Laura Cure • Expanse

Why Expanse?

My career started in EdTech, and I’m passionate about learning, especially learning at work. Learning is so fundamental to our sense of wellbeing and purpose as humans. My research confirmed that people’s current experience of corporate learning is often underwhelming. I was determined to find solutions to improve that experience.

The challenge

Corporate learning is often out of touch with the people that are ultimately its end users: the learners (aka employees). Learners frequently end up doing courses out of obligation, but essentially ‘phoning it in’ – not necessarily focusing, and not retaining content. The research out there tells us that this is due to key factors such as employees learning the wrong things at the wrong time, and then forgetting what they’ve learned. Interaction is often limited, feedback is often near non-existent, and course materials often aren’t designed to be optimally relevant to each learner. This project was done as part of the BrainStation UX Design Bootcamp, and as such, it was required to be a mobile app. It struck me as interesting that while e-learning companies such as Duolingo and Coursera have a strong (dare I say, even fun) mobile offering, I could not call to mind ever encountering something similar in my professional life. Even searching online couldn’t bring up a clear market leader. Challenge accepted.

Key takeaways

95% of participants in a recent survey indicated that corporate training should be a high priority

E-learning accounts for 40% of the $50 billion corporate L&D market in North America.

Only 25% of respondents to a recent McKinsey survey believe that training measurably improved performance

In essence: huge opportunity with room for improvement

Getting out there

For my user research, I interviewed four participants, all of whom had undertaken workplace training.

Key takeaways

Gaining social capital is not the only social motivator of corporate training. Workplace training can also foster company culture and ‘social glue’, particularly if there is clear participation from top management.

Engagement levels and retention spike when learners must interact with the material. In several cases, the level of engagement of in-person sessions had not been replicated when these sessions were brought online - a clear pain point

In many cases learners felt that content was rote, and not ‘for them’. This lack of relevance meant that they were unlikely to apply learnings to their work, and felt demotivated.

In essence: interview participants indicated a positive correlation between engagement and content retained. In turn, engagement with materials increases when there is clear leadership/social motivation & it is evident that materials are relevant to learners' roles.

Staying relevant

Irrelevant content was one of the most salient problems indicated by my research. For that reason, while designing Expanse, making sure content was relevant to learners was a priority.

Solutions applied

I incorporated AI into the designs to recommend tailored content to learners, dependent on their work schedule and focus areas. (One way of gathering this info, conceptually, would be for through one-to-one sessions with employees; managers would voice-note goals and project priorities into the app.)

Using gathered data, Expanse would surface content recommendations for the learner at ideal times to encourage putting that learning into practice.

Onboarding process mines user information like job titles and responsibilities to suggest relevant content.

In essence: helping learners learn the right thing at the right times to encourage content retention

Rules of engagement

Higher engagement = better content retention. Expanse encourages employees to engage with content through gamifying the learning experience and making content interactive.

Solutions applied

Streaks motivate learners to return to the app daily

In-app currency (i.e. ‘tokens’) motivates learners to complete courses by earning tokens

Interactive transcripts make video lessons more engaging and accessible

Learning paths keep learners on track and updated on their progress

Social motivation

The research phase showed that social motivation was hugely important for corporate learning. Not just from a gamification perspective (i.e. competition), but from a leadership perspective. I incorporated both of these insights into the design of Expanse.

Solutions applied

I made teams visible in-app to promote a feeling of interconnectedness, of not being alone with your learning

Team members can see the token balance of their team members, to serve as an element of light competition

Recommendations from senior leaders are incorporated throughout the app interface, to demonstrate to learners that the app is part of the social fabric of the workplace

Shared vocabulary and note sharing adds to social glue; learners can bookmark ideas and notes to use with their team (not 100% visible within limited prototype)

The process

Getting my ideas out of my head and formed into an end solution was a multi-step process. I started by sketching out different ideas, ‘spitballing’ to see what stuck. I promoted the best ideas to the wireframe stage, and produced three iterations, testing with ten users after each of the first two versions. The final design, subject to much tweaking and refinement, was airy and expansive-feeling (like its name), successfully skirting the line between professional and playful. I wanted to evoke a feeling of freedom and open horizon, something fun yet sufficiently credible to be taken seriously at a corporate level.

Weighing it up

Was this project a success? Mostly. Is it a viable product? Well...no, not quite yet. This project was academic, so it has two major holes. First, that I did not have a sufficient volume of authentic workplace education content with which to test. Secondly, that due to time constraints my research was purely on the 'employee' side, and not on the 'employer' side - so, I did not work into the employer-side UX, which would be a crucial component. That being the case, the product would require substantial further research, testing and refinement to be viable in the real world - including an accompanying desktop experience. Yet, my research did uncover a number of real, viable insights about workplace training, and the concept is an interesting one that could absolutely work in the real world with further research and refinement. In user testing, users were able to successfully locate content and perform required tasks. In my opinion, the biggest benchmark for potential success would be to test with considerably more authentic content, and compare content retention with this and other methods.

Why Expanse?

My career started in EdTech, and I’m passionate about learning, especially learning at work. Learning is so fundamental to our sense of wellbeing and purpose as humans. My research confirmed that people’s current experience of corporate learning is often underwhelming. I was determined to find solutions to improve that experience.

The challenge

Corporate learning is often out of touch with the people that are ultimately its end users: the learners (aka employees). Learners frequently end up doing courses out of obligation, but essentially ‘phoning it in’ – not necessarily focusing, and not retaining content. The research out there tells us that this is due to key factors such as employees learning the wrong things at the wrong time, and then forgetting what they’ve learned. Interaction is often limited, feedback is often near non-existent, and course materials often aren’t designed to be optimally relevant to each learner. This project was done as part of the BrainStation UX Design Bootcamp, and as such, it was required to be a mobile app. It struck me as interesting that while e-learning companies such as Duolingo and Coursera have a strong (dare I say, even fun) mobile offering, I could not call to mind ever encountering something similar in my professional life. Even searching online couldn’t bring up a clear market leader. Challenge accepted.

Key takeaways

95% of participants in a recent survey indicated that corporate training should be a high priority

E-learning accounts for 40% of the $50 billion corporate L&D market in North America.

Only 25% of respondents to a recent McKinsey survey believe that training measurably improved performance

In essence: huge opportunity with room for improvement

Getting out there

For my user research, I interviewed four participants, all of whom had undertaken workplace training.

Key takeaways

Gaining social capital is not the only social motivator of corporate training. Workplace training can also foster company culture and ‘social glue’, particularly if there is clear participation from top management.

Engagement levels and retention spike when learners must interact with the material. In several cases, the level of engagement of in-person sessions had not been replicated when these sessions were brought online - a clear pain point

In many cases learners felt that content was rote, and not ‘for them’. This lack of relevance meant that they were unlikely to apply learnings to their work, and felt demotivated.

In essence: interview participants indicated a positive correlation between engagement and content retained. In turn, engagement with materials increases when there is clear leadership/social motivation & it is evident that materials are relevant to learners' roles.

Staying relevant

Irrelevant content was one of the most salient problems indicated by my research. For that reason, while designing Expanse, making sure content was relevant to learners was a priority.

Solutions applied

I incorporated AI into the designs to recommend tailored content to learners, dependent on their work schedule and focus areas. (One way of gathering this info, conceptually, would be for through one-to-one sessions with employees; managers would voice-note goals and project priorities into the app.)

Using gathered data, Expanse would surface content recommendations for the learner at ideal times to encourage putting that learning into practice.

Onboarding process mines user information like job titles and responsibilities to suggest relevant content.

In essence: helping learners learn the right thing at the right times to encourage content retention

Rules of engagement

Higher engagement = better content retention. Expanse encourages employees to engage with content through gamifying the learning experience and making content interactive.

Solutions applied

Streaks motivate learners to return to the app daily

In-app currency (i.e. ‘tokens’) motivates learners to complete courses by earning tokens

Interactive transcripts make video lessons more engaging and accessible

Learning paths keep learners on track and updated on their progress

Social motivation

The research phase showed that social motivation was hugely important for corporate learning. Not just from a gamification perspective (i.e. competition), but from a leadership perspective. I incorporated both of these insights into the design of Expanse.

Solutions applied

I made teams visible in-app to promote a feeling of interconnectedness, of not being alone with your learning

Team members can see the token balance of their team members, to serve as an element of light competition

Recommendations from senior leaders are incorporated throughout the app interface, to demonstrate to learners that the app is part of the social fabric of the workplace

Shared vocabulary and note sharing adds to social glue; learners can bookmark ideas and notes to use with their team (not 100% visible within limited prototype)

The process

Getting my ideas out of my head and formed into an end solution was a multi-step process. I started by sketching out different ideas, ‘spitballing’ to see what stuck. I promoted the best ideas to the wireframe stage, and produced three iterations, testing with ten users after each of the first two versions. The final design, subject to much tweaking and refinement, was airy and expansive-feeling (like its name), successfully skirting the line between professional and playful. I wanted to evoke a feeling of freedom and open horizon, something fun yet sufficiently credible to be taken seriously at a corporate level.

Weighing it up

Was this project a success? Mostly. Is it a viable product? Well...no, not quite yet. This project was academic, so it has two major holes. First, that I did not have a sufficient volume of authentic workplace education content with which to test. Secondly, that due to time constraints my research was purely on the 'employee' side, and not on the 'employer' side - so, I did not work into the employer-side UX, which would be a crucial component. That being the case, the product would require substantial further research, testing and refinement to be viable in the real world - including an accompanying desktop experience. Yet, my research did uncover a number of real, viable insights about workplace training, and the concept is an interesting one that could absolutely work in the real world with further research and refinement. In user testing, users were able to successfully locate content and perform required tasks. In my opinion, the biggest benchmark for potential success would be to test with considerably more authentic content, and compare content retention with this and other methods.

Why Expanse?

My career started in EdTech, and I’m passionate about learning, especially learning at work. Learning is so fundamental to our sense of wellbeing and purpose as humans. My research confirmed that people’s current experience of corporate learning is often underwhelming. I was determined to find solutions to improve that experience.

The challenge

Corporate learning is often out of touch with the people that are ultimately its end users: the learners (aka employees). Learners frequently end up doing courses out of obligation, but essentially ‘phoning it in’ – not necessarily focusing, and not retaining content. The research out there tells us that this is due to key factors such as employees learning the wrong things at the wrong time, and then forgetting what they’ve learned. Interaction is often limited, feedback is often near non-existent, and course materials often aren’t designed to be optimally relevant to each learner. This project was done as part of the BrainStation UX Design Bootcamp, and as such, it was required to be a mobile app. It struck me as interesting that while e-learning companies such as Duolingo and Coursera have a strong (dare I say, even fun) mobile offering, I could not call to mind ever encountering something similar in my professional life. Even searching online couldn’t bring up a clear market leader. Challenge accepted.

Key takeaways

95% of participants in a recent survey indicated that corporate training should be a high priority

E-learning accounts for 40% of the $50 billion corporate L&D market in North America.

Only 25% of respondents to a recent McKinsey survey believe that training measurably improved performance

In essence: huge opportunity with room for improvement

Getting out there

For my user research, I interviewed four participants, all of whom had undertaken workplace training.

Key takeaways

Gaining social capital is not the only social motivator of corporate training. Workplace training can also foster company culture and ‘social glue’, particularly if there is clear participation from top management.

Engagement levels and retention spike when learners must interact with the material. In several cases, the level of engagement of in-person sessions had not been replicated when these sessions were brought online - a clear pain point

In many cases learners felt that content was rote, and not ‘for them’. This lack of relevance meant that they were unlikely to apply learnings to their work, and felt demotivated.

In essence: interview participants indicated a positive correlation between engagement and content retained. In turn, engagement with materials increases when there is clear leadership/social motivation & it is evident that materials are relevant to learners' roles.

Staying relevant

Irrelevant content was one of the most salient problems indicated by my research. For that reason, while designing Expanse, making sure content was relevant to learners was a priority.

Solutions applied

I incorporated AI into the designs to recommend tailored content to learners, dependent on their work schedule and focus areas. (One way of gathering this info, conceptually, would be for through one-to-one sessions with employees; managers would voice-note goals and project priorities into the app.)

Using gathered data, Expanse would surface content recommendations for the learner at ideal times to encourage putting that learning into practice.

Onboarding process mines user information like job titles and responsibilities to suggest relevant content.

In essence: helping learners learn the right thing at the right times to encourage content retention

Rules of engagement

Higher engagement = better content retention. Expanse encourages employees to engage with content through gamifying the learning experience and making content interactive.

Solutions applied

Streaks motivate learners to return to the app daily

In-app currency (i.e. ‘tokens’) motivates learners to complete courses by earning tokens

Interactive transcripts make video lessons more engaging and accessible

Learning paths keep learners on track and updated on their progress

Social motivation

The research phase showed that social motivation was hugely important for corporate learning. Not just from a gamification perspective (i.e. competition), but from a leadership perspective. I incorporated both of these insights into the design of Expanse.

Solutions applied

I made teams visible in-app to promote a feeling of interconnectedness, of not being alone with your learning

Team members can see the token balance of their team members, to serve as an element of light competition

Recommendations from senior leaders are incorporated throughout the app interface, to demonstrate to learners that the app is part of the social fabric of the workplace

Shared vocabulary and note sharing adds to social glue; learners can bookmark ideas and notes to use with their team (not 100% visible within limited prototype)

The process

Getting my ideas out of my head and formed into an end solution was a multi-step process. I started by sketching out different ideas, ‘spitballing’ to see what stuck. I promoted the best ideas to the wireframe stage, and produced three iterations, testing with ten users after each of the first two versions. The final design, subject to much tweaking and refinement, was airy and expansive-feeling (like its name), successfully skirting the line between professional and playful. I wanted to evoke a feeling of freedom and open horizon, something fun yet sufficiently credible to be taken seriously at a corporate level.

Weighing it up

Was this project a success? Mostly. Is it a viable product? Well...no, not quite yet. This project was academic, so it has two major holes. First, that I did not have a sufficient volume of authentic workplace education content with which to test. Secondly, that due to time constraints my research was purely on the 'employee' side, and not on the 'employer' side - so, I did not work into the employer-side UX, which would be a crucial component. That being the case, the product would require substantial further research, testing and refinement to be viable in the real world - including an accompanying desktop experience. Yet, my research did uncover a number of real, viable insights about workplace training, and the concept is an interesting one that could absolutely work in the real world with further research and refinement. In user testing, users were able to successfully locate content and perform required tasks. In my opinion, the biggest benchmark for potential success would be to test with considerably more authentic content, and compare content retention with this and other methods.

Why Expanse?

My career started in EdTech, and I’m passionate about learning, especially learning at work. Learning is so fundamental to our sense of wellbeing and purpose as humans. My research confirmed that people’s current experience of corporate learning is often underwhelming. I was determined to find solutions to improve that experience.

The challenge

Corporate learning is often out of touch with the people that are ultimately its end users: the learners (aka employees). Learners frequently end up doing courses out of obligation, but essentially ‘phoning it in’ – not necessarily focusing, and not retaining content. The research out there tells us that this is due to key factors such as employees learning the wrong things at the wrong time, and then forgetting what they’ve learned. Interaction is often limited, feedback is often near non-existent, and course materials often aren’t designed to be optimally relevant to each learner. This project was done as part of the BrainStation UX Design Bootcamp, and as such, it was required to be a mobile app. It struck me as interesting that while e-learning companies such as Duolingo and Coursera have a strong (dare I say, even fun) mobile offering, I could not call to mind ever encountering something similar in my professional life. Even searching online couldn’t bring up a clear market leader. Challenge accepted.

Key takeaways

95% of participants in a recent survey indicated that corporate training should be a high priority

E-learning accounts for 40% of the $50 billion corporate L&D market in North America.

Only 25% of respondents to a recent McKinsey survey believe that training measurably improved performance

In essence: huge opportunity with room for improvement

Getting out there

For my user research, I interviewed four participants, all of whom had undertaken workplace training.

Key takeaways

Gaining social capital is not the only social motivator of corporate training. Workplace training can also foster company culture and ‘social glue’, particularly if there is clear participation from top management.

Engagement levels and retention spike when learners must interact with the material. In several cases, the level of engagement of in-person sessions had not been replicated when these sessions were brought online - a clear pain point

In many cases learners felt that content was rote, and not ‘for them’. This lack of relevance meant that they were unlikely to apply learnings to their work, and felt demotivated.

In essence: interview participants indicated a positive correlation between engagement and content retained. In turn, engagement with materials increases when there is clear leadership/social motivation & it is evident that materials are relevant to learners' roles.

Staying relevant

Irrelevant content was one of the most salient problems indicated by my research. For that reason, while designing Expanse, making sure content was relevant to learners was a priority.

Solutions applied

I incorporated AI into the designs to recommend tailored content to learners, dependent on their work schedule and focus areas. (One way of gathering this info, conceptually, would be for through one-to-one sessions with employees; managers would voice-note goals and project priorities into the app.)

Using gathered data, Expanse would surface content recommendations for the learner at ideal times to encourage putting that learning into practice.

Onboarding process mines user information like job titles and responsibilities to suggest relevant content.

In essence: helping learners learn the right thing at the right times to encourage content retention

Rules of engagement

Higher engagement = better content retention. Expanse encourages employees to engage with content through gamifying the learning experience and making content interactive.

Solutions applied

Streaks motivate learners to return to the app daily

In-app currency (i.e. ‘tokens’) motivates learners to complete courses by earning tokens

Interactive transcripts make video lessons more engaging and accessible

Learning paths keep learners on track and updated on their progress

Social motivation

The research phase showed that social motivation was hugely important for corporate learning. Not just from a gamification perspective (i.e. competition), but from a leadership perspective. I incorporated both of these insights into the design of Expanse.

Solutions applied

I made teams visible in-app to promote a feeling of interconnectedness, of not being alone with your learning

Team members can see the token balance of their team members, to serve as an element of light competition

Recommendations from senior leaders are incorporated throughout the app interface, to demonstrate to learners that the app is part of the social fabric of the workplace

Shared vocabulary and note sharing adds to social glue; learners can bookmark ideas and notes to use with their team (not 100% visible within limited prototype)

The process

Getting my ideas out of my head and formed into an end solution was a multi-step process. I started by sketching out different ideas, ‘spitballing’ to see what stuck. I promoted the best ideas to the wireframe stage, and produced three iterations, testing with ten users after each of the first two versions. The final design, subject to much tweaking and refinement, was airy and expansive-feeling (like its name), successfully skirting the line between professional and playful. I wanted to evoke a feeling of freedom and open horizon, something fun yet sufficiently credible to be taken seriously at a corporate level.

Weighing it up

Was this project a success? Mostly. Is it a viable product? Well...no, not quite yet. This project was academic, so it has two major holes. First, that I did not have a sufficient volume of authentic workplace education content with which to test. Secondly, that due to time constraints my research was purely on the 'employee' side, and not on the 'employer' side - so, I did not work into the employer-side UX, which would be a crucial component. That being the case, the product would require substantial further research, testing and refinement to be viable in the real world - including an accompanying desktop experience. Yet, my research did uncover a number of real, viable insights about workplace training, and the concept is an interesting one that could absolutely work in the real world with further research and refinement. In user testing, users were able to successfully locate content and perform required tasks. In my opinion, the biggest benchmark for potential success would be to test with considerably more authentic content, and compare content retention with this and other methods.

Why Expanse?

My career started in EdTech, and I’m passionate about learning, especially learning at work. Learning is so fundamental to our sense of wellbeing and purpose as humans. My research confirmed that people’s current experience of corporate learning is often underwhelming. I was determined to find solutions to improve that experience.

The challenge

Corporate learning is often out of touch with the people that are ultimately its end users: the learners (aka employees). Learners frequently end up doing courses out of obligation, but essentially ‘phoning it in’ – not necessarily focusing, and not retaining content. The research out there tells us that this is due to key factors such as employees learning the wrong things at the wrong time, and then forgetting what they’ve learned. Interaction is often limited, feedback is often near non-existent, and course materials often aren’t designed to be optimally relevant to each learner. This project was done as part of the BrainStation UX Design Bootcamp, and as such, it was required to be a mobile app. It struck me as interesting that while e-learning companies such as Duolingo and Coursera have a strong (dare I say, even fun) mobile offering, I could not call to mind ever encountering something similar in my professional life. Even searching online couldn’t bring up a clear market leader. Challenge accepted.

Key takeaways

95% of participants in a recent survey indicated that corporate training should be a high priority

E-learning accounts for 40% of the $50 billion corporate L&D market in North America.

Only 25% of respondents to a recent McKinsey survey believe that training measurably improved performance

In essence: huge opportunity with room for improvement

Getting out there

For my user research, I interviewed four participants, all of whom had undertaken workplace training.

Key takeaways

Gaining social capital is not the only social motivator of corporate training. Workplace training can also foster company culture and ‘social glue’, particularly if there is clear participation from top management.

Engagement levels and retention spike when learners must interact with the material. In several cases, the level of engagement of in-person sessions had not been replicated when these sessions were brought online - a clear pain point

In many cases learners felt that content was rote, and not ‘for them’. This lack of relevance meant that they were unlikely to apply learnings to their work, and felt demotivated.

In essence: interview participants indicated a positive correlation between engagement and content retained. In turn, engagement with materials increases when there is clear leadership/social motivation & it is evident that materials are relevant to learners' roles.

Staying relevant

Irrelevant content was one of the most salient problems indicated by my research. For that reason, while designing Expanse, making sure content was relevant to learners was a priority.

Solutions applied

I incorporated AI into the designs to recommend tailored content to learners, dependent on their work schedule and focus areas. (One way of gathering this info, conceptually, would be for through one-to-one sessions with employees; managers would voice-note goals and project priorities into the app.)

Using gathered data, Expanse would surface content recommendations for the learner at ideal times to encourage putting that learning into practice.

Onboarding process mines user information like job titles and responsibilities to suggest relevant content.

In essence: helping learners learn the right thing at the right times to encourage content retention

Rules of engagement

Higher engagement = better content retention. Expanse encourages employees to engage with content through gamifying the learning experience and making content interactive.

Solutions applied

Streaks motivate learners to return to the app daily

In-app currency (i.e. ‘tokens’) motivates learners to complete courses by earning tokens

Interactive transcripts make video lessons more engaging and accessible

Learning paths keep learners on track and updated on their progress

Social motivation

The research phase showed that social motivation was hugely important for corporate learning. Not just from a gamification perspective (i.e. competition), but from a leadership perspective. I incorporated both of these insights into the design of Expanse.

Solutions applied

I made teams visible in-app to promote a feeling of interconnectedness, of not being alone with your learning

Team members can see the token balance of their team members, to serve as an element of light competition

Recommendations from senior leaders are incorporated throughout the app interface, to demonstrate to learners that the app is part of the social fabric of the workplace

Shared vocabulary and note sharing adds to social glue; learners can bookmark ideas and notes to use with their team (not 100% visible within limited prototype)

The process

Getting my ideas out of my head and formed into an end solution was a multi-step process. I started by sketching out different ideas, ‘spitballing’ to see what stuck. I promoted the best ideas to the wireframe stage, and produced three iterations, testing with ten users after each of the first two versions. The final design, subject to much tweaking and refinement, was airy and expansive-feeling (like its name), successfully skirting the line between professional and playful. I wanted to evoke a feeling of freedom and open horizon, something fun yet sufficiently credible to be taken seriously at a corporate level.

Weighing it up

Was this project a success? Mostly. Is it a viable product? Well...no, not quite yet. This project was academic, so it has two major holes. First, that I did not have a sufficient volume of authentic workplace education content with which to test. Secondly, that due to time constraints my research was purely on the 'employee' side, and not on the 'employer' side - so, I did not work into the employer-side UX, which would be a crucial component. That being the case, the product would require substantial further research, testing and refinement to be viable in the real world - including an accompanying desktop experience. Yet, my research did uncover a number of real, viable insights about workplace training, and the concept is an interesting one that could absolutely work in the real world with further research and refinement. In user testing, users were able to successfully locate content and perform required tasks. In my opinion, the biggest benchmark for potential success would be to test with considerably more authentic content, and compare content retention with this and other methods.