Switch is a learning platform that aims to upskill employees in this period of digital transformation. Topics such as data analytics, cybersecurity, and ongoing digital initiatives are introduced in short-form content to make it engaging and easily digestible for users. Additionally, users can test their understanding by taking on challenges that earn them points and a placing on the leaderboard.
CASE STUDY - 2019
Upskilling Digital Proficiency
My Role
Research
Wireframing
Prototyping
User Testing
Team
Fjord Singapore
THE CHALLENGE
Redesign Switch to make the application more delightful and intuitive
Glimpse into the Process
After 2 years of daily publishing, the content had outgrown the original frame and users found it increasingly hard to find the content. With an ever-growing content, the platform needed a reboot. This included fixing the navigation and content structure, refreshing the visuals and aligning the experience for mobile, tablet and desktop.
CARD SORTING
To understand users’ mental models, an open card sort was conducted for both existing features and content. Coming from different business units, management levels and usage of the application, a total of 25 people participated in the card sorting exercise.
We realized that users who were less familiar with the application (and some who were) made a distinction between learning and testing content, giving the latter its category with labels like "test time” or “brainteasers”. Previously, there was no clear segregation between the content types.
Features card sorting
THE VISUALS
As part of the card sorting exercise, we also asked the participants to give us their candid thoughts on what Switch meant to them and what values it conveyed. A separate brand exercise was also conducted with upper management to describe what Switch is and what it should be. Based on all the sessions we’ve conducted, and our own interpretations, we came up with three directions, inspired primarily by the topic of learning. This was later distilled down to a single visual direction with further input from the product owner.
Chosen visual direction for Switch
PROTOTYPING
Working as a team, paper prototypes were a quick way of bouncing ideas off each other, testing initial flows and concepts. This helped the team to move faster as everyone was aligned in what we were trying to accomplish during the sprint. Throughout this time, the designs were constantly printed out for others to comment and give feedback.
Quick and dirty prototypes
USER TESTING
Every 3 weeks, these prototypes were shown to users to test and gather feedback on the new changes. In the hour-long sessions, users were provided with a serious of tasks (E.g. Complete the lesson and leave a comment). Based on their actions, questions were posed to better understand their thought processes and how they would improve the current design.
Testing out the new designs
The Design
From mobile to tablet to desktop, we had to ensure the experience was standardized. This meant optimizing the experience for each device while taking into consideration asset management, device performance and time for development.
To our surprise, the leaderboard was very popular and users made it a habit to learn every day to climb up the leaderboard. However, many users also felt deflated as the top learners were seemingly out of reach. Therefore, seasonal and event leaderboards were added to foster healthy competition while giving every user a fair chance to compete with each other.
Many of the leaders were interested to see the engagement with the platform. Therefore, a dashboard view was created within PowerBI. The interface was designed to show a summary of all key data points on a single desktop screen. Thus in a glance, the leaders could have an overall picture of their respective departments with the option to dive deeper if they wanted to.