Case Study

Sabaq

Role

Researcher

Founding Member

Team

Design team

4 members

Project

Education

Scope

Workshops

Usability Testing

Documentation

Field Research

Shadowing

Overview

There are currently 22.6 million out-of-school children in Pakistan – a number larger than the entire population of Karachi. To combat the lack of access to schools and education in Pakistan, unsafe commutes, low teacher-capacity and poor quality of educational content, Hassan and Adnan founded SABAQ in 2015. SABAQ is an EdTech organization that uses technology in education to provide children in Pakistan access to high-quality educational content.

Problem

Sabaq is an EdTech company helping integrate technology in  primary classrooms in Pakistan, through the SABAQ tablet. The  tablet houses numeracy and literacy lessons for students from  kindergarten up to Grade 5.

User Research

Our team began by conducting extensive design  research, during which we visited Government Schools  and Sabaq Learning Centers to learn how users were  using the current Sabaq app. We observed how teachers  and students were using the tablets with this existing  educational content.     After shadowing the users, we conducted focus groups  with teachers to gain insight into the challenges they  faced with the usability of the app.

With a deeper understanding of how users were  interacting with the technology – we conducted a  heuristic evaluation of the app and started mapping the  various user journeys.    Having insights into how the app was currently being  used, and the challenges users face - we conducted  ideation sessions to develop solutions for the problems  faced by users.

User Research II

Understanding how the students interacted with the app  was crucial to building a successful platform.    The main challenge the students faced was navigating  through the app. We also identified that the app was  being used differently at the Government Schools vs  Sabaq Learning Centers.    We designed new flows for both scenarios. Based on our  insights, we redesigned the information architecture  and created wireframes for testing with our users.    Multiple feedback cycles helped us iterate our design,  and then prepare the new art direction and interface.  The new art direction and interface were developed and  tested, with several designs subsequently integrated into  the final product.

User Research II

Understanding how the students interacted with the app  was crucial to building a successful platform.    The main challenge the students faced was navigating  through the app. We also identified that the app was  being used differently at the Government Schools vs  Sabaq Learning Centers.    We designed new flows for both scenarios. Based on our  insights, we redesigned the information architecture  and created wireframes for testing with our users.    Multiple feedback cycles helped us iterate our design,  and then prepare the new art direction and interface.  The new art direction and interface were developed and  tested, with several designs subsequently integrated into  the final product.

Outcome

Sabaq tablets have a presence in over 1000 schools across Pakistan. Through this platform, they’ve been able to impact the lives of over 250,000 students.    Studies performed on the users of the platform found that nearly  90% of students who were previously struggling in performance  are now at grade-level.  
We’re thrilled to have played a part in the democratization of  education!

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