Featured Case Study
Project COMPASS
Designing a lower-friction learning system to reduce information scavenging, support faster decision-making, and lighten cognitive load for specialists.
Project COMPASS was designed to help specialists spend less time hunting for information and more time acting on it. I created a clearer training and performance-support experience by combining structured onboarding, a color-coded workflow system, quick-reference decision aids, and a research-backed evaluation of the results.
The Challenge
The Problem
Specialists were working in an environment shaped by information scavenging and time poverty. Critical information lived across multiple tools, documentation expectations were not always intuitive, and important next steps could be hard to locate in the moment.
The learning challenge was not simply a knowledge gap. It was a performance problem shaped by cognitive overload: too many places to look, too many decisions to make, and too much friction between “What do I need?” and “What do I do next?” Project COMPASS was designed to reduce that friction and make the right actions easier to find, understand, and complete.
Fragmented information
Key resources and procedures were easy to miss or hard to retrieve quickly.
Time poverty
Specialists needed support that respected busy workflows and reduced search time.
High cognitive load
When people have to hunt for instructions, decision quality and confidence can suffer.
The Response
The Solution
I designed Project COMPASS as a more navigable learning and performance-support system. The solution combined a structured Canvas onboarding module, a color-coded spreadsheet workflow, and quick-reference tools that helped users locate the right information faster and make clearer decisions with less mental effort.
Performance support was built directly into the experience so specialists could move from orientation to action without switching mental contexts.
Behind the Scenes
The Process
This project was guided by an ADDIE-informed design process. Rather than treating the module as a one-off training artifact, I approached COMPASS as a system: part onboarding experience, part workflow support, part decision aid, and part measurable improvement effort.
Identified the friction created by scattered resources, inconsistent documentation habits, and time-poor workflows.
Structured the experience around clarity, findability, urgency signaling, and reduced cognitive load.
Built the Canvas module, the color-coded spreadsheet system, and quick-reference performance supports.
Organized content so specialists could move from training into use with less confusion and fewer dead ends.
Measured outcomes through Canvas analytics, assignment performance, and a post-training effectiveness survey.
Behind the scenes, the work focused on organizing content so that structure itself became support. The goal was not just to teach the process, but to make the process easier to follow and easier to use under real workflow pressure.
Research Findings
The Results
In a pilot implementation with five K–4 specialist educators, Project COMPASS produced strong signals across completion, usability, and mastery. The results suggest that a centralized digital workflow can reduce search friction, improve documentation clarity, and support faster action in time-sensitive school contexts.
82.44% cumulative class average
Participants demonstrated solid overall mastery across the COMPASS training activities and assessments.
100% on-time completion
All assignments were submitted on time, with zero missing or late work during the implementation window.
4.28 / 5 overall perception score
Specialists rated the experience highly for usability, value, and clarity in supporting their workflow.
4.60 / 5 for layout and rapid safety processing
The strongest survey result reflected how well the system supported fast access and action in high-priority situations.
80% reached mastery or high mastery
Most participants performed in the mastery bands, while one outlier surfaced an opportunity for stronger scaffolding.
0% disagreement on survey items
No participant selected “Disagree” or “Strongly Disagree,” indicating consistently positive perceptions of the intervention.
How I measured impact: I triangulated Canvas LMS analytics, assignment performance, and a post-training effectiveness survey to evaluate how well the system supported usability, workflow clarity, and documentation performance.
Interpretation
What the Results Mean
Project COMPASS improved both the instructional and operational experience for specialist educators. By centralizing documentation guidance, urgency signaling, and quick-reference supports, the system reduced the need to search across disconnected resources and helped users move more quickly from uncertainty to action.
Reduced information scavenging
A single source of truth made key procedures easier to find and easier to use in the moment.
Stronger documentation consistency
The ABC framework and color-coded workflow supported more standardized decisions and clearer response steps.
Lower friction in high-stakes tasks
Participants reported strong usability signals, especially around layout and rapid safety processing.
Evidence-based iteration
The pilot revealed where the design worked well and where additional support was needed for future refinement.
What I’d improve next
One participant scored below the mastery threshold, which highlighted the need for stronger branching supports for users with lower technical confidence. In a future iteration, I would simplify decorative visual elements, introduce anchor personas in practice activities, and add more granular usability testing to better understand click-paths and decision points. Because this was a small pilot with five specialists over a short implementation window, I present these findings as promising design evidence rather than broad generalization.
Visual Evidence
Selected Artifacts
A closer look at the tools, workflows, and supports developed as part of Project COMPASS.
Let’s Connect
Interested in how I design for clarity, usability, and learning transfer?
I’m always excited to build learning experiences that reduce friction, support real workflows, and help people act with confidence.