Designing the mobile app component of Skillsoft’s premiere cloud-based corporate education platform, Percipio.
In late 2016, Skillsoft, an early pioneer in the corporate training industry, was working full steam, creating their first cloud-based platform for business. This new platform enables employees to access online training from anywhere. A brand new mobile app would launch alongside the website.
A part of the UX team working on the site, in November I was retasked as sole designer on their mobile app. The goal was to mirror the website’s experience closely, but to take advantage of opportunities offered by the mobile device’s platform when possible.
UX Challenges
This project had many challenges right out of the gate. This application was big; audio courses, podcasts, video courses, ebooks, training paths, certifications and testing, just for starters. Breaking all of this down and presenting it in a way so as not to overwhelm its users would be key.
Many of the functions had already been worked out on the website, but recreating the test-taking functions that already existed on the desktop side into a small interface that allowed touch interactions would need some special work. Testing (assessment) patterns that were needed:
- Multiple choice(s).
- Pair matching.
- Rank/order the items.
Devising a mobile menu that met stringent accessibility requirements was another concern. Additionally, there was a surprising mandate from above to present a working breadcrumb in a mobile space.
UX Solutions
Obviously, Percipio wasn’t the first educational platform to move to the phone, so there was a lot of research done on competitor’s apps to look for optimal patterns for certain functions. Other complex apps were also looked at for inspiration. Best-in-class solutions were adopted for both the site and app when viable, but most often solutions needed to be crafted from scratch.
First, the entire app was mapped out (and adjusted as we went) to accommodate the various features and content types.
With the map overview approved, individual sections of the app were then mapped out.
We worked quickly in wireframes and then medium fidelity designs for prototyping and testing.
And the breadcrumb challenge? We devised a solution that (I believe) had never been designed before. A collapsing breadcrumb that always shows your current location and allows you to go back simply by expanding it. Works well with the accessible mobile menu as well.
Epilogue
This was one of the more exciting projects I’ve worked on. Our teams were international with groups in Connecticut, New York, and New Hampshire, USA, Paris, France, London, England and Hyderabad, India. I truly wish I’d been able to stay on until the project was complete. However, I was part of an agency hired to bolster Skillsoft’s internal workforce. As the project neared completion, outside help was slowly released. Eventually I was moved from this project to another and the final work was passed to another designer outside of our agency to complete.
Tasks
Competitive Research
User Flows
Task Flows
Breakpoint Maps
Wireframes
Prototyping
Motion Design
Full Design
Full Specs, including component breakdowns
Tools
Sketch App
Zeplin
InVision
Principle for Mac
Jira
Confluence
Team
Client – Skillsoft
Digital Agency – York & Chapel
Lead UX – Marco Pellegrini (Skillsoft)
User Experience Designers (Y&C) – Chris Wilson, Kevin Nicholas
Awards
EdTech Digest – Percipio named Finalist for Corporate Training Solution Award
2017 BIG Awards for Business – Percipio was named New Product of the Year in the Enterprise Technology Category
Cubic Awards – Percipio was a Finalist for Learning Technology of the Year
Trainingindustry.com – 2017 Top 20 Learning Portal/LMS Companies
Brandon Hall Group Technology Excellence Awards – Gold Winner in the Best Advance in Learning Management Technology
TekTonic Award – TekTonic Award for Technology Disruption and Innovation
HYSEA Award for Best Software Product – 2018 Best Software Product
Press
Personnel Today – E-learning: Why employees expect a Netflix experience
HR.com Live! – “AP” Tells How Skillsoft is Delighting Customers With Percipio and SumTotal HCM System Integrations (video)
Brandon Hall – Skillsoft’s Learning Innovation on Full Display at Perspectives 2018
