UX research and design for better learning outcomes

We help leading EdTech companies create best-ever user experiences that enable people to achieve new levels of learning and teaching success.

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My working relationship with Openfield is one of the best I’ve had. I value and trust the partnership we’ve built together. We see them as another member of our team who has been instrumental in building great customer experiences with our products.

Selected clients and product teams that we collaborate with:

Macmillan Learning logo iClicker logo Wolters Kluwer logo Barbri logo Catalyst Education logo Uplift K12 logo Cincinnati Museum Center logo Yaatly logo ExecOnline logo Mass-Ed logo

Insights from Openfield

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How to design a UX research plan that supports your business goals

If you’re not designing your plan to help you meet your business goals, you’re missing a major opportunity. UX research plans aren’t just for mining feedback about a design or concept. Done well, a robust research plan paves a path toward meeting all your objectives. So how do you empower your UX research team to build a plan that incorporates your business objectives? In this four-step guide, we’ll show you how to set up your UX research team and your business for success.

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Scale up, speed up, save up: 5 benefits of partnering with an external agency for EdTech product design

You’re responsible for ensuring the successful development, launch, and management of your company’s EdTech products. But between internal politics, siloed communication, and limited resources for design and research, your job is anything but simple. Hiring a third-party agency like Openfield can provide the external support teams like yours so often need. We’re an ideator partner that isn’t beholden to internal politics, allowing for faster and more collaborative decision-making.

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A working relationship: How to stabilize the push-pull between UX and product management

In EdTech, it’s not uncommon for UX and product teams to struggle to collaborate as effectively as they should. After all, while both teams have the same overarching goal — making the best product possible — they sometimes disagree on how to get there. Both teams share similar objectives, but prioritize them differently.  Your product management (PM) team is focused on meeting your company’s business objectives. And while your UX team has some of these same objectives top of mind, their role writ large is really to advocate for your users. 

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Why the learnability of your EdTech product is as important as its usability

You know the value of usability testing, but are you prioritizing learnability testing, too? Measuring your product’s learnability, which is essentially the time it takes for users to acclimate and become efficient at its related tasks, is just as important as testing overall usability. However, learnability is rarely tested or represented in traditional usability tests. Overlooking learnability is short-sighted. If users can’t get beyond the onboarding stage of using your product, how can you expect them to integrate it into everyday usage?

Image of EdTech product team reviewing baseline metrics for usability.
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Learn to prioritize your UX research findings (and level up your EdTech product)

To get the highest return on your UX research investment, you need to carefully evaluate each finding and focus on the features and fixes that yield the biggest impact — for your users and your product’s future. Download our four tips on how to properly prioritize your UX research findings and you’ll be on your way to doing just that.

Photo of SXSW EDU 2023 stage by Openfield
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4 key takeaways from SXSW EDU 2023 that all EdTech product leaders should read

Another year, another successful SXSW EDU event! We’re always energized by the annual event, but this year might have been our favorite yet.  (Full disclosure: We do have a habit of feeling this way every year). Openfield’s president, Adam Sonnett, and Trevor Minton, vice president of product experience, were in Austin at the event to immerse themselves in a wide range of topics that matter most to EdTech product leaders.