offering guidance for the teacher. It can be especially useful in cases of substitute teaching or unexpected changes.
AI Support
AI guidance throughout the daily workflow, including the options to generate additional lecture content, exercises and quizzes from external databases curated by the school or teacher, and linking textbook pages and other teacher-uploaded materials. This helps make lessons more interactive, while also saving valuable planning time.
Programmability
A feature that schedules grades publication at different times for students and parents, giving the students the opportunity and time to speak to their parents and inform them personally about their academic performance. This helps to maintain the process more humane, and promotes responsibility and transparency in student-family communication, while emphasizing the quality of the assessments over the final grades.
Monitoring Features
Overview areas with highlights and infographics, providing a visual representation of student progress (e.g., performance trends on tests). This "drone vision" feature allows teachers to get a quick, top-level understanding of each student’s situation, helping to track overall progress at a glance.
WIREFRAMES IN FIGMA
COMPONENTS IN FIGMA