Insights into Adult Learning Preferences Through User Interview
Learning do not stop once we leave school, it is a lifelong journey, even in our daily life we continue to upskill ourselves. However, learning might not be easy, it is a challenge for most working adults due to numerous reasons. This was a research into the journey of uncovering what adults learner look for in the process of upskilling themselves and the possible ways we can help them learn better.
Overview
PencilV is a Learning Management System (LMS) targeting corporation and institution for their end-user's online learning needs.
As the sole designer at the start of the project, I was tasked to kick start the UIUX for the company's flag ship product. To find out our target users' behaviors, their learning preferences and their pain points, we conducted 1-1 In-depth interview on 9 working adults and 2 stakeholders. In addition, we also conducted a focus group on Institute of Higher Learning (IHL) students and 1-1 interview with trainers to gain a more holistic perspective.
With the data collected, I mapped them out, synthesized the findings and advise the team on the design direction by answering the over arching question of the project: How might we we help adult learner learn better?
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Problem
Primary target user of the project was not clear and there was little research on user behaviors and preferences done previously
The end product was to design a Learning Management System (LMS), however, we have no idea who our primary target user was and what make up a good learning experience for the user. There were also little to no research done prior on this project.
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Process
Different types of Interviews were conducted to collect research data and analysis were done to synthesize insights to derive with possible solution pointers
1. Expert and stakeholder interview (90 minutes)
To know more about the company's goal and vision, expert and stakeholder interviews were conducted, the discussion helped the product owner to determine who is the primary target audience - Adult learner (AL)
Desired participants:
Industry experts that are familiar with the LMS systems and are remarkably close to the users.
CEO of the company as well, to understand his vision on the product.
Research Questions:
• Which target audience (K12/IHL/AL) affect the business the most and why?
• What is the current Learning Management System (LMS) trend and the pros and cons?
• What cause a LMS business to fail or succeed?
Sample interview questions:
• Describe to me the most common demographic that uses LMS
• What do you think motivates them to use the LMS?
• How would you describe the current trend in the LMS industry?(Innovation and tech advancement)
• Based on your experience, share with us what you think is currently lacking across the LMS industry
• What do you think is the biggest reason that cause the loss in market share of a LMS company?
2. User Interview (60 min)
After determining the primary target audience, we conduct interviews on 9 adult learners to find out their current learning habits, preferences and pain points if any.
Desired participants:
Working adult that does not have LMS in his organisation and able to share with us his learning experience for self-learning.
Research Questions:
• How do they currently learn and what is their experience like?
• What is their vision of a seamless learning experience?
• How do they envision themselves having the most convenient way to do on-the-job learning?
Sample interview questions:
• How do you constantly learn or upgrade yourself?
• What is your learning style?
• How do you learn effectively?
• How do you learn efficiently?
• Can you share your experience using [mentioned LMS]?
3. Mapping
After the interview were done, I looked at the data collected and mapped out the data through mapping.
Adult Learning • IHL • Trainer • Expert/Stakeholders interview • Insights
note: Interviews were also done on HL students and Trainers to get a better understanding of the whole process
I then find the co-relation among the keywords through connecting lines and drew conclusion and insights (Yellow).
4. Inference and making sense
Insights derived from the above were inferred and mapped out
5. Design recommendation
So how can we help them learn better?
After collecting data though various interviews sessions and synthesizing the research data, I came up with solution pointers that would help build a product which help our target user learn more effectively and efficiently:
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Reflection
By answering this over arching questions of "how might we help adult learner learn better?" it points us to a direction towards making informed design approaches for a better online learning experience, thus a better learning platform for our end users. It is just a start, not the end, more research needs to be carried out to fully craft a great the LMS.
