Komodo Decks
NEW PRODUCT | iOS APP
OVERVIEW
Komodo Decks is a mobile app that allows users to upload presentation decks in various formats so users can record and annotate over their decks to send elsewhere.
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TOOLS
Sketch
InVision
Keynote
Trello
METHODOLOGY
Stakeholder Interviews | User Interviews |
Affinity Mapping | Persona Development |
Journey Mapping | MoSCoW Mapping |
Design Studio | Wireframing | Rapid Prototyping | Usability Testing
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TIMELINE
2.5 Weeks
ROLE
UX Researcher, UX Designer, UI Designer
TEAM
Anna Jolliffe
Jane Hu
01. DISCOVER:
MEET THE CLIENT
Komodo Decks is a mobile application that allows a user to upload presentation decks so they can record themselves speaking over the deck. It also allows users to annotate as they please, over the video recordings. They are currently in the market as a free application but our client had an idea that their application could be used to enter the information marketplace.
THE PROBLEM
Komodo Decks came to our team with the idea that their current mobile application could evolve into an information marketplace where students would be the consumers and instructors would be the supplier. This was based on the hunch our client had that online learning platforms such as Skillshare, Udemy, Udacity and Khan Academy all employed passive learning (ie. passively looking at a video) and therefore weren't as helpful to online learners as they could be.
Our client also believed that all these online learning platforms had a high barrier to entry for instructors, such as requiring a lot of time and effort in terms of video production, creating a syllabus and marketing efforts.
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HYPOTHESES
Based on our clients needs, we came up with two hypotheses, one based on the needs of the student, and one based on the needs of the instructor.
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STUDENTS
We believe that an interactive online learning platform will be a useful feature for busy users who want to learn a subject proficiently, as it will allow them to practice material as they interact with, and receive feedback from instructors.
INSTRUCTORS
We believe that an interactive online learning platform will be a useful feature for experienced content creators as it will earn them some income.
COMPETITIVE MATRIX
In order to start off our research, we decided to see where Komodo Decks would fall into the competitive landscape of online learning platforms. Komodo Decks believed they had a competitive edge as they wanted to enter the online information marketplace because they would provide both active learning for students and have a low barrier to entry for for instructors.
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KOMODO DECKS
USER INTERVIEWS
We interviewed 5 students and 6 instructors to see get a deeper understanding of what is lacking in the current landscape for online learning platforms. We asked questions to really get to the root of both the students and instructors main frustrations.
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KEY INSIGHTS: STUDENTS
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LACK OF DISCIPLINE
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“I don’t practice the assignments from my online course.”
ACCOUNTABILITY MATTERS
“I find it hard to practice material when no one is holding me accountable.”
LACK OF FEEDBACK
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“I find it challenging to learn if I don’t receive feedback on my work.”
LACK OF PRACTICE
“My learning is limited in an online course because I am not asked to apply material to real world situations”
PREMIUM ON INTERACTIVITY
“I’d pay for online courses if there are interactive aspects.”
KEY INSIGHTS: INSTRUCTORS
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CONTENT REQUIRES UPDATES
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“Because technology and research in my field is constantly changing, sometimes content I upload becomes irrelevant six months later.”
TIME CONSTRAINTS
“Requirements set forth by these digital learning platforms take too long to accommodate to after already putting so much work into my lesson.”
I'M PASSIONATE
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“I love sharing my passion and knowledge with budding professionals in my field.”
02. DEFINE:
PERSONA CREATION: STUDENT
PROBLEM STATEMENT: STUDENTS
When pursuing continuous education through an online learning platform, students often feel disengaged and unable to retain the learning material.
After taking an online course, Beatrice does not feel like she can put the material into practice at her job.
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How might we offer Beatrice a way to grasp the course subject matter so that she can confidently apply it to real world situations?
PERSONA CREATION: INSTRUCTOR
PROBLEM STATEMENT: INSTRUCTORS
After posting a course on an online learning platform, instructors often have no way to easily improve upon their material in a timely manner. Interactivity with students is often sparse which makes gleaning feedback difficult, and refining material, if even possible, time-consuming and laborious.
Once he’s published an online course, Diego has no way to refine upon his material in a timely and straightforward manner, after reading the latest developments in his industry.
How might we offer him a way to maintain top quality content without sacrificing too much time and effort?
03. DEVELOP:
FEATURE PRIORITIZATION
With Beatrice and Diego in mind, we went on to facilitate feature prioritization using the MoSCoW method. We created a possible list of features and mapped each of the features anywhere from must-have to won’t-have based on how impactful the feature was and how technically feasible it was as well. Our end results for must have features are as follows:
STUDENT MUST HAVE FEATURES
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Practice Assignments
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Feedback on Assignments
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Messaging
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Progress Bar
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Key Takeaways
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Audio Transcription
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Accountability​​
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INSTRUCTOR MUST HAVE FEATURES
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Active/Archives Courses Dashboard
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Ability to Update Courses Easily
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Industry News
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Student List
PROTOTYPING AND USABILITY TESTING
After we had decided on which must-have features we wanted for our product, we moved on to creating prototypes for both users, starting with low-fidelity (paper), mid-fidelity and finally moving on to high-fidelity.
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After each round of prototype creation, we usability tested it with potential users before moving up in fidelity.
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STUDENT
INSTRUCTOR
04. DELIVER:
VIEW PROTOTYPE: STUDENT
VIEW PROTOTYPE: INSTRUCTOR
CLIENT TESTIMONIAL
"You guys did such an amazing job in such a short period of time - even better than the UX team I hired before. I would love to continue our collaboration after."
- KHANAN GRAUR
FOUNDER OF KOMODO DECKS
FINAL THOUGHTS AND NEXT STEPS
This two week sprint to create the prototype for an interactive learning online platform was an incredible amount of work because of the fact that there were two users. We worked really hard to get everything done on time and our client was really pleased with our work.
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Moving forward however, we would like to run more usability tests, create an on-boarding process and create an instructor payment plan.
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