SchoolCraft App

Video: 1-min trailer of mockumentary gaming

Video: 4-min walk-through of the mockumentary gaming

Duration

11/2022 to 10/2023

Deliverable(s)

Minimum Viable Product (MVP)xx

My Role

UX Research
User Testing
Visual Design & Illustration

Product Strategy
UX/UI Design

Collaboration

Product Manager
Junior UX Designers

Game Developers
Project Manager

Challenges

"If MBA students are masters at handling complex information, why do so many feel overwhelmed during onboarding?"

MIT MBA students face their first challenge in information management immediately after admission—a text-heavy onboarding portal packed with details. In their first two weeks, students often feel inundated by materials scattered across multiple portals, even though the onboarding website attempts to consolidate them. With limited time to digest the content, many students ignore it altogether, struggling to integrate crucial details into their routines.

On the flip side, the MBA Program Office also grapples with students missing essential information—like event planning rules and class norms—despite providing comprehensive resources. The root issue? Dense, text-heavy content that fails to engage and guide students effectively.

Surprisingly, during a storytelling class, I led my team in creating a turn-based simulation game (think SIMS, but for MIT MBAs) that humorously mimicked the "grind" of MBA life. The concept generated buzz at a design showcase and was so well-received that the faculty recommended making it a real onboarding tool—an experimental product for the MBA Program Office.

Roles & Goals

As the UX design lead, I aimed to:

Understand the most pressing challenges faced by both students and the Program Office.
Explore the desirability and feasibility of gamification as a solution for onboarding.
Build and test an MVP to generate real user data and gain buy-in from stakeholders.

Understand the most pressing challenges faced by both students and the Program Office.
Explore the desirability and feasibility of gamification as a solution for onboarding.
Build and test an MVP to generate real user data and gain buy-in from stakeholders.Ensure timely MVP delivery through close collaboration with engineers for quality assurance.

Research & Design

This wasn’t a passion project—it had strict constraints:

Time: We had just three weeks to transform the prototype into an MVP for launch.
Resources: Our small, young engineering team was new to game development, requiring additional support and onboarding.
UX Insights: Previous research showed that MIT MBAs weren’t fans of pure game-based solutions but appreciated gamification elements and engaging storytelling. Additionally, the Program Office’s key objectives were to improve form completion rates and reinforce school norms without disrupting the existing onboarding portal.

Thus, the How Might We question were clearer:

How might we innovate the onboarding process through necessary gamification for MIT MBA students to encourage deeper non-pedagogical info learning and application in their two-year ife at MIT?

Mapping the most suitable gaming genre

Figure: Info Architecture of Sloan simulation game

Figure: A collection of hand-drawn illustration for the Ironic Game "GO NUTS"

Video: Ironic Gaming "Go Nuts"

Piss your professor off by messing up everything and get his nuts

Figure Left: MKT Materials; Figure Right: Part of the design systems (Leading design intern to do so)

Figure: Drag to explore the features :)

Strategic Collaboration

Design Sprint Leadership: I led a design team of three interns, empowering them with crash courses to build their visual and UI design skills and accelerate onboarding. I fostered a safe space for experimentation, encouraging a “fail fast, learn fast” approach to speed up iteration.

Agile Development: I closely adhered to engineering requirements and maintained a daily debugging routine, focusing intently on resolving the most complex challenges (e.g., onboarding point awarding system instead of all-platform responsiveness).

Agile Development: I closely adhered to engineering requirements and maintained a daily debugging routine, focusing intently on resolving the most complex challenges (e.g., onboarding point awarding system instead of all-platform responsiveness).

Business Impact

Sign-ups on Launch Day

We exceeded expectations, particularly among younger master’s students eager to try the new experience.

$5K

Funding

Impressed by the MVP results and user data, the Program Office provided $5K in funding for future development.

Learning

Reimagining Gamification: Implementing gamification in an environment resistant to game-like features required experimentation. I discovered that engagement didn’t rely on typical elements like leaderboards or rewards, but rather on unexpected approaches—such as teaching users “how to fail” instead of “how to succeed.”

Reimagining Gamification: Implementing gamification in an environment resistant to game-like features requires experimentation. I discovered that engagement didn’t rely on typical elements like leaderboards or rewards, but rather on unexpected approaches—such as teaching users “how to fail” instead of “how to succeed.”

Balancing Playfulness and Clarity: While playful UX writing (e.g., naming a checklist "Mission Possible") made the platform more engaging, some users found their tasks confusing. I learned that adding personality at the sub-level works best when the core architecture remains straightforward.

Empowering Junior Team Members: By mentoring my team through daily feedback and fostering their growth, I was reminded that great leadership isn’t about delivering perfection—it’s about enabling people to do their best work within constraints.

Balancing Playfulness and Clarity: While playful UX writing (e.g., naming a checklist "Mission Possible") made the platform more engaging, some users found their tasks confusing. I learned that adding personality at the sub-level works best when the core architecture remains straightforward.

Empowering Junior Team Members: By mentoring my team through daily feedback and fostering their growth, I was reminded that great leadership isn’t about delivering perfection—it’s about enabling people to do their best work within constraints.

Thanks for reading!

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