Designing for different learning styles at Microsoft

The Details

Team: Content Experience at Microsoft

Duration: June 2017 - Sept. 2017

Skills: User research, content strategy, user experience design

Key Responsibilities:

• Worked with design researchers and content strategists to understand user needs, and translated these needs into voice and tone principles

• Created a guide for internal design and product teams who designing for customers with different learning styles

It all started when…

I decided to pivot from being a biochemistry and public health major on the pre-med track to pursuing a career at the intersection of writing, education, and technology. When applying for summer internships, I searched for job descriptions that mentioned “strategic storytelling” and “adaptable,” which embodied everything I wanted to be. On the Microsoft Careers page, I came across the following bullet point in a list of desired qualifications:

“Excellent writer who understands how to use everything from a perfectly placed fragment to in-depth storytelling.”

Storytelling, technology, and a little bit of strategy? Sign me up! A month later, I interviewed for a user experience (UX) writer internship. Less than 24 hours later, I got good news from my recruiter - and thus began the summer of a lifetime.

Designing for different learning styles

Everyone has different learning styles some people may want to listen to lecture, but others want to jump in and learn by doing. All of these approaches are valid. However, a lot of technology has been optimized for people who learn through trial and error. Because of this, other learning styles, or people who need additional support or context, are often overlooked.

For my project, I worked with designers, UX researchers, and software engineers to create a research and design guide that would empower Microsoft designers and product teams to create inclusive products and devices for users with a range of learning styles.

Research Question

During my research, my guiding questions was the following:

How might we empower Microsoft customers with different learning styles? 

 Hypothesis: Providing in-context guidance for customers, and using a set of best practices for designing to accommodate different learning styles, will empower customers and product teams.

A customer-centered approach

During my first week of my internship, my team completed an inclusive design sprint with other writers, designers, and software developers on the team. By working with my teammates and interviewing potential customers, I got a clearer picture of how we could collaborate to effectively support customers who wanted to learn through visual, auditory, or kinesthetic aides.

Tell me more: The most impactful part was chatting directly with during interviews. We began by asking about good learning experiences from their past as well as their level of familiarity with Microsoft technology. and potential pain points. By asking open-ended follow-up questions like “Tell me why you choose to select that button,” we focused on understanding their thought process and mental models when interacting with Microsoft products.

Based on customer interviews during the inclusive design sprint, insights from Microsoft research, and the work of the Inclusive Design teams, I compiled 3 key recommendations for teams who are creating a product or device that supported different learning styles, which were developed based on customer interviews, insights from Microsoft research, and the work of the Inclusive Design team.

• Control: Customers should be able to choose the pace and the type of support they need. This can exist in the form of a video tutorial, a step-by-step list of directions with pictures, or a hands-on class.

• Voice: Most people receive help from friends or family that they trust, which can alleviate the fear or intimidation of learning a new task. Similarly, customers favor familiar, approachable directions over jargon.

• Discoverability: Let’s say you’re working on being a better cook - you may look for recipes and cooking techniques through sources like cooking shows, blogs, and recipe websites. Similarly. customers should be able to find learning experiences across multiple entry points.

Designing for different learning styles

Based on my research, I created a guide for internal design and product teams who are designing a diverse customer base with a range of learning styles. The guide covers:

• An explanation of different learning styles

• Considerations when creating inclusive products that support different learning styles

• Activity cards with step-by-step exercises

I met with UX researchers and designers who worked on the Inclusive Design team at Microsoft to understand current efforts to make products more inclusive, and the research that was the catalyst for creating this guide! I wrote the text for most of the guide. Here's a snippet from the introduction:

Writing is rewriting

My manager and colleagues challenged me to make my own writing concise and conversational, so I iterated on the content until I did this. This mirrors the way that researchers develop their hypothesis over time, or the way product designers change their products in response to feedback, Here’s an example of a sentence that got clearer and shorter over time:

A final word

My summer internship at Microsoft taught me more than I could have ever imagined. I was nervous to jump into a big tech company after being fresh off my acceptance into the Human Centered Design and Engineering program, but I’m glad that I took the leap. Maybe my mom, supervisor, friends were all onto something for believing in me. I've got the Microsoft badge to prove that I was worth taking a chance on.

Here’s a link to the full guide that I developed, “Designing for Guidance:”

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