Why this Project Was Needed:

This course is a brand new version of an existing course: Getting Started: Navigating Salesforce. This is an introductory course specifically designed for new Salesforce users on how to use Salesforce. It is recommended for all new Salesforce users and is a pre-requisite to many of Salesforce.com’s five-day classroom training sessions they offer.

The previous version of the course was difficult to view on a mobile device. This new version was a complete redesign using a mobile-first strategy and a responsive-design tool to produce a course optimized for viewing on both mobile and non-mobile devices.

In 2013, Salesforce launched a mobile-first strategy with the Salesforce1 platform and mobile application. This strategy meant that the Salesforce University curriculum development team needed to innovate and find ways to optimize the training experience for mobile viewers without sacrificing the experience for those viewing on computers. The redesign of this course is part of that innovation.

Tools/Technologies Used:

Adobe Captivate 8 and Camtasia Studio 8.

Audience:

Between 100 to 200 views each month.

Completion Time:

Around 150 hours over three-to-four months.

Problems/Challenges:

The main challenge of designing this course was to optimize the content for the various sizes of viewing devices, while providing an engaging and interactive course.

On a personal level, it was challenging to develop content for brand new users of a product I have used on a daily basis for over three years.

Insights/Lessons Learned:

I learned that responsive design takes a lot of creativity and takes longer than traditional design. Designing and adjusting the sections of the course for each device size really makes designing one course feel like designing about two and a half courses.

I also learned more about how to balance interactivity with convenience to the student. My original design had more branching than the final design. During the review process a reviewer found being asked to choose a path after just choosing one was annoying. After adjusting the design to incorporate those comments I saw her point and realized that sometimes interactivity can distract from learning as much as it can add to learning.

Project Link

Recording