SERIES: Information Architecture
MINI CASE STUDY
Designing a Supervisor Resource Hub That Actually Gets Used
Actionable Insights
It is important to understand how our learners seek out information. Whenever possible, instead of hiding content away in an LMS or behind jargon-laden titles, bring the information to where the learners are searching for it and use the language of novices, not experts.
Year 2021
Industry Higher Education
Audience Employers
Components website pages; fillable pdfs
Theme(s) resource hub; just-in-time resources
Challenge
A supervisor can make or break a co-op student’s experience, but although they are generally well-intentioned, they typically default to treating them like any other employee which isn’t the best approach. While there were resources available, supervisors didn’t have the time to search them out from the corners of the Internet where they were hiding.
I was asked to create a central resource hub that would actually get used, not just bookmarked and forgotten.
Approach
Instead of organizing by topic, I structured the hub around the real-world stages of supervising a student (hiring, onboarding, mentoring, re-hiring) and used FAQ-style headers based on what supervisors might actually ask themselves, like:
- “How do I choose the right level of task?”
- “What are students expecting of me?”
- “How do I give feedback that doesn’t overwhelm?”
CAPTION: These are examples of some of the tools created for the hub.
MINI CASE STUDY
Reframing Onboarding Around the Sales Journey
Actionable Insights
Getting the structure and flow of the learner journey is critical. Take the time to get it right. Use tools like a virtual whiteboard to explore different options until you are able to see the pattern emerge.
Year 2024
Industry Real Estate
Audience Sales Professionals
Components visual program framework
Theme(s) learner journey; planning structure and flow
Challenge
I was working on a high-stakes onboarding program for new sales professionals. The original version was structured thematically—policy here, tools there—but it didn’t get reps ready to sell. Learners felt overwhelmed, disconnected from the flow, and unsure what to do with what they’d learned.
Approach
I broke down content (source materials and discovery insights) into small, flexible pieces using sticky notes in Miro, experimenting with different configurations, looking for patterns and dependencies.
CAPTION: A fictionalized approximation of my Miro board.
I realized we could organize the learning around the customer’s sales journey, allowing learners to implement what they were learning in real time as they moved through the program.
I also introduced a repeating pattern within each stage: knowledge acquisition → practice → on-the-job application.
Results
Out of this emerged a visual framework that showed the entire learner journey, complete with all the various moving parts of the program. This framework became the guiding structure for the team and client, anchoring all future design and development.
MINI CASE STUDY
Clarifying Cultural Nuance Through a Decision Tree
Actionable Insights
Don’t limit yourself to the “normal” learning materials. A decision tree isn’t the first thing anyone would think of when it comes to teaching email greetings, but it worked surprisingly well.
Year 2019
Industry Higher Education
Audience Graduate ESL Students
Components flow chart
Theme(s) concept simplification
Challenge
While teaching professional communication to graduate ESL students, I noticed an unexpected pain point: choosing an appropriate email greeting. Many students defaulted to overly formal (“Dear Madam Chairperson”), oddly informal (“Hi friend”), or simply off (“Dear Lawyer Jones”).
Approach
I designed a visual decision tree that walked students through the greeting-selection process based on factors like formality, familiarity, and role. It surfaced the cultural cues native speakers often don’t even notice and gave learners something they could actually use.
CAPTION: The decision tree handout I gave students.