Evolving an ineffective suite of training videos into a completely re-designed and gamified training experience, called Studio GO, that wove together a digital training platform with in-person and remotely streamed live training events.

Our CPG client with a global sales force needed to modernize their aging internal training platforms. They needed to be prepared for real situations they would encounter day-to-day. This seemingly humble beginning led to a two-year engagement that included 4 rounds on international research conducted on-the-ground in Indonesia and client workshops across the US. I was the senior designer on the team, working on all aspects of the initiative from designing workshops, research planning and analysis, concepting, product design, and overall strategy.

To comply with a non-disclosure agreement, certain details have been omitted and obfuscated, including the client and product name.

Setting the stage

This initiative was kicked off with an unwieldy 40-person stakeholder workshop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The existing training platform was scrutinized and objectives were created for the revamped program. Following this workshop, we conducted a secondary research scan, looking at the most progressive services available including Khan Academy, Duolingo, and Google Primer to evaluating their structures and learning models. These became our exemplars for development. Additional workshops flushed out concepts for improvement, and we created very low-fidelity paper prototypes to be tested in our first round with users.

Research intensive

Each of 4 rounds of ethnographic research required extensive development and planning. Prototypes were developed and assets translated into Bahasa while we created detailed research plans and interview protocols. Our first round took us to Medan and Jakarta, both in Indonesia. Subsequent rounds took place in Jakarta, and included both digital prototypes as well as training events. Each round built on the fidelity of the last, moving from testing individual elements or features, to testing the entire system we had created.

We ultimately conducted 77 ethnographic interviews in person throughout the project, requiring us to build a more robust database for collection and analysis than smaller projects. Using Airtable, we were able to manage our insights in a more agile way. This allowed us to communicate with the client throughout the process.

“[The] learning style is good because it doesn’t say you are wrong directly, it helps you with the answer and then encourages you to keep going to earn a reward. It encourages you to learn.” - Research Participant

Key design principles

1. Give honest and useful feedback

2. Create situational learning

3. Deliver micro learning experiences

4. Encourage learning by trying

5. Create a learning community

Understanding and evolving the ecosystem

We also mapped the current and future-state experience ecosystem for our user group as a way to un-pack their training activities. User behavior fell into three categories: navigate, develop, and track. Within "develop", a learn-practice-apply framework was added to illustrate the cyclical nature required to be able to practically use a new piece of information learned.

Create digestible learning moments

Our research led us to gamified learning using bite-sized nuggets of information. We found that users learned best when the same content was delivered in multiple ways, such as multiple-choice questions paired with a role-play exercise. We also found that users were already employing their own innovative sales methods and practices, and that our curriculum needed to take their experience into account. We essentially needed to co-develop content with our test user group. Finally, we learned that practicality trumped all else — users wanted to move past theory into real-world scenarios that mirrored their day-to-day struggles.

Creative workarounds to a roadblock

Given the nature of large multi-national clients, complicated projects like this can be slow-moving, even with the prodding of outside agencies and contractors. During a particularly murky phase of the project, we realized there was a risk that our design system couldn't be built as envisioned for reasons of organizational politics. We continued development on the system, while simultaneously exploring other options that might speed up the process. We quickly landed on an off-the-shelf LMS platform that we could build and test our content in. While not a perfect solution, this setup became the basis for launching a full pilot. It gave us the ability to quickly design and test content modules without waiting on a software development partner. During research, we were able to show the vision for our fully realized platform, while testing real content and learning mechanisms in a low fidelity way.

Our work culminated in a penultimate document showcasing the breadth of the project, from research to concept to pilot. This document served as the primary communication tool for the program be shared and spread throughout the client’s Asian market. Our plans included rollout strategies for Thailand and Japan, with the intent to eventually build a robust enough platform to replace all training content globally.

The outcome

• Pilot program launched with 40 initial users in Indonesia using an existing LMS platform to deliver content

• Participants rated the future learning experience an 8.5 / 10, up from 4.9/ 10 for their current experience

• Tracking the activity of 13 participants who had participated in past rounds of research, they collectively completed 157 Lessons, 148 Challenges, and 3 in-person Meetups

This pilot simulated the real experience users might have with a fully scaled program, yet it was delivered with minimal resources. Our vision for Studio GO as a fully realized mobile app and event series was created as a basis for further development.