PROJECT CHALLENGE: The core topic of the following case study is self-development, the definition of which was established during the interviews with ten potential users. The reason for this was that the product was intended, in principle, for millennials, and the very first step was to define what the target users meant by the term of "self-development".
FOR WHOM: The solution is intended for people with work experience, personal financial resources, and a need for assistance or support in defining and pursuing personal growth. By definition, the primary audience is millennials aged 24 to 38.
GOAL: The main goal of the service is to support people in their self-development endeavors or pursuit of their interests, and to assist them in maintaining their progress. The purpose is to create a product that will engage users and maintain their motivation at a high level.
Using the Design Thinking method and the double diamond methodology at the ideation stage was a part of my design process.
User research
We conducted interviews with our target group to gather valuable insights and shape our product. The research involved in-depth interviews, card sorting, and a Slider Scale Questionnaire. The interviews followed a predetermined scenario and were conducted in separate rooms. We documented the process using handwritten notes and voice recordings. User research was conducted as part of the User Experience studies at the SWPS University.
We identified several areas of focus for our research and developed interview scenarios accordingly. Our goals were to understand what is most important to our users, how they define "self-development" and which areas they associate with it, what they prioritize during the learning process, and what obstacles they face. Each interview scenario was concluded with a summary of the main findings, which helped us to identify the most important needs and pain points.
The research indicates that users exhibit a range of motivational behaviors, with internal motivation focused on growth and external incentives from social and environmental feedback being the most dominant. It is important to note that growth is directly linked to work, with users seeking to improve their financial and professional conditions. This suggests that positive motivation, such as hope, is the prevailing force. Therefore, it can be assumed that users are already motivated to start learning using the website. The main objective of the product is to create an environment that fosters and showcases abilities, reinforces the meaning of tasks, and provides support for learning maintenance.
The research showed such problems during learning as - the problem with finding the right amount of time for developmental activities, the problem with maintaining the right motivation to act, maintaining discipline and information overload when learning with the help of the Internet, the lack of certainty whether the materials found are adequate to the needs.
Two personas were created based on the research outcome, and they served as a way of visualizing the user's problems and pains. Personas provide the most useful information about their frustrations and motivations. Second, their objectives and the technologies they employ are critical. All our respondents indicated that they use platforms such as Facebook, linkedin, etc. and YouTube is the main source of knowledge for them. The extensive use of social media allows us to identify patterns in user behavior.
Define
INSPIRATION: prioritizing knowledge, the capacity to use an organized source of information on potential growth pathways (courses, training, the most essential knowledge), including mentors' expertise.
NETWORKING: the possibility of researching labor market trends, getting to know potential employees.
MOTIVATION: comes from receiving comments and making touch with a mentors and other users.
FREEDOM: the ability to customize products and services to the needs and interests of the user.
To define the required functionalities and solutions, I created a Value Proposition Canvas. Based on the previously created personas, I detailed the pain points and goals of the users.
The portal's main goal is to build a community of eager-to-learn users and mentors. One of the unique features of the portal will be the ability to create educational groups. Groups of no more than five people will be formed to bring together individuals with similar levels of advancement in a particular field. Groups can be created both bottom-up by users and top-down by mentors. The goal of the groups is to increase participant involvement while also lowering the cost of mentoring services. By default, the cost of mentoring will be distributed among group members and will be lower than it would be during typical 1-on-1 mentoring. Creating and participating in a class/group is free, but mentoring is paid if the group chooses to use it. If a user prefers to learn on their own, they can access all paid and free materials created by mentors, as well as mentoring services, through the website.
To delve a bit deeper into details, organize information, and outline functionalities, the number of steps, etc., I've created a User Story Mapping focusing on the steps in the main user path. The subsequent stages of the project revolve around this main path.
Ideation
The response to user needs, wanting to improve or learn new skills., is a platform, reconciling the functionalities characteristic of social media with educational websites. The heart of the service is founded on a couple values, the most important of which are as follows:
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT: is a primary benefit of the service, which is accomplished through a learning process in the subject of the user's choice, aided by mentorship, accessible courses, or themed groupes known as classes. Its standout feature is the social media-like timeline, fostering the sharing of successes and progress. Networking with other users and mentors, as well as their feedback, is instrumental in cultivating good habits and engagement towards achieving goals.
ENGAGEMENT: second significant value is engagement, which is executed through users' interest, obtaining feedback from other users, with a focus on input from possible employers and principals. One of the service's features allows the user to see who has seen his profile. By being aware that data and details about the learning process are available to future employers user is encouraged to maintain motivated for consistent development.
MOTIVATION: Through the feedback obtained, the liveliness of the website, and the potential of getting satisfaction from its activities on it, the user is inspired to preserve the habits of continued education. He can become a mentor himself after gaining a certain level of trust and confirming his knowledge. This translates into financial advantages.
The information architecture combines task-oriented and object-oriented categorization. The navigation follows a deep structure to accommodate future category expansion. Information is displayed using the principle of disclosure to provide relevant information to users. User Stories were utilized to design the user dashboard navigation. Thematic categories (Education, Network, Rest) with four easily learnable elements were implemented. The service caters to two user types (students and mentors) with differing dashboards in terms of taxonomy and functionalities.
WIREFLOW NO.1:The user enters the website and learns about its possibilities by reading the content on the landing page. He clicks the "create account" button, and he is routed to a profile creation window. He sees three account creation options, clicks the button that allows him to create an account for the individual who wants to study. He inputs his information, selects a password, and verifies it. The user is taken to a screen where he is asked whether he wants to take a test that will determine his educational path. After creating an account, the user is directed to the user's dashboard.
"As a new user, I want to find out what possibilities the service offers"
"As a new user, I want to create an account"
WIREFLOW NO.2: The user navigates to the website and logs in with his username and password. It is forwarded to the user dashboard. The user navigates to the "my courses" tab. If no courses have been purchased, he clicks the "search courses" button, which takes him to the course finder. He types in the phrase he's looking for, finds the best course, and makes a purchase.
"As logged in user, I want to start learning"
"As a logged in user, I want to find a suitable course for me"
WIREFLOW NO.3: The user navigates to his dashboard. When he clicks the'my mentors' tab, he is taken to the mentors search engine. He searches for the phrase he's looking for, finds the mentor, and fills out his profile. On the mentor's profile, he selects the'schedule' tab and searches for a free consultation date. He finds the right date and makes a reservation. After a while, he receives a confirmation of the consultation date from the mentor.
"As a logged in user, I want to find consultations on a topic that interests me."
"As a logged in user, I want to find, find a suitable mentor"
Design
The landing page design incorporates all of the standard website elements, with a strong emphasis on verifying mentors and providing access to searching for educational paths in two ways (search engine and tab in global navigation).
The user receives a dashboard, which serves as a platform for contacting other users, mentors, saving courses and classes, viewing statistics, planning activities, and so on.
Mentor profiles include valuable information about the mentor along with course offerings and his schedule, including free slots for consultations. The mentor's badges, which inform the user about the mentor's activity, involvement, and opinions about him, are an important element of the design.
The "schedule" tab allows you to view the mentor's schedule, including all his planned activities on the portal. It also allows you to find and book consultations with him, as well as groups he runs.
The search engine allows finding courses, mentors and groups. The functionality allows you to show the results of only one of the domains on the screen at the same time. This means that the search phrase's results will be a collection of courses, mentors, or groups. The user can switch between fields without having to re-enter the phrase into the search engine.
The search engine allows to find:
If the user want to reach out to people who are not on his friends list, he can publish a thread on the website's discussion forum. The information architecture of the forum is clear and simple, with the forum separated into four main areas and subsections. Aside from providing instructional and social value, the forum also contributes to the website's gamification.
A thread can be started directly on the discussion forum, which can be accessed via the global navigation, or from the user's dashboard, via the "My Threads" tab. There, the user can also track his threads and threads that he has marked as watched collectively.
User can communicate with other users via chat. Building a network of friends with similar interests is aimed at encouraging the user to actively use the website. The user can add other users via the "follow" button on other social media.
Students learn through the viewing of video courses and participation in classes with a mentor.
