TU/e emphasizes self-directed learning, but first-year students find the goals set within one's Personal Development Plan (PDP), abstract, less practical and they tend to rarely revisit them. Interviews showed they struggle to connect goals to daily work or stay motivated.

Why?

Conducted interviews with 7 first/second-year Industrial Design students revealing key pain points: rarely revisiting SMART PDP goals, difficulty connecting them to daily work, lack of motivation. Analysis uncovered themes (unclear methods, time consumption, need for reminders), narrowing focus to continuous tracking/adaptation—sparking ideation for a playful hybrid toolkit.

Scope

Followed a structured user-centered process (empathize with users, define problems, brainstorm ideas, prototype, test). Iteration 1 tested physical learning path tiles with a simple digital companion. Iteration 2 added a mountain-map interface with game challenges based on learning taxonomies. Iteration 3 refined to modular verb tiles ("To get closer to my goal I will...") scanned into a playful app with progressive reveals, reflection prompts, and time challenges. 

Approach

Results

Goals can be re-evaluated, with small changes made directly in the digital tool and major changes requiring re-scanning