Developed an MVP for an online learning platform.
Role
Product Designer
Company
Academy
Skills
UX/UI, Product, Strategy, Design
Overview
Challenges and goals
A comprehensive market and competitor analysis was needed to assess the product's viability and to allow me to craft a prototype concept. The prototype needed to communicate the core ideas and allow a business development team to engage confidently with partners and investors. As well as the conceptualising and prototyping, I would also need to identify who the target audience was and what our route to market to them could be.
Deliverables
Design System
Develop a robust design system that establishes clear rules, defines variables and ensures a consistent visual language throughout
Components
Create a comprehensive library of reusable components to streamline the subsequent design and development processes
Branding
Craft a distinctive logo and cohesive brand identity that effectively captures the essence of the project
Iconography
Design a set of icons to enhance the project’s visual communication and overall aesthetics
Research
Conduct thorough market and competitor analysis to validate the product's direction and inform strategic decision-making
Approach
As the MVP was only a proof of concept, the focus was on the first half of the design and UX cycle: Discover, Define, and Ideate.
Discovery phase
During discovery, comprehensive market research was conducted to assess competitors, search volumes, audience demographics, market size and business requirements. This in-depth analysis revealed several unique insights for the product:
User profile
The typical user is a creative professional with varying skill levels and academic backgrounds. Consequently, courses had to be highly accessible and diverse. This meant that robust course search, selection and recommendation functions were essential.
Content consumption
Recognising that creatives are driven by constantly moving on to "the next big thing", courses needed to be broken down into short modules with engaging videos and interactive elements, complemented by clear milestones and a reward structure.
Device agnostic and cost efficiency
Our target audience (primarily individuals aged 21-34) values solutions that work seamlessly across devices and are financially accessible - this would be a unique selling point compared to our competitors.
MVP focus
Given the proof-of-concept nature, it was vital to balance development investment against product scope, especially for a lean first iteration.
Defining the product vision
In an in-house workshop, the team gathered to list requirements and desired features. To clearly outline the MVP, I employed a priority framework approach that assessed departmental resources, user needs and potential return on investment. This exercise also laid the foundation for a product backlog and earmarked future enhancements.
Prototyping and iteration
Low-fidelity wireframes were rapidly developed and refined through feedback workshops involving stakeholders and a select group of potential users. This iterative process illuminated key pain points and sharpened our understanding of business and user goals.
Engagement and retention
While the simplicity of short, modular courses was well received, customer retention emerged as a challenge. Various business models were deliberated, including pay-per-course and an all-access subscription. Ultimately, we adopted the subscription model. Enhanced features such as bookmarking, the ability to annotate course materials and videos, multi-staged courses, partner rewards, and a goal-oriented engagement approach were implemented to encourage long-term retention and platform stickiness.
Ideation and high-fidelity prototyping
The ideate phase culminated in the creation of high-fidelity prototypes, with a dual focus: rapidly realising an MVP prototype to garner traction and investment while also establishing the groundwork for a comprehensive design system. This system, along with a library of components, was built to facilitate a seamless handover to the engineering team using their existing frameworks.
