Anthony Zoss

The Problem
Gender-specific careers remain inaccessible to many, limiting opportunities for young people. This project aligns with UN Goal 4.3 to ensure equal access to career opportunities.

The Goal
Develop an app concept designed to make career exploration in IT easier and more engaging.

My Role
I was responsible for the entire product design process - from research to testing - within a team of three people.

Interviews

To ensure ByteMentor meets the needs of its users, we identified potential problem areas through empathy interviews. We spoke with four young women (ages 16 to 24), some already in IT apprenticeships, some still uncertain about their career paths. We had the following goals:

Identifying key challenges young people face when choosing an IT career
Understanding what information and support they need to make informed decisions
Exploring how gender influences career choices, especially in technical fields
Analyzing the role of tools, schools, and social circles in career exploration

Pain Points

Lack of Clarity
Job descriptions often don't match real tasks

Uncertainty
Doubts about whether their skills are good enough

Scattered Information
Information is spread across multiple sources

Limited Connections
Few opportunities to connect with companies

Lack of Clarity
Job descriptions often don't match real tasks

Uncertainty
Doubts about whether their skills are good enough

Scattered Information
Information is spread across multiple sources

Limited Connections
Few opportunities to connect with companies

Persona

Using our gathered insights, we developed Sophie, a representative persona reflecting the challenges of young people aspiring for careers in IT. By defining her needs, we prioritized key features for ByteMentor, ensuring that it directly addresses the pain points.

To focus our design efforts, we created a problem scenario from Sophie’s perspective, highlighting the challenges and uncertainties she faces.

Problem Statement

                                Sophie is an aspiring apprentice who needs a clearer understanding of 
                                what an IT career actually looks like because the lack of practical insights 
                                makes it difficult for her to make a confident career decision.
                            

A sheet of paper with nine ideas writen down

The 3-3-3 Method

This method works as follows:

There were three participants
Each person wrote down three ideas
After three minutes, we passed the ideas to the next person, who built upon them or added new ones

By the end, we had 27 unique ideas - ensuring every voice was heard!

Sketching

We translated the concepts into quick sketches, allowing for rapid iteration before moving into digital prototyping. This approach kept our design user-centered and flexible.

Information Architecture

A well-structured information architecture was key to ensuring effortless navigation, reducing frustration, and enhancing engagement. Our focus areas were:

Quick access to career paths, skill assessments, and apprenticeships
Logical content grouping to prevent information overload
Intuitive navigation for both first-time and returning users

User Flows

We mapped out user flows to visualize how potential users would navigate ByteMentor, ensuring the most efficient and intuitive paths to their goals. This helped us define the necessary pages and interactions for the prototype.

Wireframes

We refined our ideas visually with wireframes before doing the digital prototype. By iterating early, we ensured the final design aligns with user needs.

Visual Elements

Prototype

Two phones showing the job-section of ByteMentor

Usability Test

We created a structured usability test guide with questions and space for notes. We conducted the tests in-person using a Figma prototype on a mobile device. We tested the prototype with six potential users, two of whom had participated in our initial interviews:

We conducted three tests as a team (one person led the interview, two took notes)
I conducted the remaining three tests independently

Future Improvements

Improve back button
Back button should return to the previous screen

Simplify navigation
The corausel should show images of the same profession

Favourite functionality
Add an explanation to how Favourites work

Hide irrelevant results
Introduce the option to hide irrelevant results