Optimizing for Long-Term Mentorship- A Ux Design Case Study on ADPList

This case study delves into the strategies to enhance the mentorship experience on ADPList, as a part of my capstone project for C8 @10kdesigners.

Overview

1. Kickoff
2. Identifying the Challenges and Understanding the Audience
3. Ideation and implementation.
4. Insights and next steps.

Short on time? Get the key takeaways from this project in this quick video

✶ Kickoff: Understanding ADPList and the Mentorship Landscape

ADPList is a community-based platform that democratizes mentorship, making it easier than ever to connect with industry leaders. Here, you can find, book, and meet mentors around the world. ADPList fosters a thriving community where both mentors and mentees benefit. Aspiring professionals gain personalized guidance, while mentors share their wisdom and learn from fellow mentors.

Core Features

ADPList has revolutionized the mentorship landscape by creating a vast, accessible network of professionals. With over 20,000 mentors from more than 140 countries, the platform offers free, structured mentorship sessions to users worldwide.

1. Diverse Mentor Pool: Ensures a wide range of perspectives and expertise.
2. Structured Sessions: Utilizes templates and guidelines to maximize session productivity.
3. Long-term Mentorship: Recently introduced recurring session options (weekly, fortnightly, monthly).
4. Quality Assurance: Implements a rigorous vetting process for all mentors
5. ADPList Advance: Allows top-performing mentors to offer paid sessions, creating a monetization pathway for exceptional mentors.

The Problem Statement

Many members, especially those starting in their careers, need guidance on how to build a structured learning path with their mentors. They may engage with mentors on an ad-hoc basis but only address their broader learning needs once they encounter significant obstacles. This also means that there are times when there is no communication with their mentors. This leads to mentors disconnecting from the mentee and their progress after the initial interaction(s)

Who is facing this problem?

Mentees, especially early career professionals who are experiencing rapid changes in their roles and responsibilities, and their mentors, who may also be juggling demanding schedules, can lose the context of their mentorship relationship after prolonged gaps in communication.

Why is this a problem?

Members, especially early in their careers, lack the guidance to develop the necessary skills and establish a strong foundation for their learning journey with their mentor(s).

How might we empower members to understand their long-term learning path to enhance their careers?

My goal for the project was to optimize ADPList to make it the go-to place for connecting with mentors for long terms rather than on a need-only basis.

The premise for ADPList is simple: find a mentor — and start talking to them. However, to achieve any goal, you require consistency, something that was missing in mentee-mentor relationships across the platform.

Early-career members often struggle to create a structured learning plan with their mentors. These unstructured interactions fail to address their long-term learning goals, leaving them unprepared for challenges down the road. So they lose sight of their goal and fail to follow up and ask for help

✦ My high-level goals were to:

✶ Identifying the Challenges and Understanding the Audience

To gain a comprehensive understanding of mentorship dynamics and explore strategies for enhancing the experience for both mentors and mentees, I analyzed existing media and surveyed users to talk to experienced mentors themselves.

Here’s what I found-

Understanding ADPList Users:

To analyze user needs, I conducted interviews with mentees and surveys with mentors. A common challenge emerged: maintaining effective communication. Mentees struggled to understand when to reach out, some finding progress updates difficult, while others hesitated to reach out together when facing roadblocks. Interestingly, a preference for text-based communication surfaced.

Mentors, on the other hand, desired better communication tools, and strategies for time management. They also expressed a preference for mentees with clear goals and strong communication skills.

✦ Analyzing user needs highlighted these core pain points:

The Happy Flow

Effective mentorship programs are crucial for fostering professional growth. However, mentorship faces challenges like mentee drop-off and difficulty establishing long-term, impactful relationships. To address this, I embarked on a data-driven exploration to understand the key factors contributing to successful mentorship experiences.

By analyzing data from various sources, I was able to identify recurring patterns and trends. This analysis led to the development of a framework — the “ideal flow” for mentorship programs.

Here’s how it can benefit both mentors and mentees:

✶ Ideation and implementation

Identifying Solutions

Through user interviews and primary research, I identified three key areas hindering user experience:

✦ Lack of structure making information access difficult.

✦ Hesitation to reach out due to unclear communication channels.

✦ Scheduling conflicts leading to delays.

To identify optimal strategies for fostering long-term mentoring relationships on ADPList, I brainstormed creative solutions and prioritized them using impact/effort and MoSCoW (Must Have, Should Have, Could Have, Won’t Have this time) analyses.

This approach helped me refine and prioritize solutions systematically and practically. By filtering solutions based on

• what made business sense,
• what reduced the workload for mentors,
• and eliminated frustration points for mentees,

This helped me land solutions that would be viable, efficient, and user-friendly. The impact/effort analysis allowed me to focus on high-impact, low-effort solutions that could provide the most value with minimal resources since ADPList operates on a lean team.

Meanwhile, the MoSCoW analysis helped categorize solutions based on their necessity and importance, ensuring that critical features were prioritized. This combined approach allowed me to balance innovation with practicality, and work towards solutions that aligned with business goals and user needs.

Detailed analysis is available on request, please reach out!

✶ Solutions in Focus

#1 Roadmaps- A collaborative, visual learning path created by mentees and mentors.

How it Works-

To address the challenge of unstructured mentorship experiences, I introduced Roadmaps.

Roadmaps display key milestones and deadlines prominently on the home screen, allowing mentees to manage their time effectively every week. Additionally, roadmaps set the stage for seamless collaboration. They allow mentees to add upcoming sessions and share real-time progress/updates with their mentors.

Building a strong mentorship relationship is an investment in your future. A roadmap takes that investment a step further by providing a structured plan to guide your journey.

For mentors, roadmaps help them stay connected to the context of a particular mentee’s goals, progress, and hurdles. Mentors can regularly update themselves by simply accessing their chats.

Here’s how it empowers mentees-

1. Instant Overview: Gain a comprehensive overview of your goals and milestones, ensuring you stay on track and know what upcoming interactions with your mentor will focus on.
2. Strategic Prioritization: Make informed decisions about your time. The roadmap prioritizes key deadlines and tasks, allowing you to focus on what matters most for your development.
3. Creating deadlines: With set deadlines for updates and sessions mentees never lose sight of their end goals.
4. Actionable Guidance: The roadmap goes beyond just providing a learning path; it motivates the mentees to keep moving forward. With a designated schedule for follow-ups, upcoming tasks, and calls, it ensures that mentees actively engage with their mentor and maximize the benefits of their relationship.
5. Accountability: Roadmaps also add a layer of accountability to the mentorship experience. By committing to a learning path, they make their progress visible to their mentor and are more likely to achieve tasks or simply follow up if they face any roadblocks.

#1 prototype- the journey of a learning roadmap

#2 Jump Back In- A quick and easy way for mentees to reconnect with their mentors.

How it Works-

Recognizing that mentorship connections can naturally experience periods of inactivity, the “Jump Back In” feature helps bridge these gaps and promote long-term engagement.

It simplifies the entry points for mentees to get back in touch with their mentors over sessions or messages but reducing the number of clicks required to contact or find your previous mentors

Here’s how it empowers mentees-

1. Promoting Effortless Reconnection: “Jump Back In” eliminates the hassle of reconnecting with mentors. It reduces clicks and streamlines the process, encouraging mentees to initiate contact, schedule sessions, or send messages easily.
2. Boosts Ongoing Dialogue: By removing friction from re-engagement, “Jump Back In” helps maintain consistent communication with mentors. This creates ongoing dialogue, which makes asking for support easier.
3. Prioritizes Mentee Action: “Jump Back In” is built on the principle of least effort, encouraging mentees to take initiative. This ultimately, allows mentees to leverage their mentor’s guidance throughout their career journey.

#2 prototype- Jump back in with your top mentors

By minimizing the barriers to re-engagement, this feature ensures that mentorship relationships remain vibrant and beneficial, fostering a culture of continuous support and growth.

#3 Status- A system to help mentees know when and how best to connect with their mentors.

How it Works-

The “Status” feature addresses a core user need — clear communication channels within the mentorship relationship. It allows mentors to dynamically display their availability and preferred communication style (text, video calls). This real-time information makes it easier for mentees to optimize their time and receive support on time

Here’s how it empowers mentees-

1. Contextualized Communication: Enables mentees to tailor their outreach based on a mentor’s availability, potentially avoiding wasted attempts or delays due to missed connections.
2. Optimize Interaction Methods: Mentees can now choose the most appropriate communication method (text for quick updates, video calls for in-depth discussions) based on the mentor’s preference and the nature of their question or update.

This ultimately reduces friction and confusion, leading to a more streamlined and efficient user experience for both mentors and mentees. By fostering informed interaction, “Status” strengthens the foundation for long-term, successful mentorship relationships.

#4 Session Agenda- A tool to help mentees and mentors get more value out of every mentorship session.

How it Works-

A clear agenda ensures that all sessions stay focused on the most important topics. Furthermore, it helps mentees articulate their goals and expectations better.

It acts as a valuable “point of reference” after the session has concluded, helping both parties come back for context. By having a clear agenda, participants can easily revisit key points, decisions made, and action items for future reference.

This not only saves time during the meeting by eliminating the need to repeatedly clarify expectations but also allows both parties to embark on their long-term plan with a more structured and well-defined approach.

Here’s how it empowers mentees-

1. Focus on What Matters: Ensure the discussion stays on track and tackles the most important areas for development.
2. Set the Stage: Get everyone on the same page by outlining the goals and topics to be covered during the session.
3. Flowing Conversation: Guide the discussion with a roadmap, potentially minimizing sidetracks and maximizing time spent on valuable topics.

#5 Personal Checklist- A feature to promote actionable goals and track progress throughout the mentorship journey.

How it Works-

A checklist helps mentees visualize their goals and break them down into manageable tasks. This feature fosters a more organized and focused experience.

Here’s how it empowers mentees-

1. Prioritize Tasks Effectively: By visualizing individual steps, mentees can prioritize and manage their workload efficiently.
2. Track Progress with Clarity: The checklist allows mentees to monitor their progress, ensuring they stay on track toward accomplishing their mentorship goals.
3. Maintain Focus and Direction: With a clear roadmap, mentees can save time on the actions needed to achieve desired outcomes.
4. Simplifies Session Prep: A checklist empowers users to confidently approach their next session, ensuring they’ve covered all the key points beforehand.

✶ Insights and next steps

Future Scope

By empowering mentees and mentors with the tools they need to cultivate long-term, successful relationships, ADPList can become a launchpad for countless individuals seeking professional growth and guidance.

Through this case study project, I explored exciting possibilities for enhancing the ADPList’s mentorship experience. To further strengthen the ADPList as a mentorship program, here are some key areas to target:

1. Boost Chat Engagement: Make chat the go-to communication channel by improving its features and user experience.
2. Public Recognition for Mentees: Allow mentors to publicly acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of their consistent mentees. (This could be through a badge system, mentor shoutouts, or a dedicated recognition platform.)
3. Supporting Mentors: Provide tools and resources for mentors to build their brand within ADPList. This could include profile customization options, showcasing mentor expertise, or highlighting successful mentoring relationships.

Engaging with the concept of mentorship on a practical level proved invaluable in refining this case study. By seeking guidance from my mentor, Arpit Dhir, Head of Design at ADPList, I gained a deeper understanding of the intricacies of successful mentorship relationships. This real-world perspective exposed me to the challenges and opportunities that mentors and mentees face, allowing me to tailor my design solutions to address these specific needs and maximize the platform’s impact on fostering meaningful connections and growth.

Thank you for sticking around!

This case study is a snapshot of my design process. Have a question, feedback, or something you want to say? Find me on LinkedIn, Twitter or at dishtikawatra@gmail.com.

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