A UX Project meeting the need for continued education in the Oil & Gas Industry
The Offshore Learning Center
The Offshore Magazine Site Features a Maps & Posters List which contained a "Video eBook".
In the Summer of 2014, I discovered a product on the Offshore Magazine website. The video eBook. It was an incredible resource deeply buried in what felt like an infinite list of links.
This "Video eBook" contained some of the best curated, most authoritative videos on the subject of Offshore Oil & Gas but was completely confusing to use.
I took it upon myself to drive the project forward in the interest of better serving the users by creating a much easier to use experience and create a new revenue channel for the Offshore Magazine Brand.
For several years, this Video eBook existed as a link placed in the middle of the Offshore Maps & Posters webpage. It wasn't highlighted, featured nor even mentioned elsewhere on the site. That was just the start of the problem. It was confusing to navigate. Opening the file didn't let you know how to access the information - unless you had PDF bookmarks open.
The Need
People in the Oil & Gas industry continue to search for and gather high-quality video training.
Activities Include:
I wanted to understand the tangible value of this eBook.
Interviewed a handful of industry professionals and then also interviewed a couple of industry students.
Discovered a number of professors required this eBook as an authoritative research source for students. Students learned so much more in a few minutes of watching a video in the list of links than in reading entire textbooks.
It was a horrible user experience.
The user would have to know exactly where the link was on the website in order to know how to find it.
The user would have to then click to download the original eBook.
The Journey
Worked with the team who created the content for this Video eBook. Together, we collaborated toward a meaningful solution.
Let's create an online video education experience with the links and content used in the Video eBook.
Teams Involved:
Offshore Magazine Chief Editor, Publisher, Senior Sales, Audience Marketing
University of Houston School of Petroleum Professors and Intern Students
Independent Petroleum Engineer Panel of Advisors
Digital Media Product, and Platform Development Teams
The Process
After several meetings, interviews, discussions, and agreements met the team altogether decided to move forward with the Offshore Learning Center.
We built a business process:
Editors determined the topic based on industry need and the editorial calendar.
University Interns were paid to scour YouTube in search of excellent videos on Offshore Oil & Gas.
Professors sifted through the videos and determine which are worth keeping.
Industry Advisors reviewed the videos to put their stamp on which are current and worth including in the learning center.
The Digital Media Team received the list of videos, links, and other details and built the pages into the learning center.
The Revenue
The revenue was a 50/50 split between Offshore Magazine and the University of Houston's School of Petroleum Engineering. The revenue to the school went toward the interns' work on building out the content of the Offshore Learning Center. The revenue to the Offshore Magazine team went to the management and publishing the content onto the website.
Areas of Revenue:
Offshore Learning Center display advertising
Offshore Learning Center Collection sponsorship
Large format maps' sponsorship in the learning center
Potential official continuing education accreditation through the University of Houston
The Impact
What a Project!
I learned people will rally around something that provides great value to its users. These students and professionals found the Offshore Learning Center to be a significant contributor to their professional education in the very specific, Offshore Oil & Gas Industry.
The timing and process of building out the collections and playlists were tricky at times, but with some practice, improved. The teams' overall contributions made a great difference in getting the work published online.
People's feedback was wonderful! They were very excited to find this custom curated series of collections in their particular industry. In fact, they wanted even more! Often requested more information on getting accreditation.
Received a 97% response rate on the general feedback form.
Learned a lot about the existing value of the educational content available through Offshore Magazine.
16,144
Visitors - 1st Year
70,940
Page Views - 1st Year
100%
More Users
+17%
After Site Launch
What People Are Saying
“Good work! Very good platform for students.”
— H.M. - Pakistan
“It’s so beneficial to have this level of technical information in the Oil & Gas Industry!”
— A.A. - Ghana