Empowering Workplace Communication for College Students
A research led mobile EdTech platform designed to close the gap between how students communicate in school and how they need to communicate at work.
Type: Partnered on an academic project
Role: Product Designer & Manager
Timeline: 1 month (2024)
Tools Used: Figma, User Interviews, Surveys, Curriculum Design, Competative Analysis, User Testing, Wireframe & Prototype
Objective: To bridges the gap between academia and workplace communication by providing scenario-based lessons, AI feedback, interactive activities, peer collaboration, and networking opportunities.
Through user interviews and secondary research, we identified a critical and underserved gap in how students prepare for workplace communication.
While 80% of employers value oral and written communication as critical competencies, fewer than 40% of recent graduates are proficient in these areas.
Traditional education systems rarely integrate real world communication training, leaving students unprepared for workplace interactions.
Additionally, students aged 17 to 24 spend 8 to 10 hours daily on mobile devices, signaling a clear opportunity to meet them where they already are.
The design challenge was to make real world communication practice feel low stakes and accessible. CommUnity's core product decisions, including scenario based interactions, AI feedback loops, and progressive difficulty, were each driven by findings from user interviews and learning science literature. The platform equips college students with the skills to communicate confidently in the U.S. workplace, bridging the gap between academic knowledge and real world application.
Designed primarily for non-native college students aged 17 to 24, preparing for internships or full time roles in the U.S. workplace and seeking to improve oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills.
User interviews revealed two distinct needs: skill building in a private, low pressure environment, and community based practice with peers. Both informed distinct features in the product.
The platform also serves native students aiming to improve professional communication, as well as career services and academic institutions seeking a scalable training tool.
CommUnity bridges the gap between academia and workplace communication by providing:
Scenario-Based Lessons: Real-world workplace scenarios, inspired by popular culture and designed to simulate challenging conversations.
AI Feedback: Real-time evaluations on grammar, tone, and content for written and verbal communication.
Interactive Activities: Role-playing, video analysis, and guided reflections to reinforce learning.
Peer Collaboration: Features like group evaluations and a social forum to foster a supportive learning community.
Learning with Professionals: Introduced broadcast and news features produced by professionals that seamlessly connect students with the industry. Opportunities for students to participate in mock interviews, virtual coffee chats, and collaborative projects with experienced professionals through synchronous workshops.
1. Discovery: User Interviews and Secondary Research
Conducted user surveys and interviews to identify pain points in students’ communication skills. Insights surfaced the core tension: students knew they had communication gaps but feared judgment in practice.
Analyzed employer feedback to validate the gap between academic training and workplace expectations.
2. Define: Feature Prioritization and Product Scope
Prioritized must-have features based on interview insights and their impact on the core user need.
Produced a full PRD covering user stories, acceptance criteria, and feature prioritization. Developed a Product Roadmap scoping future features in the could-have category.
3. Prototype and Test: Figma to Interactive Flows
Designed and tested interactive modules in Figma, focusing on ease of use and engaging visuals.
Iterated on scenario choice interactions based on usability feedback, refining branching flows where users showed confusion at decision points.
Developed a curriculum of 3 units, 13 lessons, and 4 synchronous workshops.
Structured lessons to include mini modules, quizzes, and self paced learning paths.
4. Iterate: Behavioral Design Layer
Drawing on Self Determination Theory, added streaks, certifications, and a personalized progress dashboard to sustain intrinsic motivation beyond the first session.
Unit 1: Foundational Communication Skills (e.g., professional introductions, email etiquette).
Unit 2: Workplace Scenarios (e.g., giving feedback, active listening).
Unit 3: Real-World Application (e.g., negotiations, managing crises).
Final Capstone Project.
AI-powered feedback on written and verbal tasks.
Simulated conversations with branching choices.
Peer evaluation and group collaboration tools.
No scheduling needed—jump into a session anytime and build confidence at learner's own pace.
Receive personalized feedback reports and skill improvements, helping learners track their growth.
Practice without fear of mistakes—perfect for anyone looking to improve.
Social features that enable learners to share tips, experiences, and feedback with peers.
Built-in features such as broadcasts and news forum for connecting with professionals in relevant fields.
Opportunities for students to attend virtual workshops and participate in mentorship programs.
Scenario based vs. video lessons: Chose interactive scenarios over passive video content because interviews showed students needed practice opportunities, not more information. Video lessons would replicate the classroom format students already found insufficient.
AI feedback vs. human tutors: Prioritized AI driven feedback for scalability and availability. Human tutoring creates scheduling barriers that contradict the self paced, low stakes practice principle identified in research.
Progressive difficulty structure: Designed the curriculum to start with low stakes private practice before introducing peer collaboration, matching the comfort curve identified in user interviews.
Confidence in Workplace Communication: Measure user reported confidence levels before and after completing key modules, aiming for at least a 70% improvement in self assessed communication skills.
Interaction Completion Rates: Track the percentage of users completing role play scenarios and interactive exercises, with a goal of maintaining a 75% completion rate.
Networking Engagement: Monitor the number of students participating in networking activities. Aim for 50% of active users engaging in at least one networking feature per month.
Peer Collaboration Impact: Analyze the effectiveness of group evaluations and social forums by tracking interaction frequency and perceived value. Target a 30% increase in collaboration over the first six months.
Design Adaptability: Evaluate how well the curriculum adapts across different academic institutions and industries by tracking adoption rate and institution specific feedback.
Retention and Return Rates: Measure user retention over 3, 6, and 12 months, aiming for a 60% monthly active user rate.
CommUnity pushed me to think about communication training as a product problem first. Every moment of friction in a lesson was a signal about feature design, not curriculum quality. The most valuable iteration came from watching users pause at branching scenarios, which led to a complete rethink of how choices were surfaced and labeled. This project sharpened my ability to translate user research into concrete product decisions with clear rationale.
Check out the research paper that explained our design below.