Financial Aid APPLICATION AND WEBSITE EVALUATION
Scope of the Work
UX Research, Usability testing, User Interviews, UX evaluation of Clarity Website and their Financial Application
Role and Responsibilites
My responsibilities included conducting UX evaluations of clarity's website and their financial aid application, usability testing, and in-depth interviews to identify issues and gather user insights especially in identifying moments of confusion or when users might need external help, and in assessing the overall usability and accessibility of the application and website.
What is Clarity?
Clarity is a software platform that caters to financial professionals within the independent school industry in the United States. It is specifically designed for non-religious private schools serving students in grades K-12. Clarity serves as a standardized workflow software that streamlines the process of collecting and analyzing financial information from families to accurately assess their financial situation. This information is then used by financial aid personnel to make informed decisions on the amount of financial assistance to be awarded to families for attending the school.
What are the UX Challenges?
Why does this challenge occur?
The challenge faced by the client with Clarity revolves around the process of obtaining legally required tax records from the IRS. To do so, the client generates a document that allows them to pull the tax records from the IRS, as relying solely on the application provided by families may not provide accurate financial information. However, the challenge arises when families are required to sign this document, as it involves navigating a third-party application embedded within Clarity. This introduces potential UX (user experience) challenges and confusion for users.
Challenges:
One specific challenge is the potential for signature errors and confusion about the signing process. Families may encounter difficulties understanding the steps involved in signing the document, such as which party (e.g., the spouse) should sign first, and how the form should be completed. Additionally, families may be unfamiliar with the specific document and its requirements, leading to further confusion and potential errors.
Another challenge can be the fact that the document is hosted by a third-party application within Clarity, which can create additional challenges. Users may encounter challenges in understanding the relationship between the third-party application and Clarity, which may result in uncertainty and potential errors during the signing process
Why Clarity needs User Research?
Feedback
During our kickoff meeting with Clarity, Zach highlighted that they primarily receive feedback from school administrators who use their financial application, but do not have a complete understanding of the pain points experienced by families. It is unclear where families may be facing confusion or challenges, or how their overall experience is unless they actively report issues or contact support. This is why Clarity is keen on conducting user feedback specifically from the family side, to gain better insight into the experiences and challenges faced by families when using their software.
Research Question: What potential challenges, issues, or encounters might families face when using Clarity's software application
Current Feedback Structure
Families → School Administration → Clarity
Clarity is a two-sided product designed to streamline the financial aid process in education. On one end, families complete a guided, TurboTax-style application. On the other, financial aid professionals use a dashboard to review applications and determine awards. This research project focused on improving the family-side experience of the application process.
Research Objectives
The overarching goals of this study were to:
Identify what’s working well in the current family-facing financial aid application.
Pinpoint usability, accessibility, and emotional friction points that families encounter.
Uncover unmet needs and hidden behaviors, particularly around how families navigate, complete, and interpret the application.
Highlight opportunities for UX improvements to reduce confusion and cognitive load during the application process.
Stakeholder Questions
The client team was particularly interested in exploring:
Where are families confused or dropping off during the application?
Are users switching to external tools or documents (e.g., spreadsheets, tax forms, calculators) to complete specific steps?
Do families perceive the process as intuitive and manageable or long and complex?
Are there any usability or accessibility blockers that hinder task completion?
Research Methods and Data
This study utilizes three qualitative methods, along with analysis of existing user data:
Heuristic Evaluation
A structured expert review of the financial aid application interface to identify usability and accessibility issues.User Interviews
One-on-one conversations with users to understand their experiences, motivations, and pain points when applying for financial aid.Usability Testing
Observing participants as they complete tasks within the application to identify friction points, confusion, or drop-off moments.Analysis of Existing User Data
Reviewing previously collected survey and interview data from over 200 users to extract themes, validate insights, and support triangulation of findings.
Before conducting research, designers and researchers prepare by defining clear objectives, selecting the right participants, and creating structured guides or scripts tailored to each method. For this study, preparation included outlining evaluation criteria for the heuristic review, developing interview and usability testing guides, setting up tools for remote sessions, and organizing existing user data for analysis. These steps ensured consistency, clarity, and alignment with stakeholder goals—resulting in actionable, user-centered deliverables.
Heuristic Evaluation
Heuristic evaluation is a usability inspection method in which UX experts independently assess an interface against a set of established usability principles to identify potential problems. Using heuristics such as Nielsen-Molich’s, this method focuses on uncovering issues that may hinder usability, accessibility, or user satisfaction.
Goal
Conduct a heuristic evaluation of Clarity’s family-facing financial aid application using established usability principles. The evaluation focuses on areas including:
Navigation & Information Architecture
Task Orientation
Help, Feedback & Error Tolerance
Accessibility & Technical Design
Forms & Data Entry
Searching & Content Findability
Content & Layout
Color, Font & Typography
Brand Identity & Meaningful Content
Logistics
Platforms: Desktop & Mobile
Devices: Mac, iPhone
Browsers: Safari, Chrome
Usability Principles
The evaluation will be structured using standard usability heuristics:
Visibility of System Status: Ensure clear feedback on progress, errors, and submission.
Match Between System and the Real World: Use familiar language and avoid technical jargon.
User Control and Freedom: Offer back/undo options and easy navigation.
Consistency and Standards: Maintain uniform patterns across layout, labels, and interactions.
Error Prevention: Use validations, confirmations, and clear error messaging.
Recognition Rather Than Recall: Provide in-context help and reduce reliance on memory.
Flexibility and Efficiency of Use: Support shortcuts and minimize redundant inputs.
Aesthetic and Minimalist Design: Reduce clutter to keep users focused on core tasks.
Help Users Recognize, Diagnose, and Recover from Errors: Use clear language, offer recovery steps, and avoid vague error messages.
Help and Documentation: Make support resources accessible without over-relying on them.
Core Research Questions
Where are families confused during the application process?
Are there moments where families need to open external tools or documents?
Are there any usability or accessibility hiccups?
UX Recommendations
Based on the research, we identified key usability issues and provided actionable recommendations that enable the client to address pain points and turn them into opportunities for improvement.
InDepth User Interviews
User interviews (also called in-depth interviews) are 30-to 60 minute conversations with a single participant, in which a researcher asks questions about a topic of interest to gain a deeper understanding of participants’ their attitudes, beliefs, desires and experiences.
Goal
The goal of this interview was to gather insights on the pain points and challenges families face when using other financial aid applications, like FAFSA. By understanding their needs and experiences, we aimed to identify areas for improvement.
Interview Focus:
Establish a good relationship with the user.
Ask questions related to background, demographics, and application experience.
Gather feedback on enhancing the application, inclusivity, accessibility, and user satisfaction.
Explore personal experiences to improve overall usability.
Logistics
Sample Size: 6 participants
Demographics: Parents and students who applied for financial aid within the last 12 months
Date: April 20th–23rd
Location: Remote (via Lookback platform)
Session Duration: 30 minutes
Incentive: $40 Amazon Gift Card (sent via link)
Recruitment Method: User Interviews platform (https://www.userinterviews.com/)
Participants and Demographics
Participants included six individuals—parents and students—who had applied for financial aid within the past 12 months, ensuring relevant and recent user experiences informed the study.
Research Questions
The following research questions guided the overall study and helped shape the interview flow, ensuring each session stayed focused, exploratory, and aligned with the project’s objectives.
How can the financial aid application be improved to make it easier and more efficient for families to use?
What are the key factors influencing families’ decisions to use Clarity’s application over other options?
How can Clarity improve the user experience to increase completion rates and reduce errors?
What common misconceptions do families have about financial aid, and how can the application address them?
How can the application be made more inclusive and accessible for users with different backgrounds and needs?
How can Clarity’s application better support financial aid professionals using the school dashboard?
How can Clarity improve communication with families throughout the process to reduce confusion and increase transparency?
What features or elements of the application do families value most, and how can these be emphasized?
How can Clarity track and measure the success of the financial aid application in terms of satisfaction, completion, and key performance metrics?
What are the pain points that families face when filling out the financial aid application?
Key Takeways
Following the user interviews, we were provided with additional qualitative data from over 200 users through previously collected surveys and interviews. We analyzed this combined dataset to identify recurring themes, validate findings, and synthesize key takeaways that reflect a broader range of user experiences.
Usability Testing
Usability testing is a form of user research in which product design teams observe test participants as they interact with a product or Web App or user interface to achieve a goal or specified task. This allows Research and design teams to examine their product’s functionality and intuitiveness based on user actions and responses.
Goal
Our objectives for this testing included identifying pain points, confusion points, tool usage patterns, perception of ease of use, application length, and accessibility issues.
To achieve these objectives, we followed a three-step process:
Conduct Usability Testing
Developing Test Scenarios
Defining Test Objectives
Logistics
Type: Unmoderated
Sample Size: 2–4 participants
Demographics: Parents who applied for financial aid within the past 12 months
Date: April 20th–23rd
Location: Remote (via UserTesting platform)
Session Duration: 45 minutes
Incentive: $20 Amazon Gift Card (sent via link)
Recruitment: UserTesting
Devices Tested: Mobile and Desktop
Participants and Demographics
Participants included six individuals—parents and students—who had applied for financial aid, ensuring relevant and recent user experiences informed the study.
Research Questions
The following research questions guided the overall study flow, ensuring each session stayed focused, exploratory, and aligned with the project’s objectives.
Where are families confused during the application?
Are there moments where families rely on external tools or documents to complete the application?
Do families perceive the application as easy to use and concise, or long and difficult to complete?
Scenarios
Scenarios provide realistic context during usability testing, helping participants engage with tasks more naturally. This leads to more authentic behavior, uncovering usability issues that might not emerge with generic instructions.
Imagine you / your family member wants to apply for financial aid. You visit Clarity's website (https://auth.clarityapp.com/en/login/?next=http://app.clarityapp.com/) to apply for financial aid. Go ahead and take a moment to explore this website and let how you would begin filling out the financial aid application.
Go ahead and fill out this financial aid form (https://app.clarityapp.com/application/welcome). While you are filling out the form, share out loud what you are seeing, thinking, and feeling. This helps me follow along. Please use fictitious information so that we don't capture any of your personally identifiable information.
Screener Questions
Have you or a family member ever applied for financial aid for education?
Yes
No (screen out)
Have you used Clarity's financial aid application before?
Yes, within the last 6 months
Yes, more than 6 months ago
No, I have never used it (screen out)
Have you used other financial aid applications before? If yes, which ones?
Yes, FAFSA
Yes, CSS Profile
Yes, state-specific application
No, I have never used any other financial aid applications
Have you ever encountered any issues while filling out a financial aid application?
Yes, technical issues
Yes, confusing instructions/questions
Yes, other issues (please specify)
No, I have never encountered any issues
What is your household income range?
Less than $25,000
$25,000 – $50,000
$50,000 – $75,000
$75,000 – $100,000
More than $100,000
Key Takeways
Following the usability testing, we were able to identify key takeaways that highlighted where users faced friction and how the experience could be improved.
By combining insights from heuristic evaluation, usability testing, and user interviews, we gained a well-rounded understanding of the user experience within Clarity’s financial aid application. The heuristic evaluation helped uncover 10 key usability issues along with actionable design recommendations. Usability testing provided 10 user-driven insights and takeaways that highlighted areas of confusion, friction, and opportunity. Through user interviews, we gathered deeper context, including 10 overarching insights, with key takeaways segmented between first-time users and those actively filling out the application, along with 5 targeted recommendations. These findings were synthesized and presented in a comprehensive client research report, offering a clear path forward to improve usability, accessibility, and overall user satisfaction.
