MADE TO WORK
In early 2015, LinkedIn aquired Lynda.com for $1.5B. Because of this aquisition, the mission of Lynda.com is changing to better align with its new parent company’s vision to “unite the workers of the world”.
Our team was given the task of exploring ways to develop the platform in a way that improves how it works, integrates tightly with LinkedIn, and possibly offers new products that enhances the platform’s value. This exploration was done to help our client, DESIGNATION, explore ways of enhancing their own digital education product.
We set out to understand what product opportunities there were because of LinkedIn’s aquisition, how people usually go about growing or changing their careers, and how effective Lynda.com was at helping people reach those goals.
Research Plan
Competitive Analysis
Domain Research
Market Survey
Task Analysis
User Interviews
After doing research on the field of online learning, we needed to understand how others were already trying to solve the problem. We studied the features of the top paid services.
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Most services excel at allowing users to practice skills across devices, but don't incorporating human interactivity or connection with the job search process
We discovered in our research of Lynda.com and other online platforms that there were two main groups of users - those casually planning their careers, and those who are urgently taking steps towards a career change.
Casual Career Planner
Wants to feel marketable in his field down the line
Lack of interactivity make it hard to finish courses
primarily uses a laptop in learning
Constrained Career Switcher
Wants to show that she knows her skills
needs constant feedback from instructors about progress
demotivated to continue because result of learning isn’t clear
Lynda.com already caters to the casual career planner in its format. An amazing oppportunity is found in focusing on people like Alex who have limited resources but high motivation to switch careers.
Less sense of progress towards employability
Less motivation to continue learning
As we understood more about users, we discovered that users needed a way 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.
We propose partnering with companies on LinkedIn's network to provide mock projects based on skill needs. Users filtered for more advanced skills can join a project in which they make a digital artifact they submit for evaluation. An evaluator at the sponsor company gives feedback and next steps toward 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
We then studied the architecture of the current Lynda.com site to understand how users were navigating the service now and how to integrate our solution into the current system most naturally.
Users need to be able to access Projects from both the top level navigation bar once they've logged in, as well as via specific listings within advanced courses.
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 a high fidelity mockup.
Buttons and selectors were rounded to convey a sense of friendliness and approachability that was missing from the platform.
Open Sans was chosen for it’s readability in large and small sizes, its robust system of font weights, and its soft, modern feel
Specific shades of blue, yellow, and neutral colors were chosen as a modernization of current Lynda.com colors.
Update to Lynda.com's home screen to incorporate Projects
Onboard 1: Find a project to join
Onboard 2: Do the project using provided assets
Onboard 3: Submit project to be reviewed
Onboard 4: Hear back from a corporate-based grader
1. Once logged in, navigate to the Projects home screen
2. After clicking on available categories, see projects offered currently
3. Click on a project to see details and to sign up
4. Before signing up, take a quiz to see if the project is right for you
5. If you pass, the system prompts you to join the project
1. See current projects on logged in home screen
2. Click the project widget to access project details
3. When completed, uploaded project files
4. Once uploaded, submit files for review
5. See feedback from corporate-based evaluator
We presented our designs to a board of advisors, who were impressed at the user and business considerations in our work. Our client, DESIGNATION, subsequently used our research and design exploration as a base in iterating on their own online learning experience, leading to a 30-40% increase in student satisfaction with the program.
The state of the design is ready for initial launch. However, it was important to think through the next few iterations in the product roadmap to build out the feature set more fully.
