Amina Tayyub
Working on the spectrum between product design & product management to shape experiences grounded in real human needs.
Amina Tayyub
Working on the spectrum between product design & product management to shape experiences grounded in real human needs.
Amina Tayyub
Working on the spectrum between product design & product management to shape experiences grounded in real human needs.
Amina Tayyub
Working on the spectrum between product design & product management to shape experiences grounded in real human needs.
OBSERVATION TOOL - PART I
OBSERVATION TOOL - PART I
Reimagining the Observation System to Scale Coaching
Designing accessible teaching feature for low-connectivity environment
Problem
Problem
The previous observation tool was slow, hard to use, and couldn’t keep up with the growing need for classroom coaching or quality lesson monitoring.
The previous observation tool was slow, hard to use, and couldn’t keep up with the growing need for classroom coaching or quality lesson monitoring.
Business Impact
Business Impact
The organization gained an easy-to-scale observation system that worked for every school without needing to hire more coaching staff.
The organization gained an easy-to-scale observation system that worked for every school without needing to hire more coaching staff.
User Impact
User Impact
Coaches got a faster, simpler, and more structured way to observe lessons, which helped them give clearer and more consistent feedback.
Coaches got a faster, simpler, and more structured way to observe lessons, which helped them give clearer and more consistent feedback.
My Contribution (as product design manager)
My Contribution (as product design manager)
Designed the architecture of the new FICO form
Created all flows, states, and interactions
Made sure the tool worked smoothly even without internet
Worked closely with engineers to build a system that could grow with the organization
Tested early versions with coaches and improved the design based on their needs
Managed testing and rollout while the old tool was still in use
Oversaw the full switch from the old observation tool to the new one
Designed the architecture of the new FICO form
Created all flows, states, and interactions
Made sure the tool worked smoothly even without internet
Worked closely with engineers to build a system that could grow with the organization
Tested early versions with coaches and improved the design based on their needs
Managed testing and rollout while the old tool was still in use
Oversaw the full switch from the old observation tool to the new one
Context
Context
"TeachTool" was originally introduced by the program team to measure the classroom impact of our product. An unexpected side-effect was a noticeable increase in teacher engagement. This led leadership to envision a broader educational ecosystem and one of the first steps was bringing the observation tool directly into the app.
This case study covers the strategic redesign that resulted in FICO, a new observation framework that improved efficiency, accuracy, and adoption across every school.
"TeachTool" was originally introduced by the program team to measure the classroom impact of our product. An unexpected side-effect was a noticeable increase in teacher engagement. This led leadership to envision a broader educational ecosystem and one of the first steps was bringing the observation tool directly into the app.
This case study covers the strategic redesign that resulted in FICO, a new observation framework that improved efficiency, accuracy, and adoption across every school.
The Strategic Problem
The Strategic Problem
Low 'Lesson' (feature) usage
Low 'Lesson' (feature) usage
Teachers were not consistently using the Lessons despite that being a core lever for improving learning outcomes.
Teachers were not consistently using the Lessons despite that being a core lever for improving learning outcomes.
Unscalable coaching model
Unscalable coaching model
Limited number of coaches
High travel time
Observations are slow (30 to 45 minutes each). Coaches could only conduct 1–2 observations per day
Limited number of coaches
High travel time
Observations are slow (30 to 45 minutes each). Coaches could only conduct 1–2 observations per day
'Teach Tool' was a bottleneck
'Teach Tool' was a bottleneck
Long, rigid form
Hard to adapt per subject or lesson
No embedded Lesson alignment
No offline capability
Long, rigid form
Hard to adapt per subject or lesson
No embedded Lesson alignment
No offline capability
Feedback was slow and undocumented
Feedback was slow and undocumented
Teachers didn't receive timely or structured feedback, lowering trust and impact.
Teachers didn't receive timely or structured feedback, lowering trust and impact.
Goals of the Redesign
Goals of the Redesign
Product Goals
Product Goals
Increase Lessons usage
Reduce observation time
Equip coaches with a lightweight, adaptive tool
Set the rails for future AI-driven feedback & training
Increase Lessons usage
Reduce observation time
Equip coaches with a lightweight, adaptive tool
Set the rails for future AI-driven feedback & training
User Goals
User Goals
Coaches need to observe more teachers per day
Teachers need timely, actionable feedback
School operations need visibility into teaching quality
Coaches need to observe more teachers per day
Teachers need timely, actionable feedback
School operations need visibility into teaching quality
Business Goals
Business Goals
Scale from 6 regions to other organisations
Reduce operational costs
Improve consistency in teaching quality
Scale from 6 regions to other organisations
Reduce operational costs
Improve consistency in teaching quality
Strategy
Build a scalable, adaptive, lesson-driven observation ecosystem
Strategy
Build a scalable, adaptive, lesson-driven observation ecosystem
Replace the 'Teach Tool' with FICO (lightweight, faster, adaptive)
Replace the 'Teach Tool' with FICO (lightweight, faster, adaptive)
Shortened the observation flow dramatically
Reduced coach cognitive load
Created a UX optimized for real classrooms
Shortened the observation flow dramatically
Reduced coach cognitive load
Created a UX optimized for real classrooms
Embed lesson selection into the observation flow
Embed lesson selection into the observation flow
To directly influence Lesson adoption, we redesigned the workflow so:
Coaches must select the Lesson being taught
Indicators adapt based on the Lesson
Data connects teaching behavior (LP quality)
Future training connects to the Lessons
This moved the entire system from generic feedback to targeted, curriculum-aligned coaching.
To directly influence Lesson adoption, we redesigned the workflow so:
Coaches must select the Lesson being taught
Indicators adapt based on the Lesson
Data connects teaching behavior (LP quality)
Future training connects to the Lessons
This moved the entire system from generic feedback to targeted, curriculum-aligned coaching.
Create a flexible indicator system (built to accept any rubrics)
Create a flexible indicator system (built to accept any rubrics)
I led the design of a flexible FICO form architecture that could:
Accept new indicators without code changes
Support subject-specific or LP-specific indicators
Allow AI to generate custom indicators per LP
I led the design of a flexible FICO form architecture that could:
Accept new indicators without code changes
Support subject-specific or LP-specific indicators
Allow AI to generate custom indicators per LP
Design for offline-first environment
Design for offline-first environment
Classroom connectivity is unreliable, so FICO was designed to:
Store all observations locally
Sync automatically when internet is available
Avoid losing data during sessions
Make the experience seamless regardless of signal
Classroom connectivity is unreliable, so FICO was designed to:
Store all observations locally
Sync automatically when internet is available
Avoid losing data during sessions
Make the experience seamless regardless of signal
Rollout & Impact
Rollout & Impact
100% of schools adopted FICO after a phased testing period
Teach Tool was fully retired once FICO proved higher efficiency
100% of schools adopted FICO after a phased testing period
Teach Tool was fully retired once FICO proved higher efficiency
Impact
Impact
Observation time reduced by 20%
Coaches increased coverage from 1–2 → 2–3 observations/day
LP usage increased because LP selection became part of the workflow?
Data collection became standardized for the first time
Feedback became structured and documented
Observation insights became easier and faster to analyze
This created the foundation for:
Principal-led observations
AI-assisted feedback (Part 2)
Teacher training recommendations (ecosystem-level work)
Observation time reduced by 20%
Coaches increased coverage from 1–2 → 2–3 observations/day
LP usage increased because LP selection became part of the workflow?
Data collection became standardized for the first time
Feedback became structured and documented
Observation insights became easier and faster to analyze
This created the foundation for:
Principal-led observations
AI-assisted feedback (Part 2)
Teacher training recommendations (ecosystem-level work)
© 2025 Amina Tayyub
© 2025 Amina Tayyub
© 2025 Amina Tayyub