Startup UX/UI Redesign
Huddle Up Learning is attempting to change the Online Learning landscape by incorporating meaningful, engaging collaboration between students. The user-submitted course content would feature solution-based, interactive learning that focuses not on “what do you know?” but “what can you DO with what you know?”
The Current State
…is a Proof of Concept built for speed, not for comfort.
The site was built with (nearly) all the features implemented but was in desperate need of UX/UI attention.
Current state course creation page
Current state course data page
UI Redesign
Current state course data page
Current state component voting feature
The redesign involved a floor-to-ceiling redesign of the entire site’s navigation, UI, and copy.
User Research
As research lead, I wanted to better understand users’ current feelings and behaviors around Online Learning Platforms (LMS). Specifically, their feelings around required interaction from within the platform.
A key takeaway was users’ desire for quality connected with other users and the instructor. 40% of users interviewed stated that required feedback “feels contrived” and would like feedback only when they ask for it
It is clear from the interviews that the key is quality engagement that doesn’t feel forced but, rather, is collaborative and synchronous and retains the all-important human connection.
“Collaboration must go beyond required, forced engagement to meaningful and intentional interactions.”
The Big Pivot
Huddle Up Learning discovered several use cases during the early pilots and user interviews. What started as an LMS shifted to a workplace problem-solving tool, community communication and collaboration tool, and others. In the fall of 2021, the Huddle Up team discovered an additional opportunity: University admissions departments were desperate to attract new applicants in a post-Covid environment where college enrollment was shrinking. Huddle Up approached several universities offering courses on our platform as a way to connect potential students with each other, and the staff. Our goal was to create a sense of community and connectedness with the university and its incoming students by offering free courses on navigating college life, support for first-generation college students, and more. We conducted several interviews with admissions counselors who were all thrilled at the idea of being able to connect with prospective and incoming students on a level beyond a phone call, or a campus visit.