Uncovering educator needs to redesign the Quest App for intuitive, self-driven learning
User research
Product Innovation
MVP Strategy
Mapped educator needs across public sector institutions (ITI, VTIs, Schools) through field and desk research, then co-led design workshops and MVP definition to shape a user-centered learning platform for a unique audience.
Client: Quest Alliance, India
Industry: Non-profit, Education
Role: UX research, Client coordination, Solutioning workshop design and co-facilitation
Team: Project with Network of Creative Thinkers Anisha Bijur, Tanvi Maisheri, Rishiraj Charan, Rudransh Mathur
What is Quest Alliance?
Quest Alliance is a non-profit that partners with 3,350+ institutions to equip youth with 21st-century skills, reaching 1.9 million learners and 27,500 educators through education technology and capacity building.
The Problem
Quest approached us with an open-ended goal to understand why educators weren’t meaningfully engaging with the Quest App and how to improve both retention and depth of learning.
At the time, the app functioned as a content library with no structured learning path. Our goal was to uncover what drives or hinders self-driven learning among educators, and design a system in the form of a new product or an evolution of the existing app, that makes learning more intentional, relevant, and easy to apply in classrooms for the benefit of learners.
Jump to the Final Solution
Understanding ground realities through primary research
To deeply understand educators’ mindsets, needs, and challenges, we:
Deep-dived into Quest Alliance’s past research, current programs, and their understanding of the educational ecosystems.
Conducted 35 online and in-person interviews across six states with teachers and Quest stakeholders.
Along with a team member, I went to Haryana and Karnataka while the other team went to Gujarat. We all conducted different virtual interviews.
Mapping behaviour patterns to define need-based user segments for a varied audience across the country
To account for diverse languages, socio-economic backgrounds, behaviors, tech access, and learning openness across regions, we created broad user segments, balancing scale, impact, and implementation constraints. This informed the roll-out and impact strategy and defined the restrictions of our solution.
Understanding mental models and behaviors through cross-platform competitive study
We analyzed 15+ direct and indirect competitors, along with cross-category apps, to uncover usage patterns and mental models. Our focus was on habit-forming features, nudges, choice architecture, and community engagement, assessing user responses to different design approaches. We were working with an audience that largely has very basic technological skills and need to be progressively inducted through familiar patterns of use.
The key findings
We synthesized raw attitudinal and behavioral data through collaborative affinity mapping, grouping field notes and quotes. Combined with past research, these insights helped uncover the 'why' behind behaviors and informed the solution generation process. In addition to these factors, In addition, we also explored factors affecting adoption and engagement, including tech access and comfort, state-wise differences in expectations and behavior, and varying preferences for recognition and rewards.
Educators are most motivated when their efforts are viewed as direct contributors to student success, finding both personal and professional fulfillment in visible impact.
Educators’ identity is deeply tied to being knowledgeable mentors, shaping their motivation through both internal drive and external expectations.
Educators already engage in self-learning practices based on interests, student needs, or curriculum gaps but don’t relate it to Quest’s concept of ‘self-learning.’
With a lack of agency and little recognition for their expertise, educators feel obligated rather than engaged, making them resistant to external training efforts.
Educators’ effort levels are shaped by peer expectations and competition, with most institutes following a clear and accepted hierarchy.
Turning findings into opportunities for scalable impact
Opportunity area #1
Attributing value to existing self-learning practises and providing avenues to engage and build on them regularly.
Opportunity area #2
Recognising and rewarding educators' expertise to positively reinforce desired behaviours and inspire others.
Opportunity area #3
Supporting peer engagement to encourage reflection and cross-sharing of teaching practises.
Opportunity area #4
Visualising the impact of the educator’s efforts on student’s successes and shortcomings.
Collaboratively generating solution with the Quest Alliance team
During a day-long session with Quest Alliance’s leadership and product teams, we presented our findings and used their insights to creatively workshop concepts targeting the key opportunity areas. The workshop included multiple rounds of ideation in cross-vertical teams, ensuring a diverse range of perspectives. The takeaway from this session was a set of research-backed concepts, refined with Quest Alliance’s expertise, to be developed into the final solution.
Refining and validating the solution with the clients and end-users
We worked closely with the Quest team to prioritize concepts using an Impact–Confidence–Feasibility framework. This helped surface implementation gaps early and secure internal alignment across verticals. We then validated the shortlisted concepts on the ground with 8 end-users. These sessions revealed what resonated most, identified usability blockers, and gave clarity on preferred features. Key insights included educators’ comfort with self-evaluation, the value they place on peer interaction, language limitations, and the kind of recognition that felt meaningful to them.
The New Quest App:
A digital tool to enable and encourage reflection-based learning and implementation in educators
The final solution developed into a set of enhancements to Quest Alliance's existing application, designed to sustain a continuous cycle of learning and implementation for educators. Key features include goal-setting, progress tracking, and the development of personalised learning pathways to maintain educator agency and create accountability for ongoing engagement. In the second phase of the project, this product evolved into a replacement to the existing Quest App and redefined the learning experience ground-up.
Feature #1
Goal-setting through self evaluation to give educators agency and transparency into their learning journey
Through a baseline test, users identify their key strengths and improvement areas to define their learning goals and create their personalised learning pathways.
Feature #2
Ability to create personalised learning pathways and adapt it to independent context and needs
The app offers personalized, actionable recommendations based on teachers' tech access, infrastructure, and learning environment. Educators set goals, guided by evaluations or personal choice, each linked to a learning path. Progress is tracked through milestone-based badges and a progress tracker, fostering motivation and mastery over time.
Feature #3
Enabling community sharing for support and encouragement
This is a public and social space among peers, for teachers to share and document their individual efforts while working towards their selected goal. The community of peers offers teachers accountability, support and peer-recognition.
Expanding key features into a detailed product strategy and plan
We mapped out the requirements and key modules of the new app and identified key features, providing simplified versions where necessary for ease of implementation. We created an incremental plan to build towards the ideal product, allowing for user testing and feedback to be incorporated throughout the process.
Next Step-
The extensive research was followed by a ground-up redesign of the Quest App while iteratively testing with users and co-creating the learning experience and content formats with the Quest Alliance team. I led the NOCT team in this phase of the project.
The project page for the design phase is currently under an NDA. Get in touch with me to know what came next or find it here if you already have the password!