StudyCoach
OVERVIEW:
LearnCoach aimed to expand its offerings by developing a new product that addressed existing gaps in the market, tailored to meet the needs and aspirations of New Zealand high school students in achieving their academic goals.
GOAL:
To create a new product on LearnCoach that focuses on allowing students to get personalised, guided studies that they can access anytime, anywhere.
COMPANY:
LearnCoach - An online learning platform tailored for New Zealand high school students and teachers, offering resources to support the NCEA curriculum.
ROLE:
Lead Product Designer - Project management, co-product ownership, user research, ideation, visual design, prototyping, user testing and cross-functional collaboration.
User Research:
I started by focusing on the core elements - who, what, why, and desired outcomes - to shape the product's foundation and vision.
Why?
There is a gap in the online education market for tailored guidance and learning to support students' studies.
Who is the product targeted at?
• Students feeling stuck, frustrated, or uncertain about how to study or improve their performance.
• Parents who want to help but struggle to provide the necessary study support for their children.
Pain points identified:
• Lack of targeted, specific learning.
• Absence of personalised guidance in the market.
Desired outcome:
• Customised learning that emphasises guidance and personalisation.
Creating the High-Level Flow:
From the user research I conducted, I then collaborated with the CEO and developer to perform in-depth market research, drawing inspiration from existing products to shape the vision of Study Coach.
Leveraging years of student feedback to identify key pain points and desired features for the platform, I ran a focused brainstorming session to establish the high-level structure of Study Coach through a sitemap.
Creating the Designs (Wireframe and Mockups):
The research and sitemap provided a foundation to allow me to create ideas and flows. This process was highly collaborative, with frequent input from internal stakeholders, including developers, to ensure technical feasibility.
Testing:
After creating the initial mockups, I then planned and executed the first round of user testing with students to validate that the flow was:
• Easy to follow
• Simple and seamless
• Visually engaging
Iteration:
The user tests led to an iterative process of brainstorming, wireframing, and mockups, contributing to the creation of the first version for release. Using the Design Council's Double Diamond process, I cycled through the Develop and Design stages, which involved:
• Planning and facilitating multiple brainstorming sessions
• Wireframing
• Creating low-fidelity and high-fidelity mockups
• Conducting 10+ user tests
• Analysing behaviors and gathering actionable insights
This ongoing process allowed for continuous refinement of the design, ensuring alignment with the core values.
Product Design Cycle:
During the Develop and Design stages, I used a Product Design cycle to quickly identify and address root problems from user test data. By categorising issues, I was able to optimise the product efficiently, resolving recurring problems across data sets without making high-level changes. This iterative approach, applied over several months, helped track and measure the effectiveness of optimisations for Study Coach’s initial release.
A key example of success was recognising that students valued personalised help anytime, anywhere. Collaborating with the developer, we identified opportunities to integrate AI, creating a significant growth opportunity and enhancing StudyCoach's value.
A/B Testing:
In the Delivery phase, I conducted A/B tests to optimise student flows, particularly around trial signups and onboarding. These tests provided valuable insights into high-conversion flows and identified the most valued pages, helping refine the platform for release. Each test typically ran for 2+ weeks, monitored by student interaction levels.
Delivery:
After months of testing and iterations, the product passed the quality assurance check based on the requirements I created and tested against. It was then ready for release.
LearnCoach aimed to increase conversion rates by at least 5% (from LearnCoach Premium to StudyCoach members - the top tier plan), and StudyCoach exceeded this target, achieving a 10% increase in the conversion of LearnCoach Premium users to StudyCoach. This success marked a significant achievement for the organisation and, with this being just the first version, opened up numerous opportunities for future development.
The final product:
Conclusion:
StudyCoach is a platform that offers personalised, AI-guided study support, accessible anytime, anywhere. It provides students with study materials, goal-setting tools, immediate assistance from the Coach, and a variety of study tips and hacks. With Study Coach, students can effectively reach their academic goals and enhance their learning at their own pace.
Skills gained:
- Project Management
- UX/UI Design
- Product Design
- Copywriting
- QA
- Communication
- Ideating & Conceptualising
- User testing
