Scale-Up :
Fast, effortless course adoption
We reduced the CogBooks course setup from 23 steps to just 3, an 87% reduction that cut setup time by 99%, from over 10 days to under 30 minutes .
Problem Analysis
CogBooks’ course adoption process was a major barrier to growth. Instructors at the universities had to navigate a complex 23-step workflow that demanded considerable time, effort, and coordination across multiple CogBooks teams.
Complex process
23
steps process
Time required
10+
days to adopt a course
Resources
12
people to set up a course
“The process is very complex. Even minor changes, like adding or removing a topic, require multiple emails. At times, it is easier to ask students to ignore a topic than to have it removed by the CogBooks team.”
- Instructor, ASU
Research
User research
User and stakeholder research was conducted over six weeks using Zoom, involving 24 participants. This included university instructors who use the product, external client-side stakeholders and internal teams such as technology, quality assurance, and customer service, ensuring both user and business perspectives were represented.
Following user research, collaborative sessions were conducted to align teams, synthesize insights, and translate findings into actionable design and business strategies. These sessions resulted in the collective generation of more than 15 solution concepts and 6 were developed.
colloboration
2+
3+
Outcomes
15+
analysis
The analysis revealed that a significant portion of effort was concentrated during the course setup stage. Interdependent steps, repetitive tasks, and the need to contact the support team were key factors that slowed down the process.
Key Research Insights
User Interviews insights
Process mapping insights
Mapping the pain points revealed issues across functionality, process, and technical aspects of the flow. For this project, the focus was placed specifically on improving the adoption flow.
Slide 1 of 4: Pain Points
Six key pain points were identified, and addressing them would significantly reduce friction in the adoption flow.
Tool fragmentation
Instructors work primarily in the LMS. Switching between LMS and external tools like CogBooks adds extra effort and reduces efficiency.
Content Flexibility
Some CogBooks content may not align with an instructor's curriculum needs.
Course Catalog Access
Instructors struggle to discover which adaptive learning courses are available in CogBooks.
Streamlined Payments
Disconnected payment processes force CogBooks staff to spend extra effort verifying university payments.
Live course Editing
Instructors lack the ability to adjust course settings during an active session, limiting flexibility.
Past Resources access
Instructors want to reuse and replicate past configurations but have no easy way to access old resources.
Ideation
Concept Flow: The final flow consists of three simple steps: Discover, Customize, and Adopt. Each stage addresses key pain points identified in the previous step. Here is how it works:
Discover: Tool fragmentation, Course Catalog Access, Past Resources access
Customize: Content Flexibility, Live course Editing
Adopt: Streamlined Payments
To define the "Discover, Customize, and Adopt" flow, I used scenario mapping to break the experience into clear steps and identify the key actions, decisions, and system behavior using a scenario mapping.
Sketches & wireframes
Next, I created quick, rough sketches informed by the flow and details established in the previous steps. These sketches provided a foundation for moving into low-fidelity wireframes.
Slide 1 of 3: CogBooks Course Catalog in LMS
Prototype
Designed the UI for the new workflow in alignment with the CogBooks design system.
Slide 1 of 4: CogBooks Course Catalog in LMS
Impact & results
Steps to Adopt a Course
87% reduction in steps (from 23 to 3)
Time to Set Up a Course
99% reduction in setup time (over 10 days → under 30 minutes)
Resource Allocation
83% reduction in resource requirements (from 12 to 2 CogBooks staff)
Before & after comparison
Use the slider to compare the old and new flows.
CogBooks users and stakeholders provided mostly positive feedback. The concept was strong enough that a competitor was inspired to develop a similar solution.
What Customers and Stakeholders Said
“This was something we were looking for quite some time. Really glad to see this now in action. The new integration removes a lot of burden from us and our users. Appreciate the great work by the team.”
— Director, Learning Experience & Student Success, ASU
How Competitors Reacted
One competitor recently launched an almost identical version of our adoption experience, nearly 10 months after CB introduced the new process.
View referenceThe most important learning was the need to give users the freedom to make their own choices around what matters most to them. Unnecessary complexity often leads to abandonment.