project overview

I was recruited by O'Reilly Media's Design Director to assist in building out a fully remote, cross-functional product team. As ORM's Product Design Lead, I managed a team of designers, delegating tasks, supervising work, and providing feedback and mentoring - while also getting in the mix with hands-on design work. The result of our collective team efforts would be the first ongoing usable design system, user research and inbound practice, culminating into a cutting-edge online learning platform.

THE mission

The Safari learning platform lacked a cohesive and consistent user experience and was rife with design and technical debt that had accrued over many years. I was tasked with leading my team in reducing the accumulated design and technical debt and creating a fresh new experience that felt modern and was informed by extensive user research.

THE OUTCOME

We were able to revolutionize O'Reilly's learning app - Safari - via a series of iterative releases, actively learning from user feedback, and continuously enhancing pilot apps in an Agile setting. Leveraging our newly developed React-based design system (created from scratch in under six months), we embarked on a process of reimagining and redesigning the app. Within a year, users gained access to an array of valuable features, including: live online training classes, personalized playlists, streamlined book and video organization, interactive instructor support, and ultra efficient code snippet searches. The result: A tenfold increase in shipping rates, a sixfold expansion of our team, and substantial reductions in both technical and design debt, while simultaneously bolstering the brand's reputation and value to both internal stakeholders as well as platform users.

THE READER APP

When it comes to transforming a textbook company, the first step is all about improving the reading experience. With the fresh re-design of Safari's reader, you can now easily organize, sort, share, save, and tweak your settings across multiple platforms.

THE learning playlists app

Like Spotify, but for educational content. Accessible online and on the native iOS App.

THE EVENTS APP

At O'Reilly events, when attendees discovered that the onsite tutorials were presented in Safari, their interest in accessing Safari naturally grew. They wanted to follow along with the sessions and take Safari back to work with them. We had a hunch that if we offered free access to Safari as part of their ticket price, attendees would not only use it themselves but also become enthusiastic advocates, sharing it with their teams and learning and development leaders. Our intuition was right on the money.

To enhance the events and nurture potential leads, we knew it was essential to upgrade the overall event experience. Our main focus was to guide attendees to the right sessions effortlessly. With this goal in mind, we streamlined the process by creating an all-new event app and website experience. We included critical features such as: easy browsing, powerful search functionality, and convenient session saving capabilities. This user-friendly approach enabled attendees to seamlessly plan and manage their schedules, ensuring a smooth and enjoyable event experience.

THE ORM native ios APP

Learners can now embrace knowledge anytime, anywhere, and at their own pace.

the results

‍Launched → 1 Design system conceived of, made the business case for, built in React, and launched.

‍Launched → 1 Newly redesigned Safari Learning SaaS platform launched.

‍Launched → 2 Mobile apps launched, 1 for iOS (4.7 rating on app store) and 1 for Android→ 10x Increase in shipping velocity in less than 1yr. Download the O'Reilly App for iOS

Awarded → for the first time ever, a Top 20 Online Learning Library by Training Industry.

team kudos

Director of Product Design → Jeremy Brady
Product Designers → Jonelle Chandler, Mike Boutté, Stephanie Hall, James Touhey, & Courtney Bradford
Lead UX Researcher→ Stefanie Owens

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