PROJECTS
Reinvent business models and service delivery using existing product platforms
Spring 2020
PROBLEM
Need to pivot from in-person to remote service delivery because of the pandemic
SOLUTION
Revamped training delivery and digital platform in just over five weeks
IMPACT
Released three new online-only training offerings
Expanded the content management system for improved asset management
Slowed revenue loss and retained major client contracts
As Senior Experience Designer, I created learning experiences spanning in-person, digital, and on-the-job so learners could grow their capacity for creative problem solving and innovation.
At the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, I stepped into a role as Lead UX and Service Designer, working to rapidly shift our business models and harness technology in the delivery of now-remote service offerings.
CHALLENGE 01
Convert existing platforms for virtual training delivery for service continuity
GOAL: Relieve the human burden of administering new digital learning offerings through automation.
The customer success team were managing hundreds of learners and clients each week with only spreadsheets. Their exhaustion and overwhelm was palpable.
I revamped our custom SaaS web platform, creating new sections, landing pages, and interactive PDFs for online learning—essentially scrapping together a home-grown LMS and event scheduler. This included restructuring the content management system.
In just five weeks, we were able to enroll and deliver three new training offerings. This allowed us to slow revenue losses, retain key customers, and attract new clients while we built a more permanent solution.
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1. Starting with spreadsheets
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2. Establishing requirements
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3. Solution proposal
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4. Prototyping and project management
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5. Completed interfaces for scheduling
CHALLENGE 02
Digitize the digital resource library
LUMA had previously focused almost entirely on in-person, on-paper resources. As soon as the new digital trainings were launched, I shifted to digitizing the resource library. This included creating 80+ digital whiteboard templates to support course experiences and teams who were navigating the shift to distributed, remote work.
CHALLENGE 03
Customize content for Enterprise clients
GOAL: Create dynamic, personalized content as an upsell for Enterprise clients
With in-person training out of the question early in the pandemic, we improved the desirability of LUMA Workplace® to generate new revenue streams. Clients could select custom content most applicable to their workforce and include their branding to increase recognition and user adoption.
Time was of the essence, so we worked as fast as possible—sacrificing the quality of prototypes and design artifacts in favor of simple communication with the development team to build together.
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1. Initial models proposed to leadership
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2. Rapid wireframes and page flows
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3. New content sections and logic
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4. Structure for the revamped content management system
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5. Final customizable interfaces
CHALLENGE 04
Integrate a third-party Learning Management System
As LUMA Workplace® evolved, we determined the complexity of building every feature from scratch outweighed the benefits. We decided to integrate a third-party Learning Management System (LMS) to better manage program scheduling and client customization. This would enable the design and development teams to focus on the features that made LUMA unique, rather than rebuilding something that already exists.
Challenges arose over the desired experience model, which had significant implications for platform selection. The first platform selected met finance objectives, but could not live up to experience and design demands of maintaining the LUMA brand.
A second platform was explored with similar results. Both platforms were open-source, which meant that in theory they were less expensive and more customizable. The problem was that a custom design either required finding a plug-in developed by someone else, or engaging the development team to create them—the exact problem we were trying to solve.
As the urgency of the pandemic took over, we abandoned the LMS platforms. I worked with the development team to design “good enough” solutions that were able to slow the loss of revenue.
ABOUT LUMA Institute
LUMA Institute provides global training in human-centered design, using the LUMA System of Innovation. They translate design thinking for non-designers. We worked to spread human-centered design as a response to wicked problems, including keeping a human-centered approach in a remote, distributed environment.