Case study

Streamlining Certification: A Mobile-First Learning Journey

Redesigned a global certification platform to simplify learning and boost completion rates.

Company: Project Management Institute
Platforms: Responsive web

The redesigned Tool Kit on a phone: browse by topic and Option of the Day.

TL;DR

Led the redesign of a certification experience platform, turning a fragmented process into a guided, mobile-first journey.

$2.8MImpact

18%Fewer support tickets

23%Faster certification

+12Satisfaction

Overview

A global certification body served over 250,000 learners but its digital experience was fragmented, leaving users frustrated and support teams overwhelmed. I led the UX overhaul to deliver a cohesive, guided certification journey.

Challenge

No clear guidance

Learners didn’t know where to start.

High drop-offs

40% of users abandoned midway.

Disconnected systems

Frustrating system switching.

Low trust

International learners were unsure of the right path.

Solution

We redesigned the experience with:

Unified certification pathways
Guided dashboards and visual progress tracking
Embedded contextual support
Fully mobile-responsive design

Grayscale wireframes of the Tool Kit home on laptop and phone: search, topics, and popular options — Grayscale wireframes of Tool Kit home on laptop and phone.

Research & Insights

Our research focused on how working professionals engage with professional development platforms and where certification journeys break.

Methods:

In-depth interviews and usability testing with 37 platform users
Analysis of learning analytics from 500+ sessions and heatmap tracking
Survey responses from 100+ global learners and support ticket review

Findings from that work:

72% of learning attempts occurred outside work hours, with 64% on mobile devices
Navigation confusion caused 45% of support tickets and increased completion time by 2.5 months
Multi-certification learners had 2.3x higher drop-off rates due to unclear pathways

What we heard in research

I had no idea where to start. It felt like I had to figure it out on my own.
Avery C.First-time learner
I just wanted a roadmap: where I am now, what’s next, and how far I’ve come.
Skyler R.Returning member
This new platform is exactly what I needed—everything is clear now, and it feels so much easier to keep going.
Casey B.Learner

Paper prototyping kit on the floor: printed screens, cards, sticky notes, and markers — Paper prototyping kit used during research: printed screens, cards, and sticky notes.

A laptop showing a Miro empathy map from the discovery workshop, surrounded by clusters of sticky notes — Discovery workshop. The empathy map, and the notes that did not fit on it.

Design Decisions

A look at the key design moves that clarified complex flows and improved learner confidence.

Mapped workflow: Discovery → Sign Up → Enrollment → Exam → Credentialing

Key UX decisions:

Unified dashboard
Visual journey map
Contextual tooltips and guidance
Mobile-first layouts

Iterated to simplify language, highlight milestones, and optimize the dashboard.

Notebook sketches of the Explore Scope flow and its step-by-step screen sequence — Notebook sketches of the Explore Scope flow and its screen sequence.

Notebook spread sketching Tool Kit search, a saved list, and a phone frame of the same flow — Search, save, and the phone frame of the same flow. A second notebook spread from the same week.

Laptop showing wireframes of the Tool Kit covered in blue, pink, and green critique notes — Critique on the wireframes. Notes sit on the screens, not in a separate deck.

Design-system board: color ramps, icons, and a flow from Explore Scope through Explore Usage to Design a Solution — The system under the screens: color, icons, and the explore flow as one map.

Outcome

Learners finally had a clear path from discovery to credentialing. Unified pathways, guided dashboards with visual progress tracking, and embedded help replaced the system-switching, so people knew where to start and what came next.

The work delivered $2.8M in impact, 18% fewer support tickets, 23% faster certification, and a +12 lift in satisfaction.

The shipped Tool Kit: an explore map on a desktop monitor and Option of the Day on a phone — Shipped. Explore on the monitor, Option of the Day on the phone. This export is the live one, shown narrower so it stays sharp.

Reflection

Clear guidance and embedded help boosted user confidence and outcomes. Earlier international user testing would have strengthened localization.