A student information system that improves compliance admin

Our Work _

Open Learning Technology

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Client

Open Learning Technology

Industry

Education

Services

UX, Product management, Front end, Web app

We produced a concept design for education technology company OLTech to help them reimagine their student information system (SIS). The goal was to help them realign it with the needs of their niche target market of smaller educational institutions. Our final solution strategy demonstrated the viability of the end product by taking into account customer needs, required UX, technical feasibility, and costs.

The Situation

eVision is a sophisticated, web-based student administration system developed by Open Learning Technology (OLTech), a subsidiary of Kagiso Capital. It delivers technology to supplement and enhance education.

eVision caters to any educational programme, facilitating student lifecycle management and storing all students’ administrative and academic data and records. The system was initially designed and built to serve large universities in South Africa. However, over the last two decades, their user base transformed into smaller institutions registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) that offer accredited courses, certificates, diplomas and other qualifications. OLTech also ensures that these institutions adhere to the DHET’s requirements and regulations. This change in market focus meant the platform had to be adapted to meet the needs of a different user base. The software technology used to build the eVision platform had also become outdated, and the user interface needed a redesign.

The Objectives

Polymorph was brought on board to develop a product plan and step-by-step implementation roadmap that would:

Adapt the eVision platform to meet the needs of the new user base

Update the software technology previously used

Redesign the user interface

Coordinate student and institutional record migration with zero client disruptions

The Challenges

We needed to understand how eVision fits into the overall educational software ecosystem, where learning institutions are its key target market. This meant reimagining eVision as a student information system (SIS) rather than a learning management system (LMS). We needed to ensure that institutions could adhere to compliance regulations as efficiently as possible, freeing up their time to provide quality education.

The Solution

Polymorph managed the combined team of developers. And while the OLTech team worked on the back-end architecture, we developed the front end in line with the back-end architecture, keeping user experience (UX) best practices in mind.

We then shifted to the migration process because specific functionalities that rely on both the front and back end must be developed first. Automated user testing was also done to ensure all records were migrated correctly.

The Results

After evaluating the concept design and proposed plan to build the new student information system and take it to market, the OLTech board decided to move to the development phase. The final product will include developing a high-level reporting suite using intelligent dashboards and offering an agile solution that can adapt to expand into the market.

Going Forward

Ultimately, OLTech aims to differentiate itself by, first, providing a system that can be tailored to address clients’ specific needs. And second, by offering best-of-breed after-sales service. We rolled out the new system in the first quarter of 2022.

CUSTOMER TESTIMONIAL

“Taking on a project of this magnitude, especially when looking at managing short-term risks and growing market share at the same time, can be challenging. We could not have picked a better partner than Polymorph for this journey. Polymorph produced a concept design plan that was clear and focused on how OLTech should realign their development strategy for best business growth. They are currently working on the next phase of the project after the funding was approved based on the concept plan and we are not only excited to see what they come up with but also looking forward to collaborating with them closely on future projects"

Rian Breed

Chief Executive Officer@OLTech