INITIAL PROBLEMS
The program struggles with low completion rates and poor engagement.
Our capstone project aims to identify the reasons for this low completion rate and develop solutions to improve both completion and learning motivations.
MSF - Personalized tracking dashboard
Improving learner engagement for an online data-tracking learning systems
+32%
Increased Course Completion rates
+30%
Increased Satisfaction Scores
Timeline
Jan. 2024 - Aug. 2024
Team
2 Product Designers
1 Product Lead
1 Product Manger
1 Developer
2 Learning Experience Researchers
What I Did
Lead product designer from concept research to product final launch
Keywords
Culture Globalization, Stakeholders Interviews, Cross-functional teamworks
OVERVIEW
I designed a personalization tracking dashboard to motivate African students to finish certificate courses
The MasterCard Foundation’s Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL), in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), offers an online certificate program for EdTech professionals in Africa.
From January 2024 to August 2024, I collaborated with CMU Africa and the Learning Science Innovator program team to design a personalized course tracking dashboard for African learners. This initiative aimed to enhance course completion rates by boosting learners' motivation to finish their courses.
INITIAL RESEARCH
We tried to understand our users while they have diverse learning goals with shared challenges.
Recognizing gaps in prior lab research, particularly in pre-course surveys, we saw the need for additional user data to fully grasp the challenges learners face during the course.
KEY INSIGHTS
PROBLEM STATEMENTS
How might we increase learner engagement so that more EdTech startups can benefit from the certificate program?
IDEATIONS
We brainstormed ideas and narrowed our focus with Impact vs. Feasibility matrix to ensure productionization.
Recognizing gaps in prior lab research, particularly in pre-course surveys, we saw the need for additional user data to fully grasp the challenges learners face during the course.
Brainstorm sessions with more than 100+ ideas
Priority analysis helped us focus on MVP features
WIREFRAMES
Starting with low-fidelity mockups, we validate core features and gather feedback.
We conducted a mix of user interviews and tests to gather feedback on our mid-fidelity and to better understand learners' specific needs for freedom and agency when creating a personalized plan.
From these ideas and feedback, we can gain clearer design directions, assess whether our ideas address their problems, and understand their reactions to our concepts.
USABILITY TESTING
We identified gaps in digital literacy & cultural context that need to be addressed in our inclusive design approach on the African audience.
To reduce cognitive load and the extra effort required to understand the dashboard, we designed and conducted rapid usability tests to ensure the dashboard is intuitive and easy to navigate.
For the usability testing, we invited 8 users from diverse backgrounds to perform five main tasks that we designed to evaluate the primary flows and features of the dashboard.
ITERATIONS
Identifying accessibility with sources of confusion
We assess whether the dashboard has the potential to motivate users and enhance their learning experience.
FINAL DESIGNS
A personalization tracking dashboard to motivate African students to finish certificate courses
The dashboard displays learning progress, motivating learners to move towards the certificate.
Progress tracking for busy learners with fragmented learning time
The dashboard displays learning progress, motivating learners to move towards the certificate.
Personalized learning path to actively learn by targets
AI recommendation based on learner input to match the most relevant courses
Badge System to provide immediate feedback in a more engaging format
Use badges as micro-credentials and incremental motivation
REAL IMPACT & RECOGNITION
LSFI dashboard brings strong motivation for African start-ups learner from users' feedbacks.
+32%
Increased Course Completion rates
+30%
Increased Satisfaction Scores
REFLECTION
Designs must be mindful of cultural contexts and strive for digital inclusivity & accessibility.
I realized the importance of accessibility, particularly when designing for a targeted group with limited information and varying levels of digital literacy. As designers, we must be mindful of cultural contexts and strive for digital inclusivity.
