Timeline
Research: 1 weeks
Design: 2 weeks
Testing: 1 week
Iterations: 1 week
Overall: 5 weeks
Main Project Goal
To design a comprehensive and user-centric online platform that streamlines skill development and training management, ensuring a seamless experience for trainees, trainers, and administrators.
Background
Simplzone Academy addresses the growing need for upskilling and reskilling by offering an integrated platform for personalized learning, progress tracking, and centralized training management. Designed for trainees, trainers, and administrators, it empowers individuals to achieve career goals and helps organizations build a skilled workforce. By bridging traditional education and modern workforce needs, Simplzone Academy delivers an engaging, flexible, and impactful learning experience.
Challenge
This project was done while I was working at Simplzone, and I had 5 weeks to solve a real design problem. The challenge was to create an easy-to-use platform for Simplzone Academy that helps trainees, trainers, and administrators manage learning and training. The goal was to design a simple and effective system that supports personalized learning, progress tracking, and management tools in a clear and user-friendly way.
Solution
Design Process
Discovery
Usability Review
During my research process, I identified key challenges in the user journey for Simplzone Academy. Although the platform aimed to provide a seamless experience for trainees, trainers, and administrators, certain features were not as intuitive as they could be. Navigation between training modules, tracking progress, and managing administrative tasks often required additional effort, which could impact user engagement and satisfaction.
To address this, I conducted a usability review to understand the pain points from the users’ perspective. This review helped me prioritize improvements, such as streamlining navigation, simplifying progress tracking, and ensuring administrative tools were easy to use. The goal of this focused review was to enhance the overall usability and deliver a more intuitive and user-friendly experience for all stakeholders.
Secondary Research
To better understand the landscape of online learning platforms and the factors that influence user engagement, I conducted secondary research to gather insights within a limited timeframe. My focus was on studying existing reports and case studies related to digital learning platforms and user behavior in skill development.
I explored findings from open research studies, including reports from the eLearning industry and LinkedIn Learning. Here’s what I discovered:
Personalization and flexibility are key drivers of user engagement in online learning platforms.
Platforms that incorporate gamification, progress tracking, and interactive features see higher completion rates among learners.
Millennials and Gen Z are the primary audience for digital learning, with a strong preference for platforms that align with their career goals and offer a mobile-first experience.
Organizations increasingly invest in centralized training platforms to upskill their workforce, creating opportunities for platforms like Simplzone Academy.
These insights informed the design approach for Simplzone Academy, ensuring the platform met both user expectations and market needs.
Simplzone Academy's Segmentation and Targeting Strategy
According to industry insights and research, Simplzone Academy targets the following key audience segments to maximize its impact in the online learning space:
Competitive Analysis
With the secondary research completed, I moved on to conducting a competitive analysis to identify how other online learning platforms address user needs, engagement, and learning outcomes. The goal was to understand their features, navigation flows, and overall usability to improve Simplzone Academy. I analyzed both direct competitors, such as Coursera and LinkedIn Learning, and indirect competitors, like Khan Academy and Udemy.
My focus areas included:
Onboarding Process: How these platforms onboard new users and introduce them to their features.
Content Delivery: The structure of their courses, use of multimedia, and interactive elements to enhance learning.
Progress Tracking: How they enable learners to track their goals, progress, and achievements.
Usability and Navigation: The intuitiveness of their user interfaces and the steps required to access specific features.
Engagement Techniques: Incorporation of gamification, quizzes, certificates, and community engagement to retain learners.
This analysis provided valuable insights into best practices and common pitfalls in the e-learning industry, enabling me to identify opportunities to make Simplzone Academy more competitive and user-friendly without requiring time-consuming user interviews.
After analyzing the competitors, I found the following insights for the e-learning platform market:
Coursera offers high-quality, university-backed courses and certifications. However, the platform can feel overwhelming for users due to its extensive catalog, and the lack of interactive, instructor-led sessions limits engagement opportunities.
LinkedIn Learning excels at providing personalized course recommendations based on user profiles and career goals. However, its content can be too generalized for advanced learners, and it lacks accredited certifications that hold weight in formal career advancement.
Udemy has a vast and affordable library of courses, making it a popular choice for learners on a budget. However, the inconsistent quality of courses due to its open instructor model and the lack of structured learning paths can hinder learners looking for more guided progress.
These findings highlight opportunities for Simplzone Academy to:
Offer structured learning paths that provide clear goals and milestones for learners.
Ensure consistent, high-quality content by working with verified educators and industry experts.
Incorporate interactive features, such as live sessions and collaborative tools to create a more engaging and effective learning experience.
User Flow
After gathering insights from the usability review, secondary research, and competitive analysis, I began designing the user flow for Simplzone Academy. The goal was to create a streamlined experience for trainees, trainers, and administrators, ensuring easy access to essential features like course enrollment, progress tracking, and assessment management.
Definition
Sketches
Wireframes
Option 1: Simplified Navigation Bar
For the first option, I explored incorporating key features such as "My Courses," "Explore Courses," and "Progress Tracker" directly into the navigation bar. This approach aimed to make these features easily accessible to trainees. However, after receiving feedback, I realized that adding too many items to the navigation bar could overwhelm users, and not all features (e.g., detailed analytics for administrators) are essential for the primary navigation. A more selective and role-based approach to navigation would be ideal.
Option 2: Personalized Dashboard Inspired by LinkedIn Learning
For the second option, I created a personalized dashboard similar to LinkedIn Learning. This dashboard displays tailored course recommendations, quick access to ongoing courses, and milestones to encourage user engagement. While this approach effectively highlights progress and suggestions, feedback revealed that adding features like community forums or collaborative tools might make the platform more interactive and engaging.
Wireflow
Once I chose one of the wireframes , I created a Wireflow to visualize and understand the user journey through the new feature. This allowed me to to improve my initial wireframes as it provided a comprehensive view of the entire user flow, highlighting areas that needed refinement or optimization.
Design
Usability Testing
Ideally, I would have tested the prototype with 5 users, but due to time constraints, I conducted usability testing with 4 users. The tests were a mix of remote and in-person sessions with participants aged 22-35, aligning with Simplzone Academy's target audience of Millennials and Gen Z, who are more inclined toward online learning platforms.
During usability testing, I focused on the following key aspects:
Learning if users can easily navigate through the platform and find their courses.
Understanding if users can quickly locate and enroll in new courses or learning paths.
Assessing if the progress tracking features are intuitive and clear to follow.
Evaluating if trainers can easily create and manage courses with minimal effort.
Identifying any pain points or barriers users might face during their interaction with the platform.
This testing phase provided valuable insights that guided the refinement of the prototype, ensuring a smoother and more user-friendly experience for all stakeholders.
Usability Test Findings
Navigation: Clear pathways like "Explore Courses" and "Trainee Progress" were intuitive, but bookmarks in long bootcamp courses could improve motivation.
Assessment Fairness: Adding "Shuffle Questions" ensures fairness and enhances assessment integrity.
Skill-Based Certification: Trainers valued certificates tied to real skill achievements over passive course completion.
Iterations
Final Design
The design of Simplzone Academy transformed it into a user-friendly and effective platform for both trainees and trainers. By addressing key usability challenges and incorporating feedback, the platform now delivers a seamless learning experience that truly validates skill development. This project highlights the importance of iterative design and user-centric research in creating impactful digital solutions.
