Design a parent-facing experience for families of Scaler School of Technology students.

Introduction

Scaler School of Technology (SST) is Scaler's four-year, residential undergraduate program in computer science in Bengaluru, positioned as an industry-led alternative to traditional engineering colleges. In 2026 Scaler also announced an undergraduate program in AI and Business. For families, choosing SST is a big, unconventional bet: they are paying several lakh rupees a year for a newer institution instead of a familiar IIT, NIT or private university. Parents want reassurance, but students are adults who want independence. The prompt asks us to design a parent-facing experience for SST families. This is a hard design problem because it has three stakeholders with partly conflicting needs: parents, students and the school. I'll clarify, justify, segment, map pain points, design solutions and define metrics.

Step 1

Clarify Questions (3 minutes)

• What is the main business goal: admissions conversion, retention, or reputation?

• Why it matters: A tool to reassure prospective parents differs from one serving current families.
• Hypothetical answer: Primarily retention and satisfaction of current families, with referrals as a secondary benefit.
• Impact: We design for enrolled students' families, not prospective ones.

• What data can be shared with parents?

• Why it matters: Students are mostly over 18; privacy and consent matter legally and ethically.
• Hypothetical answer: Only with student consent, with granular controls.
• Impact: Consent is a core part of the design, not an afterthought.

• What channels do parents use?

• Hypothetical answer: WhatsApp heavily, some email, few use dedicated apps; many prefer Hindi or regional languages.
• Impact: Design must meet parents where they are.

• Constraints?

• Hypothetical answer: Small team, six months, must integrate with existing student learning systems.
• Impact: Prefer lightweight surfaces over a full new app.

Propose the Goal

Give SST parents timely, meaningful confidence in their child's progress and the school's outcomes, while respecting student autonomy and privacy.

Define the Scope

In scope: consented progress summaries, milestone updates, school communications and a support channel for current SST families. Out of scope: fee payments, admissions marketing and real-time attendance tracking.