Gamification

Features on Brainly
Live Challenge #121

Priya Heda

[email protected]
 Brainly
A brief Overview

Problem Statement
You’ve joined Brainly as Chief Product Officer. Your platform’s success is majorly dependent on the content users’ ask and how well other users
answer them. You want to reward your users by gamifying the entire experience.

About Brainly
Brainly is the world's largest social learning platform with 350million+ MAUs and has a presence in over 35 countries. Their mission is to
provide every student in the world access to personalized learning. Brainly provides a knowledge-sharing community where millions of
students, teachers as well as parents share knowledge and solve each other's problems.
After conquering the world, Brainly is now all set to expand in India by focusing on vernacular content. It has already created a 15 million
userbase in India within 2 years, comprising of 42% secondary and 39% higher secondary grade students.

Key Data Points Competitors

Total Userbase Bounce Rate Total Visits

15 million 62.05% 43.4 million
53.91% Female Pages Per Visit Avg Visit Duration
46.29% 18-24 yrs. 2.34 3 min 30 sec

02
 User Personas

Sneha Aditya Shefali Rahul

Age: 15 Age: 18 Age: 14 Age: 40
CBSE Class IX ICSE Class XII CBSE Class VIII Teaches Classes V-
Student, Lives in Student, Lives in Student, Lives in X at Kendriya
Indore Mumbai Hyderabad Vidyalaya, Nagpur

Needs: Needs: Needs: Needs:

- Needs tutoring outside of - Can not concentrate for long - Is good at academics and wants - Highly skilled at Mathematics
school to supplement hours to double check answers and wants to share his
classroom learnings - Needs flexibility and freedom to - Enjoys solving novel problems knowledge
- Could benefit from peer group study at own pace and answering questions to - Wants to reach to a wider
to ask any career-related - Prefers concise discussion of help peers student community from
questions concepts over huge textbooks - Wants to know different various boards to explore other
- Wants an affordable way to get and lengthy videos methods of approaching the teaching avenues such as
her queries resolved same problem private tuitions

Pain Points: Pain Points: Pain Points: Pain Points:

- Limited access to resources, - Mostly long-form content in - Lack of platforms to reach out - Doesn’t have the time and
teachers and peers to ask current resources making a large peer group and help resources to start and maintain
curriculum specific or general difficult to concentrate other students a social media account like a
questions - Limited access to resources from - Limited access to resources YouTube channel of their own
- Feels shy to speak in classes another grade or board from other education boards - Needs flexibility and
convenience

03
 Current use of Gamification
in Brainly
• Brainly currently uses elements of
gamification like badges and reward points. Users earn points by Notifications remind
answering questions, users of their
The web version of Brainly also has a leader using the app daily, or progress and badges
board based on points. moderating answers. earned
• Brainly encourages users to react on
answers by authors, thus allowing authors
to receive feedback and see the results of
their work. Users are awarded
badges based on points
and the subjects they
have answered the most
Proposed features: questions in.

• The proposed features use gamification to

solve for the lack of motivation to use the
app and ask/answer questions.
Brainly’s website has
• While the success of the application is a leader board based
on the points the
majorly dependent on the content users’ most active users
ask and how well other users answer them, have

building a habit to use the app regularly is

crucial to achieve the former.

• If users see value in using the application

and get habituated to the app, the number
and quality of questions being asked and Current features using Gamification on Brainly
answered on the platform will rise.
04
Approach for the Proposed Features

• Gamification uses the fun and engaging elements found in games and applies them to real-world, productive activities
• The proposed features to gamify the user experience at Brainly are derived using the Octalysis framework
• The table below maps each proposed and existing feature in Brainly to their core driver as per the octalysis framework
• These proposed features are an extension of the existing features

Driver Feature

Epic Meaning and Calling Feature 3: Brainly’s Best Brains

Development and Accomplishment Feature 1: Progress Bar, Reward Points, Badges, Leader board

Empowerment of Creativity and Feedback Sending ‘Thanks’, Posting Comments on answers

Ownership and Possession Feature 3: Brainly’s Best Brains

Unpredictability and Curiosity Feature 2: Quizzes and Competitions

Proposed feature
Existing feature

05
 Feature 1:
Progress Bar

• A progress bar that indicates a user’s progress

for textbooks they are currently studying can
be added.
The Completion bar will highlight the amount
• These elements will be added at multiple levels 1 Chapter, 10 Exercises Completed
20%
of information studied by students.
Once it crosses 50%, the number of chapters
depending on the structure of the book. and exercises left will be highlighted.
For example, in the wireframe seen on the
6/6
slide, we see the progress at 3 levels: Exercises Completed
The chapter-wise status bar will turn green
only once students complete all the exercises
i) At the Textbook level – 20% completed of the chapter
4/5
Exercises Completed
ii) At the Chapter level – 6/6 Exercises
completed in Chapter 1
iii) At an Exercise level – The parts of a question
completed in an exercise have a green tick
• This feature intends to tap into users’ internal
drive of making progress and developing skills. The chapter-wise status bar will turn green
only once students complete all the exercises
A sense of accomplishment and development of the chapter
motivates users to login more frequently and
spend more time on the app.

Back to Approach
06
 Feature 2:
Quizzes and Competitions
• Students can quiz with other students or a
computer on a topic of their choice. Users Who is the brainliest?
have the option to chose any topic from a The scorecard will
variety of subjects. 35 9 45 show live scores, a
John Morris Ken Norton timer and the user’s
expertise level
• Students can customize this MCQ quiz by
Ambitious Virtuoso

choosing the level of difficulty, number of

questions and duration of the quiz. Question 6 of 10

• A student can earn points on winning a quiz

What is the speed
to earn badges and a place on the leadership of light in vacuum?
board. They can also invite their friends not
on the platform to quiz with them. 3 x 108 m/sec
• This feature serves two purpose: 3 x 108 km/sec
i) Aid in the student’s preparation by
revision of key concepts 3 x 109 m/sec

ii) Motivate students to use the app regularly 3 x 108 km/hr

due to the addictive nature of
competitions. Topic: Details of the subject,
Understanding Light topic and difficulty
• Based on the adoption of this feature, PHYSICS Difficulty level: Medium level can be seen here
Weekly and Monthly challenges can be
rolled out. Winners of these challenges get
The quiz option shall
access to an exclusive ‘Spin and Win’ become a prominent
campaign to win exciting prizes. This element button on the
of predictability and curiosity can further navigation bar to
Quiz
quickly grab attention.
drive engagement up.

Back to Approach
07
 Feature 3:
Brainly’s Best Brains – 1/2
• Users with the most number of ‘brainliest’
The profile page of
answers and engagement with other users the writer will
through comments, number of thanks, etc Brainly’s Best Brain in Mathematics 2022
highlight his
achievement in
on the platform can earn the title of Brainly’s Best Brain
‘Brainly’s Best Brain.’ program

• This title will be awarded on a yearly basis to

users for their expertise in a particular
subject.
All the Brainly top
writers will have a
• The designated moderators for the content golden ring on their Ken Norton
on the platform can nominate users for this profile picture. Subject Brainly’s Best Brain in Mathematics, 2022

title. and year will also be

mentioned immediately
below their name
• The title will be displayed in the user’s
headline along with a special icon. This will A separate section
ensure that a user feels special and believe will give users an
they are the chosen ones. BRAINLY’S BEST BRAIN option to check
details for Brainly’s
Best Brain program
• This can motivate the user to maintain the
forum and create a community on the
platform by providing high-quality answers. John Morris
Brainly’s Top Writer in Physics, Mathematics, 2022

• This generation of high-quality content can

result in an enhanced user experience for all
users

Back to Approach
08
 Feature 3:
Brainly’s Best Brains – 1/2
• The top writers identified through this
program can further be incentivized by
awarding bonus reward points. Brainly’s Best Brain in Mathematics 2022 Brainly’s Best Brain in Mathematics 2022

• The top writers get a bonus 100 points for

every answer on the platform. CREATE YOUR LIBRARY
• These reward points can be used as virtual A summary of points
will be provided right at
currency to purchase digital goods such as e- 28790 26590 3560 the top of the library
books or podcasts. Total Points Redeemed Points Points needed for
next book
page

• The top writers can create a wish list of these Next Book
digital goods and will be able to see their
progress towards purchasing the next item Nudge: Improving Decisions
on their wish list, motivating them to About Health, Wealth, and
Happiness
contribute to the platform. Richard H.Thaler, Cass R.
Sunstein The Completion bar will
• Developing this feature will require BRAINLY’S BEST BRAIN BRAINLY’S BEST BRAIN 20%
highlight the progress
to the next book
collaborating with other applications such as 0 890 4450

audible or Kuku FM and thus can be capital- My Wishlist:

intensive and time consuming. A separate section will

give Brainly’s best
CREATE YOUR LIBRARY
brains to curate their
digital library My Library

Back to Approach
09
 Prioritization

Prioritization using RICE Matrix

Features Reach Impact Confidence Effort RICE Score Priority

Out of 100 Out of 3 Person-Months

Progress Bar 75 2.0 80% 2.0 60.00 2

Quizzes and Competitions 85 3.0 100% 3.5 72.85 1
Brainly’s Best Brains 50 2.0 80% 5.0 16.00 3
Impact Scale: Confidence Scale:
3 = massive impact 100% = High Confidence
2 = high impact 80% = Medium Confidence
1 = medium impact 50% = Low Confidence
0.5 = low impact
0.25 = minimal impact

Thus, Quizzes and Competitions

will be the first feature for gamifying user experience on Brainly
10
 Go-to-market Strategy

Market Feature
Pre-Launch Beta Launch Feedback Final Release Iterate
Research Development

Understand needs and Prioritize the identified Test the feature and ‘Dogfood’ the feature, Analyse data and metrics
Launch the final release Track the success metrics
pain points of Brainly features using the RICE check if it passes laid out that is, test the feature from the beta launch.
on both iOS and android. after launch.
users through primary framework. Create low- acceptance criteria. by using it internally. Results of A/B tests(if
Advertise and market on
and secondary research. fidelity wireframes for ran), to be used to social media. Keep improving by
top 3 features. Launch campaigns to Release it to users improve the product. gathering user feedback.
Analyse competitor’s market and promote the enrolled in beta program. Finalize the metrics to
approach and their Create a PRD and share new feature to generate Conduct qualitative monitor after the final Iterate and release minor
success/failure with it. with all stakeholders. awareness. A/B Tests can be interviews with beta release. updates in case of major
conducted in the beta users to understand any issues or significant UX
Identify all the potential Design and develop the Enrol a significant launch to compare pain points. Create buzz around the improvement.
risks, hurdles and feature. Iterate for any number of users for beta feature acceptance and new feature by
opportunities in improvements. launch. performance. Incorporate the relevant partnering with
launching the feature to feedback and prepare the influencers.
market. feature for final release.

11
 Success Metrics
Type Metric
North Star Metric Change in DAU (Increase) and Change in average visit duration (Increase)

Awareness • # of visits on the quiz landing page ( >30% of total users in 1 month after launch)
• # of users with at least 1 quiz in the past month (Increase)
Adoption • % of quizzes completed after starting (>50%)
• % of active users participating in monthly/weekly quizzing challenges
• % of active users who invited at least 1 friend to quiz on the platform
Engagement
• Change in # of average pages per visit (Increase)
• % of active users who have used the feature at least twice in last 1 month
Retention
• Change in Stickiness Ratio (Increase)
• App loading time (Same/Decrease)
Health
• Change in Bounce Rate (Decrease)
• Net Promoter Score
Happiness
• App Store and Play-store ratings
• Month on month change in #users giving their 1 answer (Increase)
• Month on month change in #users asking their 1st question (Increase)
• Change in average number of comments on an answer (Increase)
Other (Overall App Usage)
• Change in average number of thanks on an answer (Increase)
• Change in total number of questions asked/user (Increase)
• Change in total number of answers/user (Increase)

Note: The metrics for which change is measured are qualified in brackets, that is, whether an increase or decrease in the number indicates success 12
THANK YOU