Teaching Quality
Weekly Native Knowledge Fest
Innovating with a Deep Understanding of the Systems We Build On
Overview
We designed the series using a “Goldilocks” approach, making complex native topics feel approachable, useful, and just-right for a diverse audience of 700+ designers.
As Capital One grew its design org, many designers were assigned to native app work without deep platform knowledge. Android and iPad experiences were suffering and customer-facing quality declined. I proposed and created WNKF, a weekly 30-minute training series to close knowledge gaps, build confidence, and standardize native design quality across iOS and Android.
My Contribution
Role
Program Creator & Instructor
Native experience quality
Company
Capital One
Scope
Cross-functional education for 200+ designers & partners
Scope
7 months
Problem
- Capital One’s consumer servicing apps had lost ground in quality, particularly across Android and tablet experiences.
- Many designers lacked native app experience — especially Android.
- Features were breaking in production (e.g., landscape issues, missed accessibility targets).
- Teams were designing mobile apps like mobile web.
- Designers felt uneasy asking questions in reviews or critiques.
- Design reviews consistently flagged the same UX/UI errors across LOBs.
Solution
- I worked with VP-level leadership to carve out a new quality-focused role. From there:
- I created WNKF, a recurring training series focused on platform fundamentals and mobile design best practices.
- Collaborated with a content strategist and junior designer to co-author the curriculum.
- Built a design checklist aligned with Apple HIG and Material Design guidelines.
- Focused early sessions on accessibility, motion, grid structure, and platform behavior differences.
- Tracked attendance, feedback, and cross-referenced with design QA results to target training gaps.
- Designed every class to be inclusive and “just right” in complexity using the Goldilocks Test (our narrative model for accessible teaching).
Collaboration
- Partnered across Experience Design, Product, and Tech to ensure relevance and adoption.
- Reported directly into the VP of Experience Quality.
- Worked with design reviewers and subject matter experts to reinforce training through QA processes.
- Used insights from design review trends to refine training content in real-time.
Measurements
So, how do you measure the success or failure of something like this? Well, it wasn't easy and I had to look at several metrics.
Our attendees
- I took detailed attendance. Using the tools in Zoom, I could track everyone that joined, how long they stayed and when they dropped.
- In a spreadsheet, I tracked:
- each person that attended a session
- where they aligned (Design/Product/Engineering and line of business)
- how long they stayed on the call
- who accessed the recording of the session that was posted immediately after the call.
Design was required to bring any new flows through a review process. There was a well documented checklist that product and design could use as a guide to ensure the work aligned with the design system and its respective platform.
From weekly design reviews
- I meticulously tracked design review results and feedback - documenting specific line items that didn't pass review.
- I tracked the project, line of business and designer.
- During training sessions I would sometimes pivot and address problem areas that arose in reviews.
- Over time, I began to cross reference and compare the collected data.
Results
- 20+ sessions delivered, including guest speakers and deep dives on platform-specific patterns
- Attendance grew to 100–200 designers per session
- Peer feedback consistently praised clarity, tone, and usefulness
- Design review failures dropped in LOBs with high WNKF participation
- Designers began proactively reaching out for feedback before QA
- VPs began requiring attendance for designers in struggling areas
- Reduced downstream rework and engineering tech debt caused by design inconsistencies
- Content still in use through an accessible internal video library
Retrospective
WNKF began as a response to a design quality gap and became an embedded part of how Capital One upskills its product teams. It fostered a culture of curiosity, inclusion, and shared accountability. By prioritizing accessibility in both design and education, we raised the bar for experience quality across the organization.
Course Feedback
"Kim authored and presented a series of brown bags around various design considerations (e.g. mobile, UDAAP examples, etc). It was some of the most thoughtful and insightful material I’ve ever seen, and I told Kim afterwards that across the many dozens of designers I’ve worked with over the years, only maybe 3 people including her possessed the breadth and depth needed to pull together that kind of rich material."
~ VP of Upper Funnel Product, Achieve
“You’ve helped me SO so much and all the wonderful knowledge aside, I just appreciate how genuine you are as a person and colleague.”
~ New XD team member, via Slack
“The class was great! It was presented in a very interesting and fun way. Learned a lot about design differences between iOS and Android.”
“It was awesome! Learned a lot in just 20 minutes.”
“This was really useful to me, hoping this can be longer.”
“I was vibing with all the material and felt like it just wasn’t long enough to cover everything. It was amazing though! I can’t wait for the next class! ^-^”
“I like the analogies and imagery – especially Adam Hillman’s assemblage work! Looking forward to getting into more detail.”
~ Anonymous attendees
