Scope & Deliverables
Citizen Café Platform
Transformed the class students' portal into a SaaS learning platform
From Zoom lessons to Gamified Learning Platform
Reimagining Citizen Café's Learning Experience
Spin & Speak
Designed a new feature for one-to-one conversation practice
Vitamin Sessions
Designed a new feature for interactive live lessons
Practice to Go
Redesigned the existing self-practice tools
Intro
Scope &
Scope &
Deliverables
Citizen Café Platform
Transformed the class students' portal into a SaaS learning platform
Spin & Speak
Designed a new feature for one-to-one conversation practice
Vitamin Sessions
Designed a new feature for interactive live lessons
Practice to Go
Redesigned the existing self-practice tools
- One experience for very different learnersThe platform had to serve multiple personas and learning levels through one coherent experience. Students, teachers, stakeholders, and usage data each pointed to a different priority.
- More ways to learn, less clarityTeachers used to guide students' next steps, but the expansion of live products made this too costly to sustain. Students risked becoming confused and missing the sessions that mattered.
- Progress without a curriculumSaas subscribers needed the freedom to learn at their own pace outside of class, while still having a clear path, visible progress, and enough guidance to stay motivated and complete each level.
- Increase user stickinessStudents who finished a class had nowhere to stay connected to Hebrew and Israeli culture — and no reason to come back.
Problems & Goals
The Platform
The Platform
Challenges
Research and key findings
Business Discovery
Met with Citizen Café's founders and the Heads of Product and Marketing to align on strategic goals, expected business impact, and the value proposition.
Pedagogical Insights
Met with the school director and teachers to understand the education system, gaps, edge cases, and pedagogical vision, for example, no grades, scores, or comparison between students.
Student Survey & Card Sorting
With the product team, surveyed students to validate needs across contexts and levels, then used card-sorting to prioritise those needs.
Product Usage Analysis
Drilled into existing data to validate solution proposals and uncover gaps between assumptions and actual student behaviour.
Competitive Analysis
Because no single competitor offered the same end-to-end experience, I broke the research into key product areas and analysed relevant products for each: self-paced practice, scheduled sessions, podcasts, progression systems, and community features.
- Scattered resources and touchpointsResources, content formats, and student touchpoints were spread across multiple places.
- No clear position or next stepStudents lacked a clear view of their current position and next step in the journey.
- Disorganised on-demand contentOn-demand content was not well organised or easily accessible.
- Limited access outside sessionsStudents wanted more flexible access to practice and lesson content outside sessions.
- Lack of speaking and communityLack of speaking and community opportunities.
Some learning-system and content-related findings are omitted to protect Citizen Café's intellectual property.
Key insight
Students need one mobile-first hub to find relevant learning materials and connect with peers to practice speaking and share Israeli cultural content.
Mobile-first home base
App-based learning was the highest-rated format among students.
Portrait-first layout
A study analysing ~6.4M video-call sessions found 74.6% preferred portrait mode for sessions under 45 minutes, despite landscape being available.
Clear progress and next steps
Students need an intuitive view of what they've completed, where they are, and what they can do next.
Easy access to speaking practice
Live speaking practice outside scheduled sessions was a key unmet need.
Find community opportunities
Students need simple ways to stay connected to the language and engage with peers around Israeli cultural content.
Research
A focused
A focused
discovery cycle
To shape a more effective and engaging solution, I ran a focused discovery cycle to map the current student experience, identify pain points and opportunities, and understand technical constraints.
Product Design Strategy
Product Design Strategy
This approach allowed us to deliver a focused V1 without creating an experience that would need to be redesigned as the platform expands.
- Mobile, portrait-firstAlthough existing usage data showed stronger desktop use, research identified that students strongly wanted an easier way to learn on the go.
- Designed for scaleCreate low-fidelity flows for the full release first, ensuring a consistent future experience.
- Step by step design deliveryReduce the full solution to the V1 scope, then develop those flows in high fidelity.
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V1 (MVP) 
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V2 
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V4 
Personas
Student profiles
Class Student
A highly motivated student following a structured, teacher-led course.
Core needs
A clear weekly structure, visible milestones, and support not to fall behind
Example goal
Make small talk with an Israeli business partner within three months.
Pain point
Missing lessons can create gaps that make it hard to keep pace with the class and complete self-practice.
Prioritised activities matrix
| Class Student | Trial Subscriber | Paid Subscriber | Former Student |
|---|---|---|---|
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Solution
Solving three core platform challenges
Challenge I : Overview
One experience
One experience
for very different learners
How does one platform serve four personas without fragmenting into four products?
Personas: All students (Class Student, Trial Subscriber, Paid Subscriber, Former Student)
Scope: Information Architecture, Class student homepage
Problem
The existing portal served Class Students only. The new platform had to serve four personas, across far more features and content.
The Journey Matrix, built on research findings, showed each persona needs something different. Learning level adds a second axis on top.
Requirements
- Intuitive navigationStudents can easily understand the navigation principles and get to the required action fast.
- Single experienceEvery student finds the same navigation, whatever their state or level. Students who convert from one persona to another should not have a different experience.
- Relevant contentWhat each student sees is filtered to their persona and level.
- Obvious next actionThe platform points to the most relevant thing to do now.
- Scalable experienceThe structure supports new content and session types without redesigning navigation.
Challenge I : Solution
Shared vs. Personalized Information Architecture
Bridging students' and business needs, I defined the principles that shaped the content organization across the platform:
- Product core firstLive sessions get top priority. They're what makes Citizen Café's teaching system distinctive.
- Timeline leadsScheduled live sessions of all types are ordered by time, closest session first.
- Single structure, tailored contentStructure is the same for everyone, while page content is personalized.
- Room to growThe model extends to features the platform doesn't have yet, without redefining the navigation experience.
From there, I built the sitemap, covering four shared student needs that fully covers Citizen Café's offering:
- Homecurrent learning context and the most relevant next action
- Learnlive sessions, schedules, bookings, reinforcement materials
- Practiceself-practice and Speech Practice tools
- Immersecultural content and meetups (later renamed Culture after usability testing)
All four sections are available to every persona; what differs is the content inside them.
To motivate students to progress or convert, every feature is visible even where access hasn't been earned yet. Students see unavailable features as locked.
Note: Class materials are the exception — they stay hidden rather than locked.
Focusing on a single platform experience, I designed three modules that surface each student's next relevant step.
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Homepage
Layout is individual to each persona, built around their main learning driver:
- Class Students see live classes and session schedules, a self-practice shortcut, and class materials
- Subscribers see their learning path
- Former Students see live session schedules and cultural content
- Spotlightpersistent, high-visibility module showing the most relevant action for the student's current point in the journey.
- Announcementcontextual module shown at set moments (app login, level promotion) to introduce newly added features, sessions, or meetups.
Note: All platform features are managed via the back office, with persona- and level-based configuration.
Challenge I : Validation
Testing & Iteration
I ran usability sessions with internal SMEs and student focus groups to test whether the UX was clear, easy to navigate, and fast to act on.
- Navigation structureIs the four-section split clear? How quickly do students reach the content they want?
- CalendarUsing a prototype, I tested whether the displayed data made sense, whether it was enough to book a session, and how easily students could tell session types apart, book, and cancel.
- Self-practice accessHow easily do students start a practice session, and is the presentation of practice tools clear?
- SpotlightIs it visible enough, and does it get students to content faster?
- Overall navigation worked wellstudents quickly found the right actions and gave strong positive feedback on the design.
- Microcopy matteredicons alone weren't enough. Main navigation and live sessions needed labels, and 'Immerse' wasn't clear.
- The calendar needed reworkstudents asked to see more events on the initial view, and not all displayed data made sense.
- Spotlight did its job wellin most of the cases but disrupted some students.
- Revised main navigationlabels added for clarity.
- Improved microcopy'Immerse' changed to 'Culture'; session type icons replaced with labels.
- Rebuilt the calendar viewmore events shown, teacher photos and theme images removed, color added to distinguish session types.
- Added a minimize option to Spotlight.
At handoff the platform entered development.
- Targeted contentExpand personalization depth as usage data comes in
- SpotlightSettle whether Spotlight should be persistent or triggered by specific events, e.g. level upgrade
- CalendarContinue calendar testing on booking clarity
- Task success rate% of students who complete key actions without help
- Time on taskhow long it takes to reach a booking, a practice session, or class materials
- Navigation efficiencyclicks to key actions, compared across personas
Challenge II : Overview
More ways to learn,
More ways to learn,
less clarity
As the learning experience expanded, students needed support to combine live learning with flexible practice without feeling overwhelmed or missing relevant opportunities.
Persona: Class Students
Scope: Scheduling & Notification system
Problem
Initially, learning centered on classes:
- Teachers guided students’ next steps during class and through RSVP emails and WhatsApp.
- Between classes, students used the Practice to Go and Flashcards self-practice tools.
Through student interviews and conversations with teachers and the internal team, I found that the new tools introduced new challenges:
- More learning options could make students feel lost.
- Students could miss the start of relevant live sessions.
- Difficulty finding a partner could discourage students from using 1:1 speaking practice.
Requirements
Implement new tools that allow new ways to learn, practice and Immerse:
- Vitamin Sessionslive, topic-focused lessons including interactive group practice
- Spin & Speaklive 1:1 conversational practice with other online students
- Circleslive cultural meetups
Challenge II : Solution
Proactive Guidance That Keeps Learning Moving
Teachers already guided students’ next steps during classes, through RSVP emails, and in WhatsApp groups. I expanded this proven guidance model into a built-in platform experience.
- Step-by-step exposureTeachers continue to introduce tools gradually, based on each student’s level. The platform reinforces their recommendations by highlighting the most relevant feature at the right time.
- Planned live, flexible practiceLive activities can be booked through an in-app calendar and added to the student’s Google Calendar.Practice remains available instantly, whenever the student has time.
- Weekly planningA dedicated pre-scheduled planning session helps students make sure they do not miss the learning sessions they care about most.
- Reliable participationTo reduce missed starts, notifications remind students about their booked activities.To make joining fast and simple, students can access live sessions in one tap through a direct link in a reminder notification or their calendar event.
- Spin & Speak participationTo reduce concerns about harassment, teachers introduce the feature during Vitamin Sessions and facilitate a supervised practice activity.To ensure students have enough partner options, Spin & Speak initially runs as scheduled sessions. In the future, it can expand to on-demand availability.
Challenge II : Validation
Testing & Iteration
This solution reached design handoff without a usability round, so nothing here has been validated with students yet. Below is the plan I would run first.
- Step-by-step exposureDo students understand which tool comes next, and does the highlighted feature match what their teacher just recommended?
- Booking a live sessionCan students tell the session types apart, book, cancel, and get an activity into their own calendar?
- Weekly planningDo students actually plan the week, and does planning cover the sessions they say matter most to them?
- Reminders and one-tap joinDoes the reminder arrive at a useful moment, and does the direct link get students into the session without a detour?
- Spin & Speak reliability & safetyDo scheduled slots hold enough partner options, does the supervised Vitamin Session introduction ease concerns about who students are paired with, and what does a student see when a partner does not show up?
- Moderated prototype sessionsClass students across levels walk through the exposure sequence and the booking flow, thinking aloud.
- Unmoderated task testsFirst-click and findability tasks such as ‘book your next Vitamin Session’ and ‘start practising now’.
- Teacher interviewsConfirm the in-app highlight order matches how teachers actually introduce the tools in class.
- Pilot cohortRun the planning session and scheduled Spin & Speak with one group, tracking bookings, attendance, and unmatched cases.
- Reminder timing testCompare notification lead times once the platform is instrumented, to find the point that reduces missed starts.
- Next step is obviousStudents can say what to do next, unaided, after each new tool is introduced.
- Booking successShare of students who book a relevant live session without help, and how long it takes them.
- Missed-start rateShare of booked sessions the student does not join.
- Unmatched rateShare of Spin & Speak sessions that run without a partner.
- Adoption orderShare of students who take up tools in the intended sequence rather than skipping ahead.
Challenge III : Overview
Structure without
Structure without
a curriculum
Unlike Class Students, who learned through teacher-led classes, the new SaaS subscriber audience needed to manage their learning independently, choose what to study, and progress at their own pace.
Persona: Paid subscriber, Trial subscriber
Scope: Progression system, Homepage
Problem
Without classes and teacher guidance, subscribers may lack a clear path through the product. They may not know where to start or how to progress, making it harder to see the value of upgrading to a paid subscription.
All this could ultimately lead to churn.
Requirements
The progression system needed to balance student freedom, clear direction, consistent milestones and tangible progress.
- Flexible choiceStudents can choose from multiple activities and do not need to complete every task.
- Self-paced learningStudents can progress at their own rhythm, whenever their schedule allows.
- Consistent learning levelsStudents should reach a similar level of knowledge before progressing to the next level.
- Clear progress pathThe platform should clearly indicate the next meaningful action and the path to level completion.
- Tangible progressStudents need clear, visible progress to stay motivated and continue learning.
Challenge III : Solution
Clear levels, guided tasks,
Clear levels, guided tasks,
endless possibilities
Based on the competitive analysis findings, I designed this SaaS subscriber experience
Personalized Home
Subscribers get a personalized homepage tailored to their primary need: guiding them through their learning journey.
Progression Overview
The homepage displays the student’s learning path: their active tier, structured as a series of levels that must be completed to advance to the next tier.
Current Focus
Upon login, students are directed to their current level while retaining full visibility of and access to past and future levels.
Leveling System
To preserve Citizen Café’s color-based leveling system, tiers use colors while levels use sequential numbers expected by SaaS subscribers.
Progression Mechanics
Each level contains clear, straightforward tasks that students must complete to progress.
Choice & Flexibility
Each task includes multiple Beats, but students usually need to complete only some to clear the task.
Beat Types
Beats represent different learning-session formats, including Vitamin Sessions, Practice, and Spin & Speak.
New Beat Onboarding
Beats introduce key app features at meaningful milestones in the learning journey.
Example
At Level 5, students complete their first Spin & Speak session as a required task.Unlockable Beats
Certain Beats remain locked until students complete prerequisite activities. Clear criteria show students what to do next and encourage progress.
Example
Completing a Vitamin Session unlocks the subsequent Practice activity.
Habit & Engagement Beats
Beats can also foster positive study habits and support growth marketing goals.
Example
Maintaining a three-day study streak.Inviting three friends to the platform.Replayability
Students retain unlimited access to completed task Beats, allowing them to fulfill them at any time.
Note: Implementation of a platform economy, using one or more currencies, could enable greater progress flexibility in the future.
Challenge III : Validation
Testing & Iteration
The progression system is still a future concept and has not yet been tested, as there are no subscribers at this stage. Once the feature is released, the following research plan should be used to validate the proposed approach.
- Reading the level pathCan a subscriber say what to do next, and what it takes to complete the current level, from the homepage alone?
- Choosing tasksIs ‘complete a defined number of tasks, not every task’ understood, or do subscribers assume they must finish all of them?
- Locked tasksDoes every locked task communicate its prerequisite clearly enough to act on, or does locking read as a paywall?
- Levels and leaguesDo numbered levels plus colour-coded leagues stay clear, especially for students who know the class-student colour system?
- Motivation over timeDoes visible progress actually bring subscribers back, and where in the level do they stall?
- First-session walkthroughsModerated sessions with trial and paid subscribers on the level path, thinking aloud from first homepage view.
- Unmoderated task tests‘What would you do next?’ and ‘How do you finish this level?’ on a static prototype, across levels.
- Comprehension checkTest the number-and-league notation separately with class students, who already read levels as colours.
- Pilot cohortRun one level with a small subscriber group over four weeks, tracking task choice, completion and return visits.
- Prerequisite tuningVary how many tasks a level requires and which are locked, to find the point that guides without feeling rigid.
- Next action is obviousSubscribers name the next meaningful action unaided, at any point in a level.
- Level completion rateShare of subscribers who finish the level they start, and how long it takes.
- Choice is usedTask selection spreads across the available options rather than collapsing into one fixed path.
- Unlock clarityLocked tasks generate few support questions, and subscribers can state the unlock condition.
- RetentionReturn visits through weeks two to four, as the early churn signal the system exists to address.