1 . Refinement of the gap: improve planning/scheduling for your Coursera courses
On average only 7% from the Coursera students finish their course(s) successfully (achieve statement of accomplishment). Besides a lot of students that do not initially intent to finish the course the 2 main reasons for premature quitting are:
- lack of time
- student does not have the prerequisite knowledge/skills
Better planning and scheduling is perceived as a major improvement action to increase the student's success rate.
2. List of User Needs
I collected close to 100 user needs and clustered them in 7 groups.
Remind that these are user needs, not product features:
- some are contradictory, others are overlapping
- only some of them will be included in the design
Here are the needs for the Coursera Planner (further abbreviated as CP):
The CP supports Coursera terminology
The CP Supports the different course formats Coursera uses
The CP defines Coursera platform terminology
! The CP has an easy pattern language to describe course actions
The CP encourages standardized nomenclature and layout for course (ie “syllabus” vs “course sessions”)
The CP Supports different study modes (tracks): audit, standard, advanced, extended-options
The CP uses concise naming & numbering of weeks, modules and classes
The CP uses course attributes: score, max-score, %-score, track (audit, standard, advanced, extended)
The CP uses task attributes: description, score, max-score, estimated+actual workload, #attempts
The CP uses the different assessment types: quiz, autograded, peer reviewed
The CP helps in selecting course, in enrollment and in execution up-to end of week 1
The CP advises to be selective with the almost infinite amount of available courses
The CP gives guidance on how to figure out the requirements of the course
The CP typically overestimates (x2?) the indicated workload on the course description
The CP alerts if not enough time available to take additional courses
The CP keeps a whishlist for courses not subscribed yet (not enough time yet)
The CP supports taking second enrollment in class when the class is rescheduled, ie take a more advanced track
The CP allows enrollment on many courses, and let you decide to continue after first week
The CP documents course structure and flow
The CP distinguishes clearly between the different elements in the course
The CP describes and shows course pattern (type and sequence of tasks + date-times)
! The CP helps you identifying the rhythm of the class (workload, ratio lectures/assignments, …)
The CP supports you to evaluate after the first week of the course: track to follow, workload, rhythm
The CP guides you choosing your track: audit, standard, advanced, extended
The CP lets you prioritize the course between 1.important 2.fun
The CP provides an overview of requirements to get certificate
The CP shows one-page status overview
! The CP is space efficient: all main task / milestone dates information on one page
The CP shows progress towards certificate (grade completion status)
The CP shows a linear sequence view on progress
The CP uses one single clear sequence of activities
The CP has a concise overview of all tasks per course
The CP has an overview of weekly requirements
The CP has progress indicators, showing if you are on-track or not
The CP displays remaining effort / assignments near end of course, to reach statement of accomplishment
The CP has a checklist for tasks, completed tasks can be removed
The CP has a list of course definitions and formulas
The CP provides an overview of workload for the next 3 months on a weekly basis
The CP gives a simple view of completion status related to certificate: achieved points, needed points, still available points
The CP supports continuous planning and monitoring
The CP lets you plan/schedule per week
The CP uses a weekly ToDo list
The CP handles budget time on a weekly basis
The CP supports daily planning updates and prioritization
The CP handles course with different start day of the week
The CP combines workload information with available study time
The CP avoids workload underestimation to successfully complete courses
The CP has warning indicators for overloaded periods
The CP indicates the amount of hours needed every week per course
The CP checks overall progress regarding qualification for certificate
The CP tracks time consumption per course per week
! The CP has a Timelog: logs time spend on each course
The CP lets you schedule 2nd view of video lecture(s) to prepare homework or exam
The CP takes care of quiz retakes (#tries left)
The CP allows to book timeslices in calendar, ie 1-2 hour, to devote to study
The CP uses moveable items that can be paste to other timeslots
The CP lets you add task items on the fly
The CP lets you foresee time for revision of course material
The CP supports you change track during course
The CP supports tasks, assignments and deadlines
The CP has a clear timetable of what to do each week
The CP lists and keeps up with all deadline dates
The CP includes Google calendar (ical) deadlines
The CP marks deadlines clearly
The CP puts deadlines right beside the task
The CP uses traffic ligths for upcoming deadlines
The CP distinguishes important deadlines from others
The CP alerts on approaching deadlines
The CP copes with changing deadlines
The CP has a single area for all assignments
The CP lists pending tasks
The CP uses at least 2 priorities for tasks
The CP prioritizes the task list linearly
The CP presents views of tasks for today, tomorrow, this week
The CP clearly shows what to do / submit by when
The CP lets you mark tasks upon completion
The CP has a completion status of assignments that is easy visible
The CP avoids that students miss deadlines of assignments/tasks accidently
The CP has room to include forum discussions when appropriate
The CP tracks re-attempts on quizzes and exams
The CP addresses rework, faulty answers on quizzes, replay of videos
The CP handles complexities of multiple assignments per week, including peer reviews from previous week
The CP handles unevenly spread efforts over the week of the course (ie for midterm or final exam prep)
The CP provides guidelines and supports sharing & rewards
The CP instructions are short and streamlined
! The CP gives guidance on course selection & overall study planning
The CP gives guidance on forum discussion
The CP lets you share and receive feedback from others
The CP enables catching-on with the rhythm of the classes
The CP lets you collaborate on planning with other students via social media
! The CP records finished courses, %scores, track, Forum leaderboard position / score
The CP provides a sense of achievement
The CP sends you weekly messages with tips and tricks
The CP shares evaluations / tips from previous course enrollments from / with other students
! The CP benchmarks the student performance against the course populaton
The CP reminds you on discipline with your weekly planning
The CP rewards after success
The CP stores your course plans and schedules for later reference
The CP automates and presents different formats
The CP lets you personalize your learning dashboard
The CP takes maximum 2 hours planning / week for all courses
The CP is useable without internet connection
The CP provides a paper version
! The CP automates collection of task information from Coursera site
! The CP automates updating task status from Coursera site
3. My experience gathering the needs
I requested on the course discussion fourm for interview candidates. I had 3 skype interviews, 1 Google+ hangout and 1 mail interview, all with Coursera students that take several courses. I defined 2 user sements:
1. students who take courses mainly for the joy of learning
2. students who want to receive credits, concretetly receive rewards in their profession or study
The students sent me their planning artifacts: aganda, calendar, todo list. From several Coursera courses I analyzed lots of comments on the discussion forum related to planning.
Listed all the identified needs, grouped them into clusters, reviewed them regarding the coding rules, and selected some latent needs.
4. Latent needs
Latent needs I identified are marked in the list with an "!":
! The CP has an easy pattern language to describe course actions
! The CP helps you identifying the rhythm of the class (workload, ratio lectures/assignments, …)
! The CP is space efficient: all main task / milestone dates information on one page
! The CP has a Timelog: logs time spend on each course
! The CP gives guidance on course selection & overall study planning
! The CP records finished courses, %scores, track, Forum leaderboard position / score
! The CP benchmarks the student performance against the course populaton
! The CP automates collection of task information from Coursera site
! The CP automates updating task status from Coursera site
As a Coursera student do you recognize these needs? Do you agree with the latent needs? Anything else you want to comment on?
You're Welcome!
On average only 7% from the Coursera students finish their course(s) successfully (achieve statement of accomplishment). Besides a lot of students that do not initially intent to finish the course the 2 main reasons for premature quitting are:
- lack of time
- student does not have the prerequisite knowledge/skills
Better planning and scheduling is perceived as a major improvement action to increase the student's success rate.
2. List of User Needs
I collected close to 100 user needs and clustered them in 7 groups.
Remind that these are user needs, not product features:
- some are contradictory, others are overlapping
- only some of them will be included in the design
Here are the needs for the Coursera Planner (further abbreviated as CP):
The CP supports Coursera terminology
The CP Supports the different course formats Coursera uses
The CP defines Coursera platform terminology
! The CP has an easy pattern language to describe course actions
The CP encourages standardized nomenclature and layout for course (ie “syllabus” vs “course sessions”)
The CP Supports different study modes (tracks): audit, standard, advanced, extended-options
The CP uses concise naming & numbering of weeks, modules and classes
The CP uses course attributes: score, max-score, %-score, track (audit, standard, advanced, extended)
The CP uses task attributes: description, score, max-score, estimated+actual workload, #attempts
The CP uses the different assessment types: quiz, autograded, peer reviewed
The CP helps in selecting course, in enrollment and in execution up-to end of week 1
The CP advises to be selective with the almost infinite amount of available courses
The CP gives guidance on how to figure out the requirements of the course
The CP typically overestimates (x2?) the indicated workload on the course description
The CP alerts if not enough time available to take additional courses
The CP keeps a whishlist for courses not subscribed yet (not enough time yet)
The CP supports taking second enrollment in class when the class is rescheduled, ie take a more advanced track
The CP allows enrollment on many courses, and let you decide to continue after first week
The CP documents course structure and flow
The CP distinguishes clearly between the different elements in the course
The CP describes and shows course pattern (type and sequence of tasks + date-times)
! The CP helps you identifying the rhythm of the class (workload, ratio lectures/assignments, …)
The CP supports you to evaluate after the first week of the course: track to follow, workload, rhythm
The CP guides you choosing your track: audit, standard, advanced, extended
The CP lets you prioritize the course between 1.important 2.fun
The CP provides an overview of requirements to get certificate
The CP shows one-page status overview
! The CP is space efficient: all main task / milestone dates information on one page
The CP shows progress towards certificate (grade completion status)
The CP shows a linear sequence view on progress
The CP uses one single clear sequence of activities
The CP has a concise overview of all tasks per course
The CP has an overview of weekly requirements
The CP has progress indicators, showing if you are on-track or not
The CP displays remaining effort / assignments near end of course, to reach statement of accomplishment
The CP has a checklist for tasks, completed tasks can be removed
The CP has a list of course definitions and formulas
The CP provides an overview of workload for the next 3 months on a weekly basis
The CP gives a simple view of completion status related to certificate: achieved points, needed points, still available points
The CP supports continuous planning and monitoring
The CP lets you plan/schedule per week
The CP uses a weekly ToDo list
The CP handles budget time on a weekly basis
The CP supports daily planning updates and prioritization
The CP handles course with different start day of the week
The CP combines workload information with available study time
The CP avoids workload underestimation to successfully complete courses
The CP has warning indicators for overloaded periods
The CP indicates the amount of hours needed every week per course
The CP checks overall progress regarding qualification for certificate
The CP tracks time consumption per course per week
! The CP has a Timelog: logs time spend on each course
The CP lets you schedule 2nd view of video lecture(s) to prepare homework or exam
The CP takes care of quiz retakes (#tries left)
The CP allows to book timeslices in calendar, ie 1-2 hour, to devote to study
The CP uses moveable items that can be paste to other timeslots
The CP lets you add task items on the fly
The CP lets you foresee time for revision of course material
The CP supports you change track during course
The CP supports tasks, assignments and deadlines
The CP has a clear timetable of what to do each week
The CP lists and keeps up with all deadline dates
The CP includes Google calendar (ical) deadlines
The CP marks deadlines clearly
The CP puts deadlines right beside the task
The CP uses traffic ligths for upcoming deadlines
The CP distinguishes important deadlines from others
The CP alerts on approaching deadlines
The CP copes with changing deadlines
The CP has a single area for all assignments
The CP lists pending tasks
The CP uses at least 2 priorities for tasks
The CP prioritizes the task list linearly
The CP presents views of tasks for today, tomorrow, this week
The CP clearly shows what to do / submit by when
The CP lets you mark tasks upon completion
The CP has a completion status of assignments that is easy visible
The CP avoids that students miss deadlines of assignments/tasks accidently
The CP has room to include forum discussions when appropriate
The CP tracks re-attempts on quizzes and exams
The CP addresses rework, faulty answers on quizzes, replay of videos
The CP handles complexities of multiple assignments per week, including peer reviews from previous week
The CP handles unevenly spread efforts over the week of the course (ie for midterm or final exam prep)
The CP provides guidelines and supports sharing & rewards
The CP instructions are short and streamlined
! The CP gives guidance on course selection & overall study planning
The CP gives guidance on forum discussion
The CP lets you share and receive feedback from others
The CP enables catching-on with the rhythm of the classes
The CP lets you collaborate on planning with other students via social media
! The CP records finished courses, %scores, track, Forum leaderboard position / score
The CP provides a sense of achievement
The CP sends you weekly messages with tips and tricks
The CP shares evaluations / tips from previous course enrollments from / with other students
! The CP benchmarks the student performance against the course populaton
The CP reminds you on discipline with your weekly planning
The CP rewards after success
The CP stores your course plans and schedules for later reference
The CP automates and presents different formats
The CP lets you personalize your learning dashboard
The CP takes maximum 2 hours planning / week for all courses
The CP is useable without internet connection
The CP provides a paper version
! The CP automates collection of task information from Coursera site
! The CP automates updating task status from Coursera site
3. My experience gathering the needs
I requested on the course discussion fourm for interview candidates. I had 3 skype interviews, 1 Google+ hangout and 1 mail interview, all with Coursera students that take several courses. I defined 2 user sements:
1. students who take courses mainly for the joy of learning
2. students who want to receive credits, concretetly receive rewards in their profession or study
The students sent me their planning artifacts: aganda, calendar, todo list. From several Coursera courses I analyzed lots of comments on the discussion forum related to planning.
Listed all the identified needs, grouped them into clusters, reviewed them regarding the coding rules, and selected some latent needs.
4. Latent needs
Latent needs I identified are marked in the list with an "!":
! The CP has an easy pattern language to describe course actions
! The CP helps you identifying the rhythm of the class (workload, ratio lectures/assignments, …)
! The CP is space efficient: all main task / milestone dates information on one page
! The CP has a Timelog: logs time spend on each course
! The CP gives guidance on course selection & overall study planning
! The CP records finished courses, %scores, track, Forum leaderboard position / score
! The CP benchmarks the student performance against the course populaton
! The CP automates collection of task information from Coursera site
! The CP automates updating task status from Coursera site
As a Coursera student do you recognize these needs? Do you agree with the latent needs? Anything else you want to comment on?
You're Welcome!
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