worksheets.aI - Streamlining the Worksheet Generator
Summary
WorksheetsAI is an edtech startup built by students, for educators, with a mission to revolutionize classroom efficiency through an AI-powered worksheet generator. Designed to save teachers hours of prep time, the platform offers customizable templates and seamless integration with videos, PDFs, or slide decks. Imagining a world where learning is catered according to your learning, whether that is visual, hands-on, or collaborative.
This case study explores the design methodology behind creating an intuitive, innovative worksheet generator that simplifies workflows while enhancing educational engagement.
Role
Project Manager & Lead Designer
Team
3 designers
Timeline
Feb - April 2024 (4 months)
Outcome
Founders used this as a starting point for future iterations!
Problem
Currently, the reality of teaching is that many educators spend a lot of time outside of their classrooms trying to craft agendas, lesson plans, and assignments that are effective and relevant. Much of this work is monotonous and tedious making this an extremely time-consuming process.
How might we empower educators to create personalized worksheets effortlessly, while maintaining an intuitive user experience?
FINAL SOLUTION
Preview
01
Remagining the generator experience.
Understanding user needs
User Research
I conducted user research by synthesizing a feedback dashboard of 681 responses from their past platform and conducted 8 user interviews total of students, teachers, and a professor. This helped me measure what the first model did well and where it didn't. I noted down key overlaps and frustrations amongst users to form my key insights.
But first, I created journey maps for two user personas based on the interviews conducted. The first who focused on customization for students, and the other educator who lacked technical skills and wanted efficiency in their day-to-day.
Chuck: The Thoughtful Customizer
This archetype is an educator who values control and depth, seeking tools that help efficiently customize lessons while maintaining high-quality, authentic content.
STEPS
Uploading Content
Generating Worksheet
Setting Worksheet Parameters
PAIN POINT 01
“I want to upload political cartoons, but I can’t...”
PAIN POINT 02
“Difficulty levels feel arbitrary.”
PAIN POINT 03
“I want to try it first, not pay upfront.”
ACTION
Attempts to upload content including images & videos
Selects difficulty and accommodations
Clicks generate and is prompted for credit card
Melissa: The Engaged Explorer
This archetype reflects an educator who needs tools that work smoothly and efficiently so they can focus on teaching rather than navigating the software.
STEPS
Uploading Content
Generating Worksheet
Setting Worksheet Parameters
PAIN POINT 01
“I want to include movie files but it only allows YouTube videos.”
PAIN POINT 02
“Difficulty labels are vague and not aligned with how I assess my students.”
PAIN POINT 03
“I want to test this before financially committing. Subscription cost will deter many.”
ACTION
Attempts to upload content including images & videos
Selects difficulty and accommodations
Clicks generate and is prompted for credit card
PAIN POINTS
Feedback Dashboard Synthesis
Poor Usability
The editing experience is fragmented and inefficient, requiring users to manually click into each input field to make changes.
Insufficient Personalization
Users are not able to combine different types of questions together. Such as combining True or False questions, multiple choice, and open-ended questions into their worksheet. Additionally, users were not able to customize the fonts, font size, add colors, and images into the worksheets.
Ambiguous Language
The platform is frustratingly difficult to navigate, with ambiguous language that obscures rather than clarifies. Ultimately complicating the teaching process instead of easing it.
02
Shown are the artifacts from their Generator.
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
Competitor Findings
By identifying that none of the competitors offered a unified experience, the finalized prototype introduces a flow that allows users to add templates directly from the generator screen, eliminating the need to create a new worksheet each time. This presented an opportunity to streamline the flow and enhance the overall user experience.
PLATFORMS
Customization
(difficulty levels, standards/IEP support, STEM Equations)
All‑in‑One Flow
(upload → customize → generate seamlessly)
MEDIA SUPPORT
(images, videos, varied Media input)
⏪
01/ No ALL-IN-ONE flow
All the competitors had a disconnected flow. Since, template selection forced users to navigate back to the template page. This disrupted the experience adding unnecessary friction.
🖌️
02/ LIMITED OR NO MEDIA SUPPORT
A key gap across competitors was the lack of image and graphic integration. The ability to upload and integrate media (e.g., diagrams, political cartoons, YouTube videos, audio clips) directly into worksheets.
Feature Prioritization
Final Solution
Free-Form Document
Inspired by Notion, Google Docs, and the competitors I pitched this solution that differentiated from the current market. It had an all-in-one flow, where choosing templates and editing them was in one screen.
03
Slash command for quick customizability.
02
Access to templates through the generator screen.
Smooth Step-By-Step Process: Intuitive Editor
Integrating template selection directly within the worksheet experience created a more unified and seamless workflow. Instead of starting from scratch each time, users can now add multiple worksheets within the same document; streamlining the process and reducing repetitive effort.
Improved Work Flow: Integrated Template Selection
The generator is now a free-form document editor that allows users to start from templates or a blank canvas offering flexibility and control. It emulates the familiarity of legacy products, the interface feels intuitive, clean, and approachable.
By removing the need for manual input selection to make edits, users can place their cursor anywhere in the document to start typing. This interaction significantly reduces friction, making the worksheet creation process faster.
Better Clarity: Smarter Customization for Inclusive Learning
By replacing vague difficulty levels with lexile-based categorization enabled better AI-driven personalization and work flow efficiency. The generator now supports full customization, including font adjustments, text formatting, and image uploads, addressing accessibility and educator needs for multimedia content.
Additionally, permitting math functions to be pasted and typed directly into the editor, broadens the user base by including STEM educators. These updates filled critical gaps in Worksheets.AI, making the tool more inclusive and impactful.
Lessons Learned and Areas for Improvement
Learnings and Reflections
Areas of Improvement
The Importance of Design Systems:
This was my first design-led project, and at the time, I wasn’t familiar with what a design system was or how to structure one. We ended up building it midway through the project, which led to challenges with inconsistency across designers. Whether it was using different shades of blue or mismatched font sizes, these inconsistencies slowed down our process.
Diverse User Testing Pool:
With more time, I would have reached out to a more diverse pool of users, including professors and teachers from a variety of subjects to interview. Due to time constraints, we were only able to recruit teachers, but our goal was to design a product that addressed the needs of all educators.
Reflection and Lasting Thoughts
The biggest lesson I learned was the importance of strong leadership and consistently showing up for my team. I realized that I needed to model the standard of work I expected from others. Since this was the first design project for all the consultants, it was challenging to both lead and teach at the same time, especially within a limited timeframe. As a result, I had to make many decisions quickly and be proactive in guiding the team forward.
I also want to thank Aryan and Adam, the founders of Worksheets.AI, for allowing us to step into the startup world and trusting us with their product. This experience gave me valuable insight into the impact and scalability we needed to incorporate into our designs.
Happy to connect,
© 2025 Laura Cai Wu