Learning App
How I rebuilt the home screen so students come back to the app more often
CSI:
+19%
Sticky Factor:
+4%
Ru Store Rate:
+0,9 points
About the project
Context
The home screen was designed several years ago, when the app was just a course catalog. The product grew, but the page architecture stayed the same
Problems
There were more scenarios, and the old architecture stopped helping students get back to learning. It hit the core metrics (CSI and Sticky Factor). Absolute numbers are under NDA, but the negative trend was steady
Project goals
We needed to understand what keeps students from returning to their studies quickly, and design an architecture that would handle product growth and new user segments
My role
Senior Product Designer
What I did
- Researched the problem
- Formulated product hypotheses
- Designed the new home screen architecture
- Owned UX/UI design
- Validated solutions with usability tests
Platforms
iOS, Android
Research
Customer interviews: home screen
I ran a series of in-depth interviews with students from different programs, together with the product manager. I asked not about the interface but about why a person opens the app at a given moment. That defined the logic of the whole project
Users didn’t use the “Continue Lessons” block
Instead of the expected lesson, it opened the start of an already completed module. Students looked for the right lesson manually
Progress wasn’t informative enough
Progress was displayed but didn’t answer the main question: how much is left until the end
The course list had no structure
No sorting, no grouping: finding a paid course became a separate task on every visit
Customer interviews: course screen
In the same interviews, I looked at student behavior inside a course: what students find on their own and what they lose along the way
Downloaded materials were hard to find
Students looked for files inside the course, not in a separate section of the app. Materials lay where nobody expected them, so some students didn’t even know the download feature existed
The calendar wasn’t connected to the active course
The schedule lived in a separate section that almost nobody visited: the link to current studies simply wasn’t there
No clear notification center
In-app notifications got lost or arrived irregularly. Students checked email, Telegram, the website: anything but the app itself
Student quotes from the interviews
“I tap ‘Continue’ and land at the start of a module I’ve already finished”
Student, “Python Developer” course
“I look at the progress bar and can’t tell if I have a lot left or I’m almost done”
Student, “Marketing Basics” course
“I found the downloaded materials by accident. Before that, I thought there was no download feature at all”
Student, “UX from Scratch” course
“I found out about the deadline from Telegram. I didn’t see any notifications in the app itself”
Student, “Nutritionist” course
Design process
Why students open the app
After the interviews, I listed all user scenarios and grouped them by frequency and impact on key metrics
Learning offline
When I’m on the road without a connection, I want to open downloaded materials right away, not hunt for them across sections
Navigating between courses
When I’m studying several programs at once, I want to find the right one quickly, not scroll the whole list every time
Timely notifications
When a new module comes out or a deadline is close, I want to know in time, not by accident
Study planning
When I’m planning my studies, I want to see the class schedule right inside the course
Hypotheses
Users came to the home screen with different tasks, and a single scenario for everyone would have meant constant compromises. So I formulated several fundamentally different hypotheses for the home screen
Hypothesis #1: Customizable hub
I proposed building the home screen from independent widgets. Students decide which blocks matter more and in what order they go, and no single structure is forced on anyone
Hypothesis #1: Customizable hub
❇️ Pros
Screen built around the student’s task
Everyone assembles the home screen around the reason they opened the app right now
Scalability
A new section is just one more widget, and the screen structure stays the same
Everything needed in one place
Materials, calendar, and notifications can sit next to the active course
🛑 Risks
Complex interface
Customization can overload the screen and make it harder to understand
Customization may go unnoticed
Users may not discover that they can build the screen for themselves
Too much freedom
Excessive flexibility can make the screen harder to read.
Hypothesis #2: Calendar-centered home screen
The calendar became the main element, with upcoming events, deadlines, and classes. Tying the screen to specific dates was meant to build a habit of opening the app regularly
Hypothesis #2: Calendar-centered home screen
❇️ Pros
A habit of regular visits
Dates give a reason to open the app on specific days
What’s next is visible at once
Classes and deadlines are on the first screen, with nothing to look for
The schedule stops being a separate section
The calendar lives on the home screen, not where nobody went
🛑 Risks
Doesn’t fit every student
The scenario doesn’t work for students with no ties to a schedule
A lost path to learning
Users who rarely work with the schedule could lose their main way into learning
Rigid structure
The structure turned out less flexible for scaling.
Hypothesis #3: Home screen with a marketing block
A permanent block for marketing communications on top, main content below. The marketing team would get a channel for promoting courses without extra infrastructure
Hypothesis #3: Home screen with a marketing block
❇️ Pros
A permanent channel for marketing
Courses get promoted on the most visited screen
No separate infrastructure
Communications don’t need new sections or services
🛑 Risks
A fight for attention
The block can compete with the main user scenario
The screen loses its focus on learning
The first screen stops being about studying
A skew toward the business
Business value can end up higher than user value
What went to testing
After discussing it with the team, I took the first and second hypotheses into testing. I dropped the third before user tests: for all its value to marketing, a permanent marketing block diluted the focus of the home screen and didn’t solve the main task, a quick return to learning
Testing
Home screen UX test
I built two interactive prototypes with the same set of scenarios and ran them with 8 respondents. I fixed the criteria in advance: how fast a person finds key scenarios and understands the screen structure. And whether they can explain the purpose of each block in their own words
Home screen test results
Hypothesis #1 turned out clearer than hypothesis #2. Respondents were quicker to tell what the page was, and explained more accurately how each widget works. They found their way to other sections with more confidence
Completed on their own
Completed with difficulty
Failed
Found the “My Learning” widget
№1
№2
Understood how the “My Learning” widget works
№1
№2
Found the “Continue Learning” widget
№1
№2
Understood how the “Continue Learning” widget works
№1
№2
Found the “Important Notifications” widget
№1
№2
Understood how the “Important Notifications” widget works
№1
№2
Found the “Calendar” widget
№1
№2
Understood how the “Calendar” widget works
№1
№2
Found how to customize the home screen
№1
№2
Said they need screen customization
№1
№2
Course screen UX test
I tested the course screen with the same group of 8 respondents and checked how well users find their way around it
Course screen test results
Users got oriented faster and found the right sections quicker
Completed on their own
Completed with difficulty
Failed
Correctly understood what page they were on
№1
№2
Found the downloads / notes / calendar sections
№1
№2
What went to release
Four widgets on the home screen
The screen is built from four widgets. Each one solves a specific problem from the research. Students rearrange the widgets themselves. For those who never customized anything, a default order is shown
“My Learning” widget
All of a student’s courses in one place. A paid course is found right away, with no search on every visit. This solved the problem of a list with no sorting or grouping
“Continue Learning” widget
Takes the student back to the material where they stopped. The block used to be called “Continue Lessons” and opened the start of a completed module. I renamed it “Continue Learning” and, together with the backend team, fixed the return to the right lesson. I removed progress from the widget: the bar didn’t show how much was left and distracted from the main action
“Important Notifications” widget
A single place for events that can’t be missed: a new module, an upcoming deadline. Students no longer have to look for them in email and Telegram
“Calendar” widget
Upcoming classes and deadlines right on the home screen. The schedule stopped being a separate section nobody visited, and is tied to the active course
Course screen
I gathered downloads, notes, and the calendar inside the course, where students look for them. Before, they were separate sections that few people visited
Results
Metrics
I compared the 3 months after full rollout with the 3 months before release. Baseline values are under NDA, so only relative growth is shown
+19%
CSI
+4%
Sticky Factor
+0,9
points
Ru Store Rate
What I learned
The most important insights came not from analytics but from watching how real students get lost in simple scenarios
Students learn non-linearly
They drop off for weeks, come back to the middle of a course, jump between modules. The home screen should always answer one question: “Where am I now?” and keep everything related to the active course in context. That’s why “Continue Learning” now leads to a specific material, not to the start of a module
Context matters more than it seems
Downloaded materials, the calendar, and notifications felt like cold, separate sections. They came alive when I tied them to the active course
Scalability starts with structure
Before adding new sections, the screen had to be brought to a clear hierarchy. I chose the modular layout so that a new section is added as a widget and doesn’t reshuffle the home screen