T H
SHU
Workplace English Learning App
LANDit
A mobile application that lets you learn workplace English at any time and place, based on your goals and interests!
Project Overview
Problem Statement
For non-native English speakers working in international environments, English is an essential tool. Non-native-English speakers who are interested in developing their language skills for employability and workplace contexts and are seeking a platform that could help them to improve their workplace English. With the popularity of short-form videos and live streaming, novel communication and socialization methods have brought more dynamic and creative ways to English learning.
The Challenge
The challenge is to create a mobile app to meet the specific needs of adults learning workplace English and to go above and beyond the competitors by catering to target users’ mobile Internet preferences.
My Role
This was a solo project, so I performed roles including product strategy, UX research, ideation, UI design, prototyping and usability testing.
My Process
Understand The Problem
Talking and listening to the users
I started my user research by talking with 7 individuals who already have experience learning English online. I wanted to learn about their pain points. Here’s what I learned:
Online survey
I also conduct an online survey to collect more information from my target audience who are interested in learning workplace English.
Main Results
01/
Users like trying multiply learning formats:
75% of users prefer multiple class format options (i.e., 1-on-1, streaming, podcasts, etc.)
03/
People are interested in new-emerging learning styles:
over 50% of users said they are glad to try new learning formats like live-streaming and short videos.
05/
Broad range of user needs:
People have various needs and motivations for learning workplace English, but the courses that users request most are email writing, looking for a job and communicating with co-workers.
02/
Users like more interactive learning methods:
One-to-one class and course series are the most demanding class formats, followed by live-streamed lectures and 1-minute short videos.
04/
Users want as much detailed information as possible:
​Whether it is choosing between teachers or courses, a detailed introduction about courses/teachers and the reviews of other users are the two most important aspects that help users determine.
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Based on my research and findings, I created three user personas. These personas will help me to visualize the users' pain points and needs, and guide the design decisions throughout this project.
Understanding Who Are The Users
Define The Problem
Brainstorming and Define
User research and personas uncover users' behavior, needs, pain points, which helped me to identify three problems to focus on solving:
01/
Learning process lacks guidance and feedback.
02/
Learning format is monotonous and boring.
03/
The curriculum lacks clarity.
User research and personas uncover users' behavior, needs, pain points, which helped me to identify three problems to focus on solving:
Based on these, I use How Might We to reframe my problems and start quick brainstorming:
novel
Based on these, I use How Might We to reframe my problems and start quick brainstorming:
The brainstorming generated a lot of ideas. However, after scoping my research and personas again, I used the Demands-Feasible Matrix to align and prioritize all these ideas to focus on primary features.
After identity a set of major features, I mapped out this information architecture to organize content and interaction.
Ideation
Hand Sketch
User research and personas uncover users' behavior, needs, pain points, which helped me to identify three problems to focus on solving:
User Flow
Wireframe
Virtual Style
User Testing
Logo
Colors
Typography
User Interface & Prototype
Menu: Featured, My Course, Me
The home screen is listing 4 learning formats: live-streaming lecture, one-on-one class, course series, short video. Users can browse and choose these learning formats based on their needs and availability.
Featured
(Home Page)
My Course
"My Course" is demonstrating the users' learning activities and history. Users can check their learning progress, lesson history, and teachers.
Explore Multiple Learning Formats
Live-streaming Lecture & Purchase
Join A Course Series
Users can browse, search, or filter courses they are interested in.
Each course has detailed information, a learning goal, a systematic curriculum, and students' review to ensure users can have a clear overview before starting learning.
Featured Course
(Course Series)
Book An One-on-one Class
Users who want to have a more interactive learning experience can choose 1-on-1 lessons.
By browsing, searching, or filtering, users are able to view the profiles of their favorite teachers. Users can check the availability and book a 1-on-1 lesson with their teachers.
Students can communicate with teachers by message function outside the lesson.
1-on-1 Lesson
Browse 1-minute Short Video
1-minute Short Video would meet the needs of users for novel learning mode and give users a glance at trending topics within 1 minute. They could save their favorite videos on their "My Class".
Other Screens
User Testing
In order to test usability, I conducted user testing one-by-one and remotely with 5 individuals. In general, they found the app easy to use and the navigation and layout clear and simple. But they also pointed out a few functions they hoped to see improved with future iterations:
On the teacher and course screen, a search function should be added rather than only having a filter function.
Solution: Change filter function to search, put "Filter" on the search screen.
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On the short video screen, "What's new" and "Browse more" are not clear; users don't know how to find specific videos.
Solution: Change "What's new" to "Trending." Add search function on the short video screen.
After joining an upcoming live-streamed lecture, the app should allow users to set up notifications.
Solution: add notification function on the payment screen.
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Requests for the future version:
English learning virtual community
Membership option
FINAL THOUGHTS & TAKEAWAYS
LANDIT is my first mobile app case study project. Building it from the ground up was such a positive learning experience, this is what I learned from this project:
User research is a lighthouse:
When your thoughts are lost in the unknown ocean, you should always go back to your user research to check and identify what the user's behavior, pain points and needs are.
Be human:
Empathy is one of the most powerful emotions of being a UX designer. Therefore, while opening your mind and ears, you should also open your heart.
User experience design never ends:
Design is an iterative process, so staying open-minded and constantly testing and getting feedback is absolutely crucial.