Role
Senior Product DesignerLed design for skill assessments
Taking Bridge from training to talent management.
Instructure set a goal for Bridge to grow revenue 20% a year. We had one month to design a talent management MVP for the CEO. Companies asked to buy it before any code was written, leadership funded it, and the product team doubled.
The short version30-second read
Business need
Instructure wanted Bridge revenue to grow 20% a year. Bridge needed to be stickier and move up-market into talent management.
Customer problem
75% of voluntary turnover traced back to how people were managed, and only 49% of employees found their reviews accurate.
Behavior change
Managers needed to give feedback all year, and employees needed to ask for it, instead of waiting for an annual review.
Hypothesis
If managers could see their whole team, with skills and 1:1s in one place, feedback would become a habit.
Solution
An org chart you navigate by, quick skill assessments from managers and peers, and a dashboard that shows who needs a 1:1.
Outcome
Companies asked to pay before any code existed. Leadership funded it, and the product team doubled.
20%
yearly revenue growth goal for Bridge
1 mo
to design an MVP for the CEO
49%
of employees found their reviews accurate
2×
product team size after it was funded
Business need
Why Instructure cared.
Bridge launched in 2015 as a learning management system. For 2016, Instructure set a goal for Bridge to grow revenue 20% a year. Our question was how to keep growing as a public company.
We wanted Bridge to be stickier, and to add real value, not just more features. A quarter of organizations weren't renewing their annual contracts.
Our CEO, Josh Coates, saw the opening in talent management. The plan was to move up-market, where competitors were already established, and help companies keep and train more of their people. We had one month to design an MVP he could see.
Customer problem
What we learned.
We started from Deloitte and Gartner research, talked with customers and experts, and held an offsite with the product team to explore ideas.
- 75% of voluntary turnover traced back to how people were managed.
- Only 49% of employees found their reviews accurate.
- Managers wanted to give feedback and help their people grow.
- Employees wanted that feedback, so they could grow and feel valued.
The once-a-year review was letting both of them down.
Behavior change
What had to change.
Feedback had to happen all year. Managers needed to check in and assess skills regularly, and employees needed to ask for feedback instead of waiting for it.
Hypothesis
The bet.
If a manager could see their whole team in one place, with skills and the last 1:1 right there, giving feedback would become a habit. And if every assessment rolled up, companies could finally see where to train and where to hire.
Then we'd ask companies the direct question: if this were real, would you pay for it?
Solution
What I designed.
I led research, testing, and UX and visual design for the org chart, the skill assessments, and the manager dashboard.
01
Make the org chart the way you get around.
Leadership wanted to see the whole org and their direct reports at a glance. The org chart became the navigation, and it nudges managers when something needs attention, like a new hire who needs a first 1:1.
02
Keep assessments quick, and tied to the job.
Managers and peers rate the skills that matter for someone's role, pick a few words, and add a comment. People see where they stand next to how they see themselves.
03
Give managers and admins the big picture.
Managers get one dashboard with each person's goals, assessments, and days since their last 1:1, with a button to start the next one. Admins see skill mastery across the whole company, so they know where to train and where to hire.
Four product and design pairs worked side by side, with every screen printed and taped to the wall. We sketched, pinned up new versions, and gave each other feedback every day. After the MVP, I led design for everything around skill assessments, and handed off with full specs and a clickable prototype.
Outcome
What happened.
We took the prototype on a validation tour. When we asked companies if they'd pay for it, many said yes, right now, and we had to remind them no code existed yet. Executives wanted to build it as soon as possible.
The product team doubled: 4 new product managers, 4 new designers, 3 new program managers, 3 new development teams, and a new office in Pleasant Grove. About a year from concept, Bridge Perform was in alpha and beta.
Measurement
How I'd measure it.
We proved companies wanted it before writing code. These are the numbers that would show whether it changed how managers work, and whether customers stayed.
What to trackBeforeWhy it matters
1:1s and assessments per manager
One review a year
This is the habit the product was built to create. If it doesn't happen, nothing else follows.
Employees who find feedback accurate
49%
It shows whether the feedback is good, not just frequent.
Contract renewals
25% of organizations not renewing
A product people use all year is harder to cancel.
Revenue growth from Bridge
A 20% yearly goal
The reason Instructure invested. Talent management had to add revenue, not just features.
Looking back
What I took from it.
Track the habit from day one
I'd set up a way to count 1:1s and assessments per manager before launch, so we'd know whether feedback really became regular.
Hard deadlines build teams
A month, one room, and a CEO waiting pulled us together fast. Working through something hard side by side is what turned a group of people into a team.
More work
Another Bridge story, and onboarding farmworkers 60% faster at Sendola.