PROJECT CONTEXT:

Brainly is a platform connecting students with peers, allowing them to share knowledge and get academic support from live experts. With over 350 million users, it is one of the world's largest and most active learning communities. However, we noticed a big chunk of users churning, so they ran a survey about subscription cancellation reasons. We run surveys and learned from users why they decided to cancel their subscriptions. The main challenge was to reposition the Tutoring product to match users' major needs and unlock its potential.

KEY PROBLEMS TO SOLVE:

1. Users don't know about the existence of tutoring.

2. Users don't know what to expect from tutoring.

3. The name "Tutoring" causes misunderstanding among users.

4. Tutoring looks and is treated like a different product while it's an add-on to B+. It should be embedded in the core proposition.

5. Confusing product positioning. The current value proposition doesn't communicate the actual product we have.

6. Cascade approach. The "cascade approach" strategy blocks BB and unlogged users from getting information about tutoring unless they consciously look for it and get to the tutoring landing page or accidentally approach entry points.

THE PROCESS

Project Kickoff & Alignment Workshop

I created a Miro board with all gathered insights and organized a stakeholders' workshop to align the level of knowledge about the project, get agreement about the scope and approach, point out risks and dependencies, and get to an agreement on the shape of the team and next steps.

1. Project Kickoff & Alignment Workshop

   I created a Miro board with all gathered insights and organized a stakeholders' workshop to align the level of knowledge about the project, get agreement about the scope and approach, point out risks and dependencies, and get to an agreement on the shape of the team and next steps.

   
   
   

2. Goals Definition

   We agreed that the task needs to be split into three main areas that will be tackled in parallel with help from different teams to ensure quick delivery:

   • Enhanced Monetization Model: validate what is inside plans we would like to sell, how to communicate what is inside subscription plans, and how to ensure that users see the value in the offering and will buy.

   • Feature Visibility & Contextual Integration: validate if we're on the right path with positioning, how to reach 1st-time users to make them aware of the complete Brainly offering and its richness, and improved visibility with the right message at the right moment.

   • Feature Communication: how to communicate the complete Brainly offerings, so users are aware of it and understand it.

     
     
     

3. Project Roadmap

   I created a summary of agreed-on previous meeting goals, assumptions, and project focus. I proposed a roadmap for each stream that we reviewed together with stakeholders. We agreed on scope and task owners, 1st deadline, alignment meetings schedule, and a way of day-to-day communication.

   
   
   

4. Project Alignment Meetings

   I held meetings every two weeks to ensure everyone was on the same page, and the whole company was aware of what is changing. I informed progress, aligned next steps, and ensured smooth communication.

   
   
   

5. Deliverables

• MONETIZATION MODEL

  • Tutoring integrated into B+ & prices scaling with usage

  • Improved unit economics by limiting sessions

  • Designed few variants and usability tested

  • New monetization model design & AB testing

  • Kicking-offed upselling model (different offers/tiers, tiers naming, price sensitivity)

    
    
    

• FEATURE VISIBILITY & CONTEXTUAL INTEGRATION

  • Created CJM to define gaps on the user journey from the perspective of different kinds of users

  • Analyzed existing entry points and user behavior (data analysis) to build up a new Live Expert Answers user journey and develop new entry points and eliminate underperforming entry points.

  • Kicked off feature contextual integration that improved visibility, with the right message at the right moment.

  • Cleaned-up of entry points (removing non-performing, unifying designs of the rest).

  • Improve visibility and eliminate friction by:

    • Unifying how we name tutoring (e.g., live expert answers) across the product.

    • Introducing new entry points.

    • Launching push campaigns for subscribers.

      
      
      

• COMMUNICATION

  • Conducted qualitative (surveys) & quantitative research (moderated usability study + with students and parents)

  • Created new communication guidelines proposal that resonates with users ready to implement across:

    • Adapt value messaging to motivations and priorities for each audience (students & parents).

    • Call them Subject Experts, not Tutors.

    • Say “Live Expert Answers,” not “Tutoring Sessions.”

    • Avoid any messaging that could be perceived as cheating.

    • There are different interpretations of “test prep,” so we must be specific about what we are currently providing.*

  • Applying learnings as copy changes across the product starting from TOFU

MY ROLE: 

At the time, my team didn't have a product manager, and I was asked by our product director to lead the whole initiative. I was responsible for gathering insights, kicking off the initiative, creating a roadmap, planning, managing all streams of the project, and contributing at each stage of delivery. I also facilitated meetings with all stakeholders across the company. To ensure the project's success, I invited different teams and heads of multiple departments to collaborate and be on the same page.

SKILLS:

• Strategy, vision & leadership

• Stakeholders management & cross-team collaboration

• Deep understanding of the product and competition

• Customer understanding

• Design thinking (Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test)

• Commercial Thinking

• Ability to analyze and interpret user data to inform design decisions

• Ability to manage and mentor junior design team members

• Qualitative & Quantitative research

• Interaction design

• User flows

• Prototyping

1. Project Kickoff & Alignment

• I organized stakeholders’ meeting to:

  • Align level of knowledge about the project: What and why would we like to make it happen?

  • Get agreement about the scope and approach. That's why we invited key people from different teams.

  • Point out risks and dependencies we see today to be aware of before we start work so we can address them on the way.

  • Get to an agreement on the shape of the team and next steps.