Promo video “Smart Rus”
Product overview
Smart Rus appeared to be a continuation of Smart University. Read more about Smart University
The new product entered the international market and optimised costs. My team suggested a variety of optimisations, changing the in-house model for partnership cooperation.
As MTS is one of the largest telecommunication companies and a technological corporation, we decided to be responsible for the two fields of production: “marketing and strategy” and “technology development and support”.
For content creation, we chose to cooperate with one of the largest Russian Universities, RUDN – The Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, as it is an international university, specialising in teaching Russian as a foreign language.
My role
As a product manager, I was responsible for assembling a team and launching a pilot of the international education product Smart Rus in five months.
Innovation
This product is Russia’s first international product in the segment. We had the best expertise in teaching Russian as a foreign language, considering the partnership with RUDN and MTS’s technology and marketing experience.
My prototype in Miro of the Smart Rus landing page
Challenges and solutions
Issue 1
The release schedule was tight. We adopted the MVP budget in August, and by December 31st, we had to upload the application to the stores in 8 languages.
My solution
I organised the translation process and became the supervisor between the development and the translators from the RUDN. The productive and precise translation work was done. I had to check and test the platform's language interface manually to make sure all elements were displayed accurately.
Issue 2
Using a hard code initially, the intention was to use the Smart University platform. This platform was designed for Russian-speaking users (with all of the specifics of the Russian language), as well as the Russian currency. It was needed to use hard code practice to tackle that issue.
My solution
I was supposed to change all text features with dynamic options in the shortest period, so the platform could flexibly switch the language – it was a real challenge. It meant that in the personal user’s account, the language was changed dynamically, without being refreshed.
Issue 3
By September 1st, there were no developers in the team. It took about two months to search for and find the proper specialists.
My solution
I decided to find an outsourcing team, as it takes a lot of time to hire new specialists. I had to coordinate with people from different groups with different working habits and interests.
Results
The final results have exceeded expectations.
On December 22nd, we performed the open presentation of the product for the entire MTS company.
On December 25th, we passed the quality control department and successfully completed the Apple review.
On the New Year, we launched the first context advertisement.
As a result, the product evolved into a technological platform which consisted of a website and an iOS and Android application. The platform maintained 8 languages and 19 currencies for payment.
The remaining functions were the same as in Smart University: the target audience consisted of students who would enter the most prominent Russian Universities or those who wanted to learn Russian as a foreign language.