New Media Institute Capstone Course: Spring 2025
The Assignment: Serving as the final course of the New Media Certificate at UGA, the Capstone class assigned every student onto a team to work with a client and develop a technological product.
My team and I were assigned to Kristyn Hicks from Delta Air Lines, to develop a new communication tool for employee resource groups through a fully-functional wireframe on Figma.
My Role: Co-Research and Design. Throughout the semester I led external research (competitive analysis) and internal research (survey and interviews) I also led design for most digital deliverables including the HTML website and project handoff documents, decks, etc.
You can visit the project site here to view all deliverables.
The Project:
DeltaClimb is a centralized platform designed to streamline communication & elevate Business Resource Group employee engagement. Delta’s Business Resource Groups (BRGs) foster a sense of belonging and community across a global workforce of 100,000+ employees. Built on user-centered research principals such as personalization, gamification, and accessibility, DeltaClimb is more than just an app — it’s a runway for purpose, connection, and belonging.
Overview:
With the sunsetting of Delta’s current resource group communication platform, Workforce, our client, Kristyn Hicks, tasked us with creating a fully-flushed Figma wireframe and prototype of an employee engagement app, supporting Delta’s 12 Business Resource Groups.
The entire process included external and user research– examining competitor apps as well as employee surveys and interviews. DeltaClimb was strictly developed based off our findings and used to generate buy-in from members of Delta’s DEI team and stakeholders.
The 5 key findings and applications implemented in our final proof of concept include: Concise and Effective One-Way Communication, Commitment and Reminders, Gamification and Incentives, Personalization, and Improved Analytics.
The Problem:
Delta Air Lines originally used Workplace From Meta as their main communication tool for all Business Resource Group engagement and communication. However, META recently released a statement that the application was being retired. With Delta’s BRG communication at risk, Kristyn Hicks tasked us with designing a proof-of-concept Figma wireframe to pitch to key DEI stakeholders to garner interest and buy-in.
2 other pain-points we addressed during development was the lack of structure on their current Workplace platform and how to best cater to employees across Delta’s 6 working divisions — including frontline (for example flight attendants) and corporate employees. Not only did feedback from employees show that their platform was too overwhelming, but many employees have access to different devices and preferences due to their role and location — all of these factors act as barriers to engagement at events.
The Solution:
DeltaClimb: Elevate Your Every Day
After thoughtful research including external competitive audits, interviews, and surveys, DeltaClimb was developed with these 5 takeaways in mind.
1. Clear & Concise Communication:
Through interview and survey data, a major takeaway was the noise on Workplace. Their current platform offers 2-way communication through comments, open posting, and chats.
However, it was clear that one-way communication would serve best to deliver key information in a clean, readable way. On DeltaClimb, only approved officers and employees can post on the group’s page. This will facilitate event and post discovery — ultimately boosting engagement and turn out.
2. Commitment & Reminders:
Another issue we discovered during our research phase was the lack of attendance and commitment to events. 48.8% of those surveyed had not been to an event.
One factor that contributes to low attendance is their current notification system. Survey data revealed that while email ranked #1 in preference, every other method (Microsoft Teams, Word of Mouth, and Text) showed too much variability across the 6 divisions to come to one conclusion.
The solution: implement an updated RSVP system to encourage others to attend and follow through with events because they can see who else is going to be there. We also added an updated notification system with more options to be reminded to benefit those across every division regardless of location and role.
3. Gamification & Incentives:
Another finding from our interview research was that Delta Air Lines thrives under a competitive environment. With successful campaigns such as “Walk-Tober”, a company wide competition to walk the most steps in October, DeltaClimb will also utilize a gamification and incentive system to boost participation. Members will be awarded points for attending events and be able to redeem them for special prizes.
4. Personalization
Once again, not only was the biggest takeaway from survey data that different divisions have different preferences in being notified and reminded about events, but they also have different preferences in what they want out of a BRG or event.
Therefore, to better cater to all of Delta’s 100,000 employees, DeltaClimb will focus on an algorithm based event recommendation system. Upon sign-in, employees will be able to select what features of an event they are interested in including food, swag, professional development, and more. Because of Delta’s massive global network, there is also a filtering system that prioritizes the employees home location. This robust tagging and filter system will aid event discovery and turn out by serving events that provide the most value and convenience to the employee.
5. Analytics:
During our interview phase, we also had the chance to talk with employees that served as an officer of a BRG. It was extremely important to take this feedback and implement it into DeltaClimb, making sure the experience was beneficial for all user roles.
Based on feedback, officers now have more access to pre and post event analytics. With the option to export this data a variety of ways, BRG officers can better track attendance, RSVPs, commitment, and more. This improved analytic system will help officers plan and reflect on future and past events.
