Availability-Aware Mentor Match
Design a mentorship matching flow that balances learning goals, lived experience, boundaries, and compatible schedules.
The brief
Understand the problem
Background
Mentor directories often overemphasize popularity while hiding actual capacity, session format, and topics a mentor will not cover. Good matching also needs a respectful decline path.
User context
Harper is moving into product operations and can meet every second Tuesday evening. She wants a mentor with transition experience, not a general career celebrity.
Product problem
Mentees need explainable matches that fit practical constraints, while mentors need control over capacity and requests.
Objective
Create goal intake, match explanation, availability coordination, and mutual agreement for a six-week mentorship.
What to design
Define the experience
Required experience
- Define goals, schedule, format, and boundaries
- Compare a small set of explained matches
- Request a compatible recurring time
- Agree on scope or receive a useful decline
Screens and states
- Mentorship setup
- Match comparison
- Mentor profile and availability
- Mentorship agreement
Core user flow
Follow the critical path
- 01
Harper selects transition planning and Tuesday evenings
- 02
Three matches explain relevant experience and schedule overlap
- 03
She sends a focused request to one mentor
- 04
They agree on three sessions, communication limits, and a review date
Product rules
Requirements and constraints
Requirements
- Explain matches through goals, experience, availability, language, and format
- Display current capacity and next available start
- Let mentors decline without exposing private reasons
- Set expectations for contact, confidentiality, cancellation, and ending the match
Constraints
- A mentor match cannot promise a job outcome
- Sensitive identity preferences require consent and limited visibility
- Off-platform contact remains hidden until mutual agreement
Reality check
States worth considering
Finish line
What to deliver
- Four responsive screens covering explainable match through mutual agreement
Optional direction
Visual resources
Use these as a starting constraint if you want one. They are not part of the required solution.