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Design Thinking
GhostStudy: A Calendar Shield for Upskilling
Concept prototype from my Design Thinking course at Great Lakes
- Design Thinking
- Product Prototyping
- UX Decisions
01
The Problem
MBA students are told to upskill with certifications and side projects, but the timetable leaves no obvious room. The time does exist, scattered across short gaps between classes, and those gaps get eaten by scrolling and "I'll start after lunch." The problem isn't motivation. Nobody plans a 50-minute gap, so it never gets used.
02
Strategy & Solution
- Framed the problem through Design Thinking: empathy interviews, then a sharp problem statement about unplanned gaps.
- Designed the core loop: read the calendar, find usable gaps, and ghost-block them with the next module of the student's certification.
- Built a working HTML/JS prototype with a sample PGPM week, gap thresholds and progress tracking.
03
Impact
- Made deliberate product calls: a daily cap so it nudges instead of pressuring, longest gaps first, a buffer after class, and one nudge instead of reminders.
- Shipped a live demo on GitHub Pages to test the interaction with classmates.
- Defined next steps: read-only calendar sync and learning which gaps each student actually uses.
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