As IWA had been working closely with the client for several years, we already had understanding of some painpoints and key development areas for the Aikuisrippikoulu solution.

Equipped with this insight and the results of the questionnaire, the development project was started with a series of workshops to figure out which are the most common user types and what are the most important features to keep and what features could potentially be removed from the solution.

IWA and the client worked together writing user stories and describing usage paths that will work simultaneously for both; priests and students. The key guiding principles in the work were user friendliness and mobile first approach.

The development project was executed using agile methodologies, namely Scrum, with two-week development iterations, Sprints. After each Sprint we met with the client and showed what we had accomplished and then planned the next Sprint.

One of the biggest challenges faced during the project was that there are defined paths for the students to take but at the same time priests need to be able to customize each student’s learning journey. When a new student starts a confirmation class, the priest always takes time to learn about the student and personalize the experience based on the student’s needs and wishes.

We worked and workshopped closely with National Church Council of Finland to develop and design a solution to meet this need. Based on initial feedback received after launching the new version of the Aikuisrippikoulu e-learning solution, we can proudly say we succeeded in meeting this and all other goals set for the project.