MADE TO WORK
DESIGNATION LABS wanted to grow their online learning service. Our team was asked to recommend improvements by studying and redesigning another service - Lynda.com (a learning platform owned by LinkedIn) - to better link learning and career development.
We set out to understand possible product opportunities related to LinkedIn’s aquisition of Lynda.com, how people grow or change their careers, and how Lynda.com helped in those goals.
Research Plan
25-40
User Average Age
$107 B
E-learning Market
Career advancement is more common reason than career switching
Certification
1
Interactivity
2
linkedIn Integration
3
We interviewed 20 users of Lynda.com and other MOOCS to understand attitudes, goals, and frustrations of online learning.
We discovered two main groups of MOOC users - those casually planning their careers, and those who are urgently taking steps towards a career change.
Lynda.com already caters to the casual career planner. Solving for the constrained careers switcher will advance the platform for both major audiences.
Users need to always be aware of their real-world skill level and be able to show the skills they've gained online in a way which demonstrates credibility and competence to employers.
1. Intuitive Interface - clarifies navigation
2. Low Maintenance Model - integrating with current business
3. Personalized Feel - user feels like app knows their progress
4. Credibility with Employers - key to bridging gap
5. Integration with LinkedIn - key to synergy
The most strategic solution is partnering with companies on LinkedIn to provide projects where advanced users can submit a digital artifact, and a recruiter gives feedback and suggestions for employability.
Beginner users can know what the mastery bar is they would need to reach, which motivates learning
Advanced/frequent users can have clear direction to improve employability
All users can feel confident of both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards of their engagement
Aligned with hands-off model of Lynda
New business opportunities with sponsor companies
New audience of career switchers can engage with the platform
Grow engagement with LinkedIn's resume and job functions
Search for projects by topic only
Search results sorted by relevance
Pre-project screener to establish base skill level
Constant access to project details
Upload project files with error states
See status of response when submiting files
Evaluation broken down by skills used
Ability to see top submissions to compare
Recommended next steps towards employability
After finalizing the design and receiving a revised style guide from our UI designer emphasizing professionality, friendliness, and relevance, I built high a fidelity mockup and prototype.
Prototype
We presented our designs to DESIGNATION, who subsequently used much of our research and ideas to shape their own online learning experience, resulting in vastly increased student satisfaction rates.
Expand beyond limited initial categories as user base grows.
Add projects for beginners once successful at serving experienced users.
Incorporate chat so recruiters can talk to students directly after project.
After market success, modify LinkedIn Jobs feature so any recruiter can post project.
