CASE STUDY
Facilitation of co-creation for a learning platform design
The goal of this project was to inspire and engage girls and young women in the fields of coding and artificial intelligence (AI). To achieve this, we proposed a digital platform designed to introduce these topics in a user-friendly and guided manner.
This initiative was funded by the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) and was conducted by the Forschungsinstitut Bildung Digital (FoBiD) at the University of Saarland, in collaboration with the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI).
The learning portal can be seen here:
My role
As a UX researcher and designer at FoBiD, I was responsible for planning and facilitating the user research and design activities for the project. In the initial phase, our team included three didactic researchers from FoBiD and two AI researchers from DFKI. I guided the team in conducting initial user research interviews to gather insights from our target group.
I facilitated co-creation sessions with the target group and led sense-making sessions with the team to analyse and interpret the collected data. I created the platform prototype and planned the testing phases in collaboration with a newly joined junior UX designer whom I mentored. I worked with the development team to create a styleguide and a theming guide, ensuring consistency and scalability across the platform.
Throughout the process, cross-disciplinary collaboration was emphasised, integrating insights from didactic and AI researchers with the target group input to create an engaging and educational user experience.
Project outline
Brief & planning
Interviews
Data analysis
Journey mapping co-creation workshops
Sense-making sessions
Prototype creation
Prototype validation
Creating styleguide and theming for the development team
Methods
The project methodology was structured into several key phases to ensure a user-centered design process. Initially, we conducted comprehensive user research, which involved conducting interviews with the target group to gather insights into their interests, motivations, and barriers related to coding and AI. Following the research, we organized co-creation sessions with the target group, allowing them to actively participate in ideating and shaping the platform's features.
Data collected from these sessions were analyzed during sense-making workshops, where the team synthesized findings to inform design decisions. A prototype of the platform was then developed, incorporating user feedback and adhering to best practices in UX design. The prototype included desktop, tablet and mobile device views. This prototype underwent iterative testing, involving usability tests and feedback sessions with users, to refine the platform's functionality and interface.
In the next stage, we developed a styleguide and a theming kit to ensure consistency and scalability across across several projects.
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First step was to get familiar with the existing research on the topic of why females are underrepresented in the information technology field.
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Thereafter we conducted a number of interviews with the target group - girls and young women to understand what motivates them to learn new skills. The interviews were conducted over video calls due to the ongoing Covid pandemic.
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All interviews and observation notes were transcribed. Team sense-making sessions were conducted to ensure a common understanding. We used thematic analysis and prepared 8 different personas to represent the target group. The team worked together over video calls and we used Miro to document our activities.
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The interview study and secondary research enabled us to prepare a set of design tools for the co-creation workshops. The toolset included personas and user need cards for user journey mapping. The co-creastion workshops were carried out using Miro. I moderated 4 workshops with 6 participants in each. The participants worked in teams of two and were tasked to create a perfect environment for one persona to support their learning process. The workshop solutions gave the design team a lot of new ideas and inspiration on how to scaffold and support the platform users.
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The platform prototype was created using Axure RP, which enables the creation of highly interactive and hi-fi prototypes. The prototype included desktop, tablet and mobile device views of a learning platform. It also incorporated a content recommender system based on your profile that was specified during onboarding process and a personal learning companion that was available for questions and chatting throughout the learning process.
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Testing for the project was structured to align with the evolving maturity of the prototypes and the progressive integration of new functionalities. After the initial prototype, which supported desktop, tablet, and mobile views, we conducted iterative rounds of usability tests and feedback sessions with users. Each round focused on refining the platform’s functionality and interface, guided by user insights and best practices in UX design. As the project advanced, additional features were incrementally tested to ensure seamless integration and user satisfaction. This systematic, multi-round testing approach allowed for continuous improvement and helped deliver a user-friendly, robust final product.
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A comprehensive style guide was created, building on the Material Design component library and enhancing it with custom components and styling to meet our specific needs. This guide served as a foundational document, ensuring that all design elements were consistent and visually cohesive across the platform. Additionally, a theming guide provided detailed instructions on implementing components across several projects running in parallel. By standardizing these elements, we streamlined the development process, and enhanced the overall user experience.
Tools
The project took place during the Covid pandemic and we used videocalls and Miro to facilitate the online collaboration.
The interviews and co-creation workshops were also online, conducted over videocalls and using Miro.
The prototype was created in Axure RP.
We used Material UI library for the styleguide and theming in React.
Persona used for the co-creation workshop
Prototype view for testing
Prototype view
The portal view
Onboarding process view
Impact
Collaborating with didactic and AI researchers from FoBiD and DFKI, we successfully developed a user-centered learning platform to engage girls and young women in coding and AI. The user research and co-creation sessions provided crucial insights that informed the platform's design, ensuring it was engaging and educational. The iterative testing phases validated our design choices and improved the platform's usability.
The comprehensive theming system ensured consistency and scalability for the development team.
The platform prototype and theming guide became essential resources for the development team, aiding in ongoing improvements and maintenance.
Mentoring a junior UX designer ensured a smooth transition and continuity in the design process that is ongoing as the project was extended to add new AI features.
Deliverables:
Anonymized transcripts of user research interviews
Personas and user journey maps
Wireframes and information architecture
Validated and tested platform prototype
Testing results
Styleguide and theming guide
Proposal for future development steps