Cisco Learning: Modernizing IT Education
RESEARCH DESIGN | CO-DESIGN | INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN
As a Senior UX Strategist at Throughline, I worked with Cisco to evaluate their IT education system, and supply recommendations for improvements, as well as templates and prototypes for them to carry forward in their modernization efforts.
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OPPORTUNITY
How can Cisco better understand IT learners in the current education landscape? How might we help them continue to evolve as the needs of learners evolve?
OUTCOME
My team and I developed an interactive tool that can be used by Cisco in research settings to understand the needs of learners; and can also be used by potential learners to help them understand which Cisco education experiences might suit them. This tool can be used as a physical set of cards for research purposes, or a digital platform that will not only support research, but help potential learners identify the Cisco services that work best for their needs.
THE INTERVENTION
This intervention was designed in two parts: the learner mindset tool (in either digital or physical form), and the research report. While the the learner mindset tool is intended to help Cisco understand the needs of potential clients and help clients find the resources they need within Cisco, the report was developed to provide the Cisco learning team with evidence and direction to successfully implement this tool. While the physical version of the learner mindset tool has already been implemented, Cisco is currently working to build a digital version using our suggested criteria and user experience flows.
Please keep in mind, some information has been changed or removed in compliance with NDAs.
USER RESEARCH
Workshops and interviews with learners, potential learners, and Cisco staff were utilized to better understand the service offerings of the Cisco learning environment and the current state of the user experience. It was also important for us to also participate in digital anthropology to understand where potential Cisco learners might be selecting other IT certification providers.
With my research findings I prototyped a series of system map based on components of traditional service blueprinting to identify areas which we might be able to improve the learner experience and create a more effective experience for them.
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Prototyping
Our research indicated that there was opportunity to not only improve the experience for the learner, but utilize digital way-finding as a research tool to help Cisco monitor the ever-evolving needs of their learners.
With an iterative approach, me and my team developed a flexible decision tree in the form of a deck of cards. The cards are organized by themes such as current life priorities, preferred learning styles, professional goals, etc. Functionally, these cards can be used in a physical printed deck or in a digital experience to help the learner better understand which Cisco services fit their needs, while the selection can also help Cisco researchers better understand the learner.
In our final deliverable, my team not only presented the card concept and tools to implement it, but a summary of our research and findings that we felt would help them better understand the current IT learning environment that this solution was developed within.
