CPS Academy

01

The Problem

Design education teaches technique. It rarely teaches students how to think through a problem they've never seen before — how to break it apart, research it properly, generate ideas without going blank, and evaluate solutions with any rigour.

The result is a predictable pattern: students who are technically capable but creatively stuck. They know how to execute, but struggle to start.

CPS Academy was built to address this gap — specifically for design students who need a structured, learnable approach to creative problem solving, without another course to add to their schedule.

02

The Process

The project followed a double-diamond structure across four phases: Discover, Define, Develop, Deliver. The focus of the early phases was understanding the problem from multiple angles — student frustrations, educator perspectives, and the competitive landscape — before any design decisions were made.

Design process framework showing four phases — Discover, Define, Develop, Deliver — with circular icons on a coral background

The design process — four phases, one direction

03

The Research

User interviews revealed a consistent pattern across students at different stages. The problems were not about skill — they were about process. Students didn't know where to start, how to evaluate their ideas, or what to do when they hit a wall. Frustration was the common thread. Empathy mapping across three distinct user archetypes confirmed that this wasn't a niche problem — it was structural.

Six student quote cards on a purple background showing common frustrations: typography, research, motivation, ideation, decision-making, and identifying what's wrong

Problem identification — six voices, one pattern

Empathy mapping diagram for three users — Rohan (design student), Nisha (design educator), and Kavya (design student) — each divided into Says, Thinks, Does, Feels quadrants on a blue background

Empathy mapping — three users, consistent pain points

04

The Gap

Competitor analysis against NeuroNation, Duolingo, and Coursera confirmed what the research suggested: existing platforms address engagement or content breadth, but none focus on creative problem-solving as a teachable skill, and none integrate real-world design problems into their methodology.

Every platform in the comparison offered gamification or progress tracking. None offered CPS-focused training. None offered real-world problem integration. That gap defined the product opportunity.

Competitor feature analysis table comparing NeuroNation, Duolingo, and Coursera across ten product criteria — CPS enhancement focus and real-world problem integration are missing from all three

Competitor analysis — the gap none of the market leaders address

05

The Concept

The solution is built around three pedagogical principles: behaviour shaping through regular CPS practice with real-world contexts, constructivism through project-based reflection, and multi-disciplinary thinking through cross-field problem briefs.

AI is embedded at three points in the learning experience — not as a single general assistant, but as three purpose-designed systems. The Professor evaluates student solutions against a structured rubric. The Mentor guides students through the problem-solving process in real time. The Assistant Professor simulates a design process, walking users through decisions step by step.

Teaching methodology framework showing three learning theory pillars: Behaviour Shaping, Constructivism, and Multi-disciplinary Thinking on a coral background with explanatory cards beneath each

Teaching methodology — three learning theory pillars

AI integration overview showing three distinct AI roles: Professor as CPS Evaluator, Mentor as CPS Guide, and Assistant Professor as Design Simulator, on a coral background

AI integration — three roles, three distinct functions

06

The Build

Each AI component was prototyped and tested using GPT-4o via OpenAI's Assistants API. The Professor was configured with a structured rubric, a defined system prompt, and a JSON output schema — producing detailed, criteria-based evaluation of student solutions. The information architecture maps four core sections across the full app: Stages, Tools, Progress Tracker, and Hamburger Menu, with three sequential learning stages and branching paths based on performance.

OpenAI Assistants playground showing the Professor AI configuration panel and live rubric-based evaluation output assessing problem identification, depth of analysis, and evidence of research

The Professor AI — rubric-based evaluation in the Assistants playground

Full information architecture diagram for CPS Academy showing the app hierarchy from onboarding through Stages, Tools of Problem Solving, Progress Tracker, and Hamburger Menu sections

Information architecture — full app structure

07

The Outcome

Two summary cards — problem statement: lack of focused CPS teaching in design education; solution: a gamified edu-tech platform built on research-based teaching methodology

From a clearly defined problem to a working, tested product. CPS Academy covers the full arc — field research, literature review, competitive analysis, concept development, AI integration, information architecture, and a high-fidelity interactive prototype.

The platform is purpose-built for a gap the existing market hasn't addressed. That's not an opinion — it's what the research showed.

Problem to solution — the complete arc