Dendrova learning progress dashboard showing learner stats, completions over time and course enrolments by status

Designing Dendrova

From a Third-Party LMS to a Custom Learning Platform for Energy Management Training
5 Minutes read
TEAM
1 Product Designer
1 Product Manager
2 Software Engineers
1 Learning Experience Designer
PROJECT FOCUS
Product Design
B2B SaaS
EdTech
LMS Design
TIMELINE
5 Months
WEBSITE
dendrova.ca ↗
Dendrova learning progress dashboard with learner stats, completion charts, course performance and completion by organization
OVERVIEW PROBLEM RESEARCH DIRECTION SOLUTION IMPACT LEARNINGS

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OVERVIEW

Dendrova is a learning management platform designed at Enerva to help individuals and organizations access training and educational resources.

The project started with a need to teach clients Strategic Energy Management (SEM) through the SEMI program. We initially adopted a third-party LMS, but soon realized it didn’t offer the flexibility and customization we needed.

This led us to build Dendrova, our own learning platform tailored to our training needs, with plans to eventually offer it to other organizations as a standalone product.

As the sole product designer, I led the end-to-end design of the platform, covering the learner experience, company administration, and internal management tools.

THE BIG WIN
Since launching Dendrova, we’ve successfully onboarded and trained over 100 clients on Strategic Energy Management, helping them better understand energy management practices. We’ve also signed contracts with two companies who now use Dendrova as their designated LMS.

PROBLEM

Since we were building Dendrova from scratch, one of the biggest challenges was figuring out how to make the platform work for different types of users.

We needed learners to easily access courses and track their progress, while companies needed a way to manage employee training. On our end, we also needed more control over courses, users, and how the platform could be customized.

As the sole designer, I had to bring all these features together without making the platform difficult to use, while also keeping in mind that we planned to offer Dendrova to other organizations.

Dendrova problem discovery board: the starting point, what the team was experiencing, user needs for learners, company admins and Enerva admins, root pain points, the problem statement and how it shaped Dendrova

RESEARCH

Before designing Dendrova, I looked at existing LMS platforms like Docebo, D2L Brightspace, and TalentLMS to understand how they handled course delivery, learner progress, and training management.

I also explored common user pain points and LMS trends to see what mattered most. A few things stood out:

Simpler course discovery

Users needed an easier way to find courses and get started on their training.

Better visibility into progress

Admins needed a clearer view of how learners and teams were progressing through their training.

More flexibility and customization

Organizations wanted more control over branding, content and how training was delivered.

These insights helped shape Dendrova’s direction, especially around role-based experiences, course discovery, progress tracking, and white-label customization.

Dendrova research board: competitors reviewed (Docebo, D2L Brightspace, TalentLMS), what I was looking for, user pain points, market trends, key research takeaways and how they shaped Dendrova

DIRECTION

One platform, three different experiences

After the research, I started mapping out the information architecture and key user flows to understand how everything would connect.

Since Dendrova was built for different types of users, I structured the platform around three main experiences: Learners, Company Admins, and Enerva Admins.

Learners needed an easy way to find courses, complete training, and earn certificates. Company Admins needed to manage employees, assign courses, and track their progress, while Enerva Admins needed full control over courses, users, and the platform itself.

This approach helped me create a clear navigation structure for each user role while keeping the experience consistent across the platform.

Dendrova information architecture: sign up and account type branch into Learner, Company Admin and Enerva Admin experiences, each with onboarding, a main dashboard and its own sections, leading to shared outcomes

SOLUTION

1. Making learning easier to discover and access

I designed a learner dashboard that brings courses, learning progress, and upcoming training into one place.

Learners can browse the learning catalog, search and filter courses, and either enroll for free or purchase paid courses. They can also view course details before enrolling, continue learning where they left off, and track their progress.

Dendrova learner dashboard with courses in progress, continue learning, recently added courses, weekly activity, leaderboard, upcoming webinars and latest news
The learner dashboard brings courses in progress, recently added courses, activity, upcoming webinars and news into one place.
Dendrova learning catalog with language, status and level filters, search, and course cards offering free enrolment or paid purchase
The learning catalog lets learners search and filter courses, then start for free or buy paid courses.
Dendrova course details page for Module 0 Learning Program with course overview, learning objectives, key outcomes and lesson list
Course details show what a course covers, its objectives, outcomes and lessons before a learner enrolls.

2. Simplifying course creation for admins

One of the key features I designed was the course creation workflow, giving admins more control over how training content is created and delivered.

Instead of a complicated setup process, I broke course creation into clear steps, from adding course details and configuring settings to organizing lessons and modules. Admins can also set learning requirements, manage course languages, and save drafts before publishing.

Dendrova course creation: Course Details step with owner, category, keywords, cover image upload and course description fields, alongside the step list
Course creation is split into clear steps, starting with course details and the description.
Dendrova course creation with an additional French language added, showing English and French fields side by side, and the menu to archive, duplicate, delete or publish the course
Admins can add a second language and fill in both side by side, then publish when ready.
Dendrova course settings: level and length, price, minimum attendance, content language, mandatory or optional, module order, featured and tracked credential options
Course settings cover level, price, attendance, whether a course is mandatory, module order and credentials.

3. Giving admins clear visibility into learning progress

I designed a learning analytics dashboard that gives admins a clearer view of how learners and organizations are progressing through training.

Admins can track enrollments, completion rates, and learner activity, then drill down into individual learners or organizations. I also included tools to identify inactive learners, send reminders, adjust due dates, and export reports, making it easier to follow up when learners fall behind.

Dendrova learning progress overview with learner, enrolment, completion and progress stats, completions over time, enrolments by status, course performance and completion by organization
The overview shows enrolments, completion rates and progress across courses and organizations.
Dendrova learning progress by learners: a table of learners with organization, course, progress, enrolment method, status and last activity, with a menu to send a reminder, change the due date or export
Admins can drill into individual learners, then send a reminder, change a due date or export.
Dendrova inactive learners view showing counts of inactive learners, learners who haven’t started, low progress and overdue
The Inactive tab highlights learners who haven’t started, are falling behind or are overdue.

IMPACT

What started as a solution for Enerva’s internal training needs became a learning platform used to onboard and train over 100 clients on Strategic Energy Management through the SEMI program.

Dendrova gave us more control over how we created and delivered training, while providing learners with a central place to access courses and track their progress.

The platform was also designed with future growth in mind, creating an opportunity for Enerva to offer Dendrova to other organizations. That opportunity is already paying off: we’ve signed contracts with two companies who now use Dendrova as their designated LMS.

LEARNINGS

Thinking beyond the UI

Dendrova was a project I really enjoyed working on because I got to be involved in building a product from scratch.

Being the sole designer meant I had to make a lot of design decisions and think about how everything would work together. One thing I found challenging was keeping the experience simple for learners while giving admins all the tools they needed to manage training.

I also learned to think ahead. We were initially building Dendrova for our SEMI clients, but knowing it could eventually serve other organizations made me more intentional about scalability and creating reusable design components.

Looking back, this project helped me grow more confident in making design decisions, taking ownership of my work, and thinking beyond just the screens I was designing.