{"id":1151,"date":"2026-02-07T15:38:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T15:38:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simonuxdesigns.com\/?page_id=1151"},"modified":"2026-02-10T20:28:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T20:28:08","slug":"language-disco","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/simonuxdesigns.com\/index.php\/language-disco\/","title":{"rendered":"Language Disco"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Language<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\ud83d\uddc2\ufe0f Page Sections<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Use buttons below to navigate <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Case<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Project<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Project Overview<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Language Disco<\/strong> is an English learning ecosystem designed to bridge the gap between academic grammar and real-world fluency for the Spanish-speaking market. As the Product Owner, I managed the end-to-end 14-month lifecycle\u2014from TEFL-certified pedagogical research to full-stack technical deployment. The project goal was to disrupt the high-friction, recurring-fee model of traditional academies with a lean, “lifetime-access” library and community hub. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Case Study<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

My Role<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

My involvement in this project was in the capacity of the Product Owner and Business Analyst<\/strong>. <\/strong>
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\"Dual<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Problem<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Traditional English schools often prioritize “teacher hours” (billing) over student mastery. This creates a bureaucratic environment where fundamentals are artificially prolonged, leading to student burnout and financial exhaustion. Furthermore, students lack consistent, low-cost environments to practice real-world communication without ongoing financial penalties or rigid schedules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Goal<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Design a scalable, low-overhead platform that provides permanent access to a high-quality curriculum. The business goal was to minimize the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) to offer a competitive one-time purchase price, ensuring the platform remains accessible to students while maintaining high profit margins and long-term educational impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Empathize<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Empathize Phase<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To build a truly viable product, I first had to audit the educational industry from the inside. I obtained a TEFL certificate<\/strong> to analyze pedagogical methodologies and interviewed three distinct cohorts<\/strong>: active teachers<\/strong>, successful learners<\/strong>, and students<\/strong> who had previously “dropped out” of traditional courses<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"TEFL
120 hours TEFL Certification as part of Foundational Research<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Through foundational research<\/strong> and competitive audits<\/strong>, I identified that the market was saturated with fragmented tools. Most solutions required students to pay for ongoing classes just to “catch up” on forgotten rules. This insight led to the definition of a methodology focused on pattern-building and permanent resource access, rather than the industry-standard “pay-per-hour” model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Define<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Define Phase<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In this stage, I evaluated the research insights to define an MVP that addressed the market gap for affordable, high-retention learning. A critical part of my role as a Business Analyst was conducting a cost-benefit analysis between two technical paths: Moodle<\/a><\/strong> and WordPress<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Moodle<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Infrastructure & Cost-Benefit Analysis:<\/strong> My research into Moodle<\/strong> revealed high hidden costs; it requires specialized VPS hosting (approx. $30\/mo) and carries high labor costs due to complex, poorly documented backend systems. In contrast, WordPress<\/strong> allowed me to leverage entry-level professional hosting (approx. $4.99\/mo). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By choosing WordPress, I reduced projected infrastructure costs by 80%<\/strong>. This strategic decision ensured a higher profit margin and allowed for a “Lifetime Access” price point that traditional academies cannot match due to their high operational overhead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, I optimized the platform\u2019s recurring OpEx (Operating Expenses) by rejecting “SaaS-trap”<\/strong> subscription models<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  • Marketing Automation:<\/strong> Instead of using Mailchimp<\/strong>\u2014which would cost approximately $240+\/year<\/strong> for just 1,000 users and increase as the audience grows\u2014I deployed Mautic<\/strong>. As an open-source solution installed on my own server, Mautic provides professional-grade automation with zero monthly licensing fees<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • User Management:<\/strong> I rejected MemberPress<\/strong> and its $200+ annual renewal fees<\/strong> in favor of s2Member<\/strong>. By making a strategic one-time investment of $189<\/strong>, I secured a robust, community-supported framework with lifetime utility. This single decision shifted a “forever cost” into a capped asset, directly protecting the platform’s profit margins.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
    <\/div>\n\n\n\n
    \"Idiate<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Ideate & Prototype Phase<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    During ideation, I focused on “Strategic Minimalism” to ensure the 14-month delivery timeline was met. I strictly managed the Product Backlog<\/strong>, making critical trade-offs to protect the user experience while maintaining a lean budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Backlog Prioritization & Technical Trade-offs:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    • Video Conferencing:<\/strong> I cut native Jitsi integration (which required a paid API for unique links) in favor of Google Meet to keep student costs down.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Storage Optimization:<\/strong> To avoid server bloating, I restricted direct file uploads and implemented Gravatar<\/strong> for profile management, saving significant server space and reducing long-term maintenance labor.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      Technical Architecture:<\/strong> Moving beyond visual design, I handled the under-the-hood engineering. I personally configured the user management system<\/strong> and integrated a 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication)<\/strong> system. This involved resolving a conflict between the way each of these two systems handled restricting simultaneous login access, which was blocking access to the account.

      I also performed the full server-side deployment of Mautic<\/strong>. Using the command line and terminal<\/strong>, I manually configured MariaDB<\/strong> databases and established Cron Jobs<\/strong> to ensure the automated student onboarding flow and email sequences triggered reliably without manual intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Business Analyst Value Add: 3-Year Projection<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

      To put this into perspective for stakeholders, here is the estimated value of these “Lean Infrastructure” decisions over a 3-year growth period:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"Business<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      The Result:<\/strong> By acting as both PO and BA, I reduced the 3-year operational cost by 85%<\/strong>. This allows Language Disco to remain profitable with a much lower “break-even” point per student than any traditional competitor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"Test<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      Test Phase<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Language Disco is currently in a “Soft Launch” phase. As a Product Owner, I am moving beyond vanity metrics and focusing on Qualitative Learning Impact<\/strong>. We are conducting usability testing with real users to iterate on the course material and evaluating “Mastery Performance”\u2014measuring how effectively students apply English skills in real-world contexts provided within the Disco Hub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"Key<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      Building this platform taught me that a Product Owner\u2019s greatest strength is balancing Feasibility (Technical), Viability (Business), and Desirability (User).<\/strong> By optimizing server costs and troubleshooting the back-end personally, I proved that a lean infrastructure can support a high-impact educational mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      Introduce a lot of visual support material<\/strong>s like pictionaries and flash cards based on themes and functions to assist the learning process, as well as some vocabulary building video lessons<\/strong> also based on English functions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      Iterate on Weekly English:<\/strong> Use soft-launch data to refine the “Weekly English” modules and expand the lexicon library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      Mobile Accessibility:<\/strong> Conduct further usability studies specifically for the 2FA flow on mobile devices<\/strong> to ensure a zero-friction login experience, including building a custom 2FA WordPress plugin using AI tools like Loveable AI, to create a more cohesive experience and solving the mobile usability of the current 2FA implementation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      Introduce an AI avatar<\/strong> for Speaking Practice, with a pay on demand model, for students that want to take advantage of this feature andfeel comfortable with the technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      <\/div>\n\n\n\n
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      <\/div>\n\n\n\n

      Project Showcase<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      My Account Navigation Buttons<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

      Users navigate to the varioys sections of the platform within their account (Mi cuenta). They can also see details related to their account. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"Main
      Main banner for “Mi Cuenta” page<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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      Navegation button (Beginners library)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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      Private group button for Beginners<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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      Navegation button (Intermediate library)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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      Private group button for Intermediate<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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      Navegation button (Advanced library)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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      Private group button for Advanced<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

      Onboarding Video<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

      Within their account, users can find a fun onboarding video where they will quickly learn about the different secitons of their account page, navigating to the libraries and how to use them, the contact page, the speaking practice page, chat-rooms and supporting materials.

      Also, an introduction to Disco Hub, an internal forum for students to connect and coordinate speaking practice via video calls, along with tips for how to use the forum, make the calls, code of conduct, privacy tips and reporting innapropiate behavior. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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