Oracle Unifier uDesigner Training

Transforming legacy instructor-led training into self-paced learning through simulation design and iterative stakeholder feedback. 

Context & Constraints

This project focused on advanced product training for the Oracle Unifier uDesigner tool, aimed at experienced Unifier Administrators responsible for creating and maintaining customizable business processes, forms, and workflows. The training was primarily customer-facing, with some lighter internal use, and was redesigned as a fully self-paced course.

The content covered complex configuration tasks and assumed a high level of baseline product knowledge. Any redesign needed to preserve depth and accuracy while making the material more accessible without the support of an instructor.

The Core Problem

The existing uDesigner training was delivered as an instructor-led course that had not been updated in several years. In that time, the application had undergone multiple changes, leaving large portions of the course outdated or incorrect.

Usage data also showed a disconnect: while there was strong interest in other Unifier courses, this course consistently saw lower enrollment. Feedback suggested that the format itself was a barrier—administrators needed access to the content when they were actively working in the system, rather than committing to a scheduled, instructor-led session.

There was growing interest in converting the course to a self-paced format. However, the original course relied heavily on guided, in-application exercises. Removing those exercises entirely would significantly reduce the value of the training, but replicating them without an instructor presented a major design challenge.

Design Goals

The primary goal was to modernize and correct the existing content while preserving the depth required for advanced administrators. The course needed to remain practical and task-focused, allowing learners to build confidence before working directly in the live application.

A secondary goal was to increase accessibility and relevance by shifting the course to a self-paced format. This meant designing an experience that supported independent learning without sacrificing the hands-on practice that made the original instructor-led course effective.

Design Approach

After receiving approval to uplift the course and explore delivery using Articulate Rise and Storyline, I partnered with an SME teammate to redesign the course from the ground up. We began by drafting a logical, workflow-based structure that reflected how administrators actually used uDesigner.

My teammate then facilitated feedback sessions with previous instructors to validate the new structure and identify gaps. Based on this input, we refined the module order and adjusted emphasis in several areas before moving into development.

During content development, responsibilities were clearly divided. My teammate ensured technical accuracy, while I focused on formatting, interaction design, and learner experience. As I reviewed the instructional content, it became clear that Rise was the best fit for the conceptual portions of the course. Its ability to combine text, images, short videos, and interactive graphics allowed us to replace dense pages of bullet points with clearer, more digestible explanations of complex application screens.

The biggest design challenge was replacing the instructor-guided, step-by-step exercises. Eliminating them entirely would have removed one of the most valuable parts of the course. I explored whether Storyline could be used to recreate these exercises in a way that still supported skill development without instructor support.

After several rounds of iteration and cross-team feedback, I developed an application simulation approach we referred to as “Try-Its.” Each Try-It presented learners with a clear objective and then guided them through the correct steps to complete the task. The intent was for learners to repeat these simulations until they understood both the workflow and the click path, building confidence before attempting the task independently in the live application.

Key Design Decisions

• Shifted from instructor-led to self-paced delivery to improve accessibility and allow administrators to engage with the content when they were actively working in the application.

• Structured the course around real administrator workflows rather than feature lists, ensuring the content reflected how uDesigner is actually used in practice.

• Used Rise for instructional content to replace dense text and slides with a mix of visuals, short videos, and interactive graphics that reduced cognitive load.

• Preserved hands-on practice through simulations by redesigning instructor-guided exercises as Storyline based “Try-Its,” maintaining skill development without requiring live instruction.

• Designed content for reuse across delivery formats, enabling the self-paced course to later support instructor-led training with minimal rework.

Outcomes & Impact

The redesigned course was developed over a four-month period and resulted in a comprehensive self-paced experience totaling 6 hours and 25 minutes of instruction. The final deliverables included 24 Rise content pages, 10 Rise knowledge checks, and 47 Storyline based Try-It simulations.

Beyond its initial release, the course proved flexible and reusable. My SME teammate later leveraged the updated content to rebuild an instructor-led version of the course, reusing the Rise content with minor adjustments for presentation slides and adapting the Storyline Try-Its into templates for instructor-led exercises.

This reuse validated the design approach and demonstrated that the self-paced course not only met learner needs but also provided a durable foundation for multiple delivery formats.