Knac
Unlock streamlined hiring practice with data and demystify recruitment process through empathetic candidate outreach.
When I joined Knac during its early stages, the company was in the pre-investment phase, and I came on board as the founding designer. The MVP had been primarily developed by front-end developers, leading to a blend of design and development challenges that required strategic resolution so we may create a scalable product.
As the initial designer on the team, my role involved undertaking extensive UX research on Knac's MVP to gain a deep understanding of the user experience. This research aimed to pinpoint recruiters' needs and expectations from applicant management software and to recommend improvements that would enhance the product's value and effectiveness.
Project Brief
What is Knac?
Knac...
Knac is a B2B service designed to partner with a recruiter's Applicant Tracking System (ATS), aiming to serve as an intermediary between recruiters and applicants. Its purpose is to save recruiters time by categorizing applicants based on their qualifications and to offer constructive feedback to those who are not selected.
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Makes it easier for companies to track and manage applicants.
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Helps recruiters automatically screen 100% of resumes.
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Uses data to remove bias in the application process while increasing the visibility of all candidates.
Role
Lead designer, UX Researcher
Tools used
Figma, InVision, Canva, Avocode
Timeline
Oct 2020 - May 2021
Goals Met
1. Identify missed opportunities through UX research
I initiated usability tests involving recruiters to evaluate the overall usability of the current MVP build. Following these tests, I conducted user interviews to gain deeper insights into their daily workflows and how software integration facilitates their hiring practices.
2. Create product strategy and execute through design
Analyzed and interpreted the results from our research, then shared these insights with stakeholders. Together, we identified and agreed upon the core concepts that needed to be addressed for the product upgrade. Following this agreement, we evaluated the scope of design work required to implement these improvements.
3. Create hi-fidelity mock ups and support development process
Iterated through various design versions to arrive at a prototype that was handed off to the development team and also used as a demo to share with potential angel investors.
1.Identify missed opportunities through UX research
Knac's intitial MVP
Knac's MVP product presented challenges to users, requiring a time-consuming onboarding process to navigate effectively. Additionally, the absence of several features in KNAC's platform that are commonly found on competitor websites.
I pinpointed opportunities for improvement in several key areas: enhancing the clarity of our information architecture, developing a more unified and intuitive user interface (UI), and crafting a more engaging and relatable user experience (UX) through personalized content writing.
Based on the findings from the usability tests and user interviews, I mapped user journey from the point where a recruiter may begin seeking for job candidates.
2. Create product strategy and execute through design
After the initial UX research was completed, the team collectively identified and agreed upon the core concepts that needed to be addressed for the product upgrade.
1. Onboarding without the guessing game
Clearly indicate the purpose of each features and CTA to allow users to use Knac even without a formal on-boarding process.
2. Configurable Dashboard Features
Allow users to customize the dashboard by adding and removing features as they see fit in their current workflow.
3. Configurable Dashboard Features
Incorporate indicators that signals automated sync partnership between the user's ATS and Knac.
Main Dashboard
Design Process
ATS Integration
Customized Candidate Search Result
Applicant List per Qualification Score
Usability Test with New Designs
I consider the most important part of the design process, usability testing. This phase was also the most challenging portion, as we worked hard to collect relevant users to participate in the test. We conducted five rounds of usability tests with the grayscale prototype and here are the findings.
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Takeaway from Usability Test
Further update the UI to match the existing design system. Update the navigation tools to be less prominent, allowing content to draw more attention.
Simplify scorecard generation by automating the skills input feature. Here, we identified an opportunity to build trust within Knac's back-end process.
Add an option to review soft skills in addition to the hard skills added on the scorecard. Two participants indicated that soft skills are observed during the interview process. Here, we realized the need to create a feature that allows the user to record their interviews with applicants.
3. Create hi-fidelity mock ups and support development process
Before
After
UI Further Refined
Further update the UI to match the existing design system and make the navigation tools less prominent, allowing the content to capture more attention.
Looking back, I see two key areas for improvement. Firstly, introducing customizable Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) metrics would better serve companies with diverse policies. Feedback from user interviews revealed a need for Knac to adapt its algorithm to meet varying customer requirements more closely. Secondly, enhancing the applicant rejection process could significantly improve the experience for both recruiters and applicants. By focusing on providing meaningful feedback to rejected candidates, we could offer them constructive action plans to improve their chances for future job opportunities, moving beyond the limitations of automated responses.
Learnings and Next Steps
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Personalized and modernized mobile experience designed to improve patient engagement for clinical studies.
A seamless workflow for physicians to create, deploy, and monitor consent statuses of clinical study patients.
Intuitive dashboard of patient engagement and compliance metrics that shares AI generated insights with clinical trial staff.
Before
After
Scoreboard Simplification
Simplify the scorecard generation process by automating the skills input feature. In doing so, we identified an opportunity to enhance trust in Knac's backend process.
Candidate scorecard
Interview notes with soft skills
Soft skills noted during interviews
Add the ability to review soft skills observed during interview process in addition to the hard skills added on the scorecard.