SchoolCraft APP
A product Empowering Academic gamification for MBA Students
$5K bonus funding from the client
3X Sign-ups & Impressions on Launch Day
Launched in 2023
Educational Web-App
End-to-End
Content Strategy
Design System
Game Design
Project Goals
Official MVP launch at MIT MBA School
Boost student profile completion rates
Promote MBA School values through content strategies
Design Goals
Elevate the onboarding experience for incoming students with gamification
SIGNIFICANCE
As a ground-up product, SchoolCraft has offered a platform for both MIT MBA students and the school itself to explore the power of gamification, an often overlooked aspect in traditional MBA studies.
As the design lead, I discovered my leadership style—leading by serving—and honed my skills in design delivery, rapid development, and content strategy.
TEAMS
Sean Huang (Me) - Design Lead & Researcher
UX research | Analysis | Prototyping | UX & Visual design
Riley Shu - Product Manager
Yvette Kong - Supervisor
Design & Art Team - UI & Graphics
Development Team - MVP build-up
BACKGROUND
During a course Creative Industries at Sloan (MIT MBA School), I got inspired by the hectic yet rewarding life of MBA students.
I initiated the idea of making a Sloan simulation game that poke fun at Sloanies’ two year life, and this in-class team project turned out a blast and into an MVP that made real impacts.
TOOLS & METHODS
Research & Analytics
Primary Market Research | Desktop & Remote research
Personas | Scenarios | Priority Matrix | DFV (Desirability-Feasibility-Viability)
Figma | Miro | Notion
Design & Testing
User flow | Storyboarding | Fast - Prototyping | Hi-Fi Prototyping | Animation | Game Mechanics | Level Design
Figma | Miro | Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop
, After Effects, Illustrator)
OVERVIEW
Have you ever stereotyped MBA students as professional, eloquent, and smart? I did until I delved into the humorous chaos of MBA life during a course Creative Industries at Sloan (MIT MBA School).
I initiated the idea of making a Sloan simulation game that poke fun at Sloanies’ two year life, and our project turned out a blast. Later on, we successfully pitched our project and made it BIG with funding - an MVP empowering MBA students with gamification.
In the portfolio, I will limelight more on the second phase (i.e., MVP pitched to make real impacts).
📽 Phase 1 - Hi-Fi prototype
A class project simulating the chaotic yet dramatic life and studies of MBA students based on a turned-based game mechanics
User Interviews | User Flow | Game Mechanics | Level Design | Storyboarding | Fast Prototyping | Hi-Fi Prototyping | Usability Testing | Content Design | UX & UI Design
🌟🌟Phase 2 - MVP& Funding
A gamification platform to enhance the onboarding process and resource navigation for MBA students and
User Interviews | Information Architecture | Level Design | Storyboarding | Fast Prototyping | Hi-Fi Prototyping | Usability Testing | Marketing | Design Systems
PHASE 1 HIGHLIGHTS
1-minuteTrailer
4-minute Gaming Mechanics Run-Through
Key Design Process
User Journey | D.F.V.| Game Mechanics| Scenarios | Information Architecture |Wireframing | Hi-fi Prototyping
PHASE 2 BIG QUESTIONS
We decided to take it from concept to reality - we projected it to the MBA Program Office (”Office”), and…
The joruney turned out more challenging yet exciting.
Larger Audience as Users?
Potential audience we might serve:
Incoming MBA students (Currently);
Current MBA students (Currently);
MBA Alumni;
the Office.
Gaming Mechanics to be Changed?
Will the current turn-based mockumentary-style simulation gaming mechanics serve new goals for new problems?
new challenges from the office side?
How might we convince and engage the audience who traditionally stay far away from gaming & gamification?
How might be deliver the MVP in a shorter time than was given?
Outcome Overview
PHASE 2 REASONING BEHIND THE SCENE
1) Changing Audience? NO.
Primary market research and user interviews indicate that services targeting alumni is harder to manage, because of more uncertainty, lower user stickiness and limited resources & touching points for contact management in the long run.
2) Changing Gaming mechanics? A Little.
From turn-based simulation game to tasks through gamification
The user interviews indicated that MBA students and faculty weren't avid gamers. Instead, they preferred mild gamification.
The goal involved to maintaining some extent of the simulation gaming elements in a larger platform that streamlines MBA students’ access to info and digestion of learning.
Students' needs
Shorter and more digestible content, flexibility of schedules, to-dos
Unique personal tags in their profiles setting
Faculty's Needs
Activate the rich resource pool that has hardly been intensively used by students
Evangelize Office values (e.g., completion rate of student’s profile at Sloan Portal, education on Sloan values) that seem unattractive to students
Site Map Updated Upon Students' and Faculty's needs
(The yellow-highlighted sections were covered in the MVP)
"Mission Possible"
Avatar Customization
Playground
"Maps of Secrets"
MIT Countdown & Daily Mood Tracking
MITipedia
Key Feature Wireframing & Prototyping
3-1) Feature Highlights - gamifying content delivery
I introduced turn-based mini story experience with sarcastic and funny tasks to let students learn the class norms, Sloan values and other rules (traditionally boring for students to learn about).
In the story Go NUTS, the avatar beaver has to win nuts by making his prof. or teammates go nuts).
*All illustrated by me without AI :)
3-2) Feature Highlights - Avatar customization
Students get points to customize their own beaver avatar by filling all required info in the Sloan Portal, and afterwards getting swags of their customized beaver.
Design Delivery (Leadership Stories)
Mentoring junior graphic & UI designers
what worked well
Hi-Fi UI execution based on previously designed prototypes
Visual elements production
Smooth design delivery to development team
what could have been better
Guides on reading-friendly typography and layouts
More interactive micro animations
Faster design system creation based on existing design libraries
Outreach for traction
Content & marketing strategy
As a bottom-up project, we aimed to and was able to receive great feedback on our MVP through every means of marketing:
classes & clubs
Hard outreach to creative-industry related classes and clubs to get students' feedback on the spot
Academic calendar brochures
campaigns
On-site beaver swag customization
On-site usability testing
Photo booth for swags
Outcomes
$5K funding ✅ | Features & modality prioritized ✅ | traction goal ✅
$5K 🎉
The Program Office was astonished by our concept and previously offered $5K funding for development.
Other MIT departments expressed interest in our MVP and asked for future collaborations.
💪
That said, we learned from our target audiences that we could have leveraged Instagram as a more vibrant platform.
Also, many more students asked for an entry from the mobile than we imagined
IMPACTS 🎉
This innovative project has created a platform where MBA schools, traditionally distant from the entertainment sector, can now embrace gamification to actively engage their students.