Ander Studio：Making internal tools usable again
I’m redesigning Ander Studio to stop our internal designers from 'fighting' with the tool and help them get back to building great content for clients like Hyundai.
Timeline
12 Weeks Group Project
My Role
UX/UI Design, Interaction Design
Deliverables
Persona, UX Research, Experience Maps, User Flow, UX Wireframe, Interactive Prototype, Visual Design and Usability Testing
Why I’m here
This is my ongoing Capstone project at the University of Toronto (iSchool). I’m collaborating with Ander, an EdTech startup that builds employee training systems for major companies like Hyundai.
The Conflict: “Our own team stopped using it!!”
At the heart of Ander’s operations is Ander Studio—an internal platform designed for our content designers to build micro-learning modules.
The problem? Our own team is losing faith in it. According to recent feedback, engagement is dropping. In plain English: the tool has become so frustrating and clunky to use that designers are finding ways to avoid it. This isn't just a UI issue; it’s a productivity bottleneck that slows down how fast we deliver work to clients like Hyundai.
My Mission: Stop the friction
My job isn't to just "make it look pretty." I'm acting as an internal detective to figure out exactly why the engagement is dropping. I need to pinpoint the "keyboard-smashing" moments in the workflow and design a future MVP that helps our content designers get their work done with confidence and zero friction.
Uncovering the "Why" – UX Research
User Interviews
To pinpoint the root causes of declining engagement, I conducted qualitative research through deep-dive interviews with 6 internal participants. I prioritized qualitative insights over quantitative data because I needed to understand the "emotional friction"—the specific moments where designers felt so frustrated that they abandoned Ander Studio for external workarounds.
Interviews allowed me to map out the current internal workflow and identify where the system failed to meet professional design standards. To ensure a comprehensive view, the respondents were selected based on the following internal roles/criteria:
Content Designers who use the platform daily to build modules for clients like Hyundai.
Operations Managers who oversee the end-to-end course delivery process.
Learning Content Creators who focus on the pedagogical logic and quiz structures.