Rocketseat, a leading EdTech company in Brazil, needed to adjust its platform to support a new training program for novice coding students. The existing platform, focused on advanced users, required significant modifications. My role was to develop a product that would cater to beginners and support Rocketseat’s expansion. This strategic update was essential for achieving the company’s goals and shaping future software developers.

Embracing the continuous discovery approach advocated by Teresa Torres, the Product Trio—Tech Lead, Product Manager, and myself—maintained agility through ongoing interviews, snapshots, and real-time feedback. This iterative process ensured that our decisions were data-driven and aligned with user and business goals, keeping the project on track and responsive.

The MVP for this project was built shortly before my arrival using Ignite (the product for advanced learners) as its base. I audited it to assess its suitability for novice learners, identified key gaps and usability issues, and proposed enhancements to better align the product with user needs, ensuring it delivered value from the start.

Following the MVP launch, I closely tracked the progress of the initial student groups in collaboration with the Student Tutors to ensure the product met its intended goals. This involved monitoring user engagement, collecting feedback, and analyzing performance metrics alongside the tutors.

By working closely with the tutors and staying connected with these early users, I quickly identified any issues and gathered valuable insights on how the product was being received. This collaborative, real-time tracking allowed for immediate adjustments and optimizations, ensuring a smooth experience for students and establishing a strong foundation for future groups.

Student tracking was initially managed through spreadsheets, where students manually input their progress, and tutors used scripts to consolidate the data, yet still had to check each entry individually. This process consumed half of the tutors’ workload and was not scalable as the number of students grew. The system was tiring for students, leading to low engagement and adherence, a hypothesis confirmed through interviews and snapshots conducted with both students and tutors, as well as by tracking the declining percentage of spreadsheet responses. This underscored the need for a more automated and scalable solution to effectively manage and support new cohorts.

After discussions with the CPO and key stakeholders, we prioritized bringing the student tracking system onto the platform. I conducted a thorough audit of the existing spreadsheets and mapped out their primary structure. The analysis revealed that the spreadsheets were capturing four key categories of data: student progress on modules and understanding (prioritized for immediate platform integration), weekly feelings (the next to be designed), career goals (third in line), and student administrative details, such as remaining time on their plan. For the administrative category, we decided to outsource this function by implementing a CRM to manage all student data, a move that later became a core component of the company’s processes.

To gain a deeper understanding of the learning segments, I facilitated a workshop with tutors and teachers to collaboratively map out the key categories, which we termed “abilities.” We identified six core abilities—basic and advanced programming, Frontend, Backend, Soft Skills, and Market Skills—and linked each to specific topics in the syllabus, referred to as “criteria.”

For the self-assessment process, students rates their proficiency in each criterion on a scale from 1 to 5. This structure was designed to be flexible, allowing for easy addition of new items or replication for future training programs, ensuring the system remains adaptable and scalable as the curriculum evolves.

To refine how we track students’ understanding of course material, I examined tracking systems used by universities and competitors in e-learning. A recurring feature was the use of self-assessment tests to gauge learners’ self-perception of their knowledge. I incorporated a similar approach by integrating self-evaluation exercises after each module, directly within the platform.

Students assess their grasp of core concepts, while the platform automatically grades the remaining technical assessments. Performance is then visualized through a spider web graphic, which contrasts their self-assessment with actual performance metrics. This approach allows for easy identification of significant discrepancies between self-perception and actual performance, enabling tutors to monitor and support students effectively through the CRM system.

In the second phase, we addressed the emotional aspects of learning. To assess the importance of incorporating this feature into the platform, I conducted interviews with the customer service team and tutors. They estimated that approximately one in three novice users reached out to discuss their feelings, whether related to learning challenges or personal issues such as unemployment or family problems.

Drawing from previous experience with chatbots, I designed the Feelings Companion, a tool integrated into the user journey to allow students to rate their feelings and provide feedback at any moment. The Feelings Companion operates in two modes: passive, which subtly monitors user sentiment, and active, which engages users at critical points in their journey to capture their emotional state.

To complete our tracking approach, we aimed to enhance students’ ability to not only reflect on their goals but also to actively record and monitor their progress. This feature was designed to reinforce their commitment by linking their goals to the content and methodologies they have learned.

By integrating goal tracking with the self-evaluation feature, we ensured that students maintained consistency and awareness of the skills they are developing, aligning their progress with the core abilities outlined in their evaluations. Additionally, we took the time to understand each student’s personal definition of success, allowing us to tailor support and resources to help them achieve their unique goals. This approach not only supports goal-setting but also strengthens their connection to the curriculum and their overall learning journey.

The tracking system received widespread acclaim from students, the company, and investors alike, leading to significant additional funding. It quickly emerged as the flagship feature of our product for novice programmers, becoming a central highlight in our marketing campaigns and driving a substantial boost in revenue. Its successful integration into the company’s broader methodology extended its benefits across the entire platform, including advanced products, enhancing both user confidence and operational efficiency. The strategic timing of these improvements not only empowered students but also streamlined tutor workflows, showcasing a compelling blend of innovation and impact that propelled the product to new heights.