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SkillVend2 — The Internal Mastery Kiosk

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Core Concept

An internal, credit-powered ‘vending’ widget that dispenses mastery-gated lesson capsules inside Slack/Teams and the LMS, coached by AI and recorded to the learning record.

 

Evaluation

  • Innovation: 8

  • Novelty: 8

  • Speed: 9

  • Total Score: 83.33

 

Target Audience

HR/L&D leaders, team managers, and employees in frontline, operations, sales, support, data/engineering.

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Key Features

  • Capsule grid by skill ladder (Beginner → Practitioner → Expert) with mastery checks and unlock rules

  • Credit economy (stipends, streaks, manager grants) to fuel deliberate practice

  • AI coach for immediate feedback, spaced repetition, and on-the-job practice prompts

  • Zero-friction embeds in Slack/Teams and LMS; SSO via Okta/Azure AD; HRIS sync for roles and goals

  • Manager dashboards: progress, time-to-competency, mobility pipeline; printable badges/micro-credentials

 

Potential Impact

Cuts time-to-competency, boosts retention, and makes internal mobility tangible—turning training from a cost center into a performance lever.

Reason for Selection

It’s fast to prototype, rides clear trends (micro-learning, skills-based orgs), and the vending metaphor creates irresistible, self-directed uptake.

 

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

  • Addictive, self-serve format that rewards progress, not seat time

  • Quick embed in existing tools (Slack/Teams/LMS) reduces rollout friction

  • Clear business metrics (time-to-competency, adoption, mobility)

  • Credit economy aligns employee pull with manager priorities

 

Opportunities

  • Skills-based hiring and internal mobility programs need verifiable progress

  • Compliance refreshers can be reinvented as mastery capsules

  • Partner catalogs (tech vendors, cert bodies) extend depth fast

  • Data-driven talent mapping for succession and cross-skilling

 

Key Refinements

  • Ship three ladders first (data literacy, frontline ops, customer success) before broad catalog

  • Lock a crisp capsule schema: objective → 10–15 min lesson → 3-item mastery check → on-the-job micro-task

  • Launch with Slack/Teams embed and LMS deep-link; full LMS SCORM/xAPI export later

  • Start with rule-based spaced repetition; add adaptive scheduling post-beta

  • Issue lightweight badges; integrate major credential partners only after traction

  • Make credits programmable by managers (priorities, quarterly goals, streak boosts)

  • Instrument everything: attempts, pass rates, retries, time-on-task, n-day retention

 

Scope Phase 1

In Scope

  • Slack/Teams app with capsule ‘kiosk’ UI and notifications

  • Web app with SSO (Okta/Azure AD) and role-aware catalog

  • Three skill ladders with 9–12 capsules each and mastery checks

  • Credit wallet (grants, streaks, redemptions) and basic badge issuance

  • Manager dashboard (adoption, pass rates, time-to-competency)

  • LMS deep-links and LRS (xAPI) write-backs

  • AI coach for feedback on short-answer and practice prompts

 

Out of Scope

  • Full SCORM authoring suite

  • Enterprise-wide skills ontology mapping

  • External proctoring and high-stakes certification exams

  • Multilingual content localization beyond EN

  • Advanced adaptive learning models

 

Data and Integrations

Systems

  • Slack/Teams app framework

  • Web app (Next.js) + API

  • Postgres (users, roles, credits, capsules, attempts, badges)

  • LRS (xAPI) for statements; optional SCORM passthrough

  • HRIS integration (Workday/SuccessFactors/BambooHR) for org/role

  • SSO (Okta/Azure AD)

  • Analytics pipeline (event stream to warehouse/BI)

 

Required Fields

  • Users: user_id, email, role_id, manager_id, org_unit, locale

  • Credits: user_id, balance, grant_source, grant_reason, granted_at, redeemed_at

  • Capsules: capsule_id, ladder_id, level, objective, content_ref, mastery_items[], est_minutes

  • Attempts: attempt_id, user_id, capsule_id, started_at, completed_at, score, passed

  • Badges: badge_id, user_id, ladder_id, level, issued_at, evidence_ref

  • Events: user_id, event_type(view|start|pass|fail|redeem), capsule_id, ts, client(slack|teams|web)

 

Access Assumptions

  • SSO via SAML/OIDC is available

  • HRIS provides nightly roster/role sync

  • LMS/LRS accepts xAPI statements and deep-links

  • Slack/Teams app installation allowed by tenant admins

  • PII minimized; data retention and DPA approved by Legal

 

Next Steps

  • Prototype the Slack/Teams kiosk, credit wallet, and one ladder (data literacy) with 9 capsules; enable SSO and xAPI writes.

  • Run a 4-week pilot in one business unit (100–300 employees); measure adoption, pass rates, and time-to-competency deltas.

  • Refine content, tune credit incentives, and prepare the manager dashboard for broader rollout.

 

Assumptions

  • Employees prefer short, mastery-gated lessons inside daily tools

  • Managers will allocate credits when tied to quarterly goals

  • LMS/LRS integration is feasible without custom SSO per BU

  • AI feedback is acceptable for formative checks (not high-stakes testing)

 

Open Questions

  • Which three ladders create the fastest business impact by function?

  • What weekly credit stipend drives steady progress without gaming?

  • How strict should mastery thresholds be to balance morale and rigor?

  • What privacy controls are required for manager-visible progress?

  2025 Venture Forges • Business Plans for Builders

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