Project Lasso (Personal Lab Environments)
A productized, self-paced implementation of the Developer Enablement Program.
Overview
Adobe Experience Platform customers and partners are trained through the Developer Enablement Program, which involves deploying learning content across multiple sandboxes and conducting in-person training.Project Lasso aims to provide this training in a virtual and scalable manner. Equipped with their own learning environment (an Experience Platform sandbox), customers are encouraged to explore the product and complete self-paced enablement in a no-risk environment with step-by-step guidance, templates, and practice files to accelerate action and learning.
Goals
- Provide a scalable, digitized DEP offering with consistent customer experience (impact/feedback, rating, NPS) in lieu of in-person sessions
- Provide training to technical roles (developer, architect)
- 150 users granted access to learning environments per quarter
- Percentage of lab environments requested and not used is less than 20%
Scope
June 2025 - CurrentTools
React, TypeScript, React Spectrum (React implementation of Adobe’s design system), Unified Shell (Adobe’s UI framework for internal apps), HTML/CSSRole
UX Designer and Developer | Wireframes, Prototyping, UI/UX Research, Front-End Development and API OptimizationI served as the sole UX designer and developer on a 13-person team that included Product Management, Engineering, Technical Marketing, Customer Onboarding, and other Sponsors. The Customer Engineering team primarily managed the ‘Environment & Data’ section, which involved developing the environment creation/deployment and learner experience.
Exploration
Personas
- Admin - manages sandbox for a learner
- Learner - AEP customers with a technical background (developers, architects, etc.)
- Author
- Course content - creates lecture materials
- Lab guide - creates hands-on exercise that will be completed in the learner's environment
- Lab pack - creates assets that will be deployed to the learning environment
Past Bootcamps
I watched recordings of past bootcamps to better understand how attendees learned content, asked for help, and got feedback.Learning Gaps/Questions
- How do we track if a learner has completed the lab guide?
- How do we know if a learner completed the steps of the lab guide correctly?
- How do we structure the learning content for the bootcamp?
Technology Stack
- AEP - User-specific sandbox in a Learner IMS org
- Adobe Learning Manager (ALM) - used to house and serve course content/learner progress
- Unified Shell - Experience Platform's UI framework
Competitive Analysis
We explored similar learning experiences within Adobe such as Adobe Learning Manager, Experience League, and Adobe Digital University. Project Lasso is differentiated from these other offerings as it provides hands-on learning environments that are unique to each individual developer/architect.
Adobe Learning Manager experience
Adobe Digital University experience
Design Process: Version 1
Detailed user flow from user registration to environment de-activation
For milestone 1, the focus was to design and build an Admin Dashboard for the Product team to create and extend sandboxes (packaged with AEP Foundations objects) across two Learner IMS orgs. Lab guides and lecture videos would be hosted on a previous app we built called On-Demand Learning, which will be modified to exclude self-service environment requests.
Admin UI requirements for M1
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Wireframe for the Admin UI
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Mocks for the revised On-Demand Learning experience
Implementation: Version 1
I re-purposed an existing application in Unified Shell for the Admin Dashboard experience, which helped save time given the tight timeline and shifting requirements. I built the UI framework using React Spectrum components and collaborated with the backend team to refine API contracts/data models to support the environments. The biggest challenge was implementing bulk sandbox requests.
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Admin Dashboard implementation
On-Demand Learning revised implementation
Problem
The AEP Foundations Bootcamp covers multiple complex concepts, which may overwhelm learners if presented in a single course.Improvement
Introduce Learning Paths, where related courses are grouped together to help learners master a skill.Thought process
- Determine whether each course within a Learning Path needs its own lab guide or if certain resources can be shared across courses.
- Identify opportunities to streamline content and avoid duplication.
- Explore ways to track learner progress across the entire Learning Path.
Impact & Next Steps
We’ve seen strong early adoption of our Personal Lab Environments experience, with 150 users already testing it and sharing positive feedback, specifically on the value of having a dedicated sandbox to experiment and practice in. However, users expressed a clear preference for a more seamless experience, noting that switching to an external URL (On-Demand Learning) to access learning content disrupts their workflow.
Our next step is to integrate the On-Demand Learning experience directly into Adobe Experience Platform. Our hope is to convert the current lab guide module into a side rail component that lives alongside the platform interface. By embedding the guide within the product itself, users will be able to actively reference instructions while navigating through and completing hands-on exercises in their sandbox. This integration will make the overall product more seamless, useful, and engaging.
