CQ Web Platform
Cultural Intelligence Center
The Cultural Intelligence Center is finding new ways to help companies create culturally-intelligent teams.
web
web
mobile
mobile
desktop
desktop
embedded
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/628fcc1631ad0b25b32f223e/62c5daff41d2641da6b74a3a_CQC_Banner_fe25e19ecd3ccb2d1839c16b8e269f2a.jpeg)
The Cultural Intelligence Center (CQC) assesses and trains people in cultural intelligence (CQ)—the capability to relate and work effectively in culturally-diverse situations. It was founded by MSU researchers and serves businesses, universities, government agencies, and non-profits.
CQC’s original online assessment tool was difficult to use and had limited payment options. It was also hard to customize, requiring custom code for each new client or specialized test.
CQC asked Atomic to build a replacement. The Atomic team also studied CQC’s workflow and created tools to automate it.
The new mobile-responsive platform:
- Leads users through accurate, secure assessments and generates beautiful PDF reports
- Compiles group data into graphs and reports
- Allows admins to easily customize assessments and reports
- Is internationalized, allowing CQC to offer services in 5 different languages and easily add more.
Keyla Waslawski, Manager Operations
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/628fcc1631ad0b25b32f223e/6345936f56d0dad6b5ddfc60_CQC-detail_R2.png)
Coordinating Stakeholders
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/628d552469d2a1b0c6b730a9/63625c0796c6527710c14ea9_Recycle.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/628d552469d2a1b0c6b730a9/63625c054b004d70d1c2c567_Groups.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/628d552469d2a1b0c6b730a9/63625c028a367e8a4bebfcc0_Computer.png)
Technical Specs
Atomic designed the system architecture and wrote software and firmware for:
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/628d552469d2a1b0c6b730a9/6362571bbe17203b58c6ab7b_network.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/628d552469d2a1b0c6b730a9/63625882a89d6c4d89f0e07f_gateway.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/628d552469d2a1b0c6b730a9/636258867bb31f12ea922948_web-app.png)
Phase 2: Developing a Full-feature Workshop Experience
With the Learning Map developed into a digital product, Root wanted to further help users dive into their organization’s strategy, financials, or processes with a second release. Among other features, they sought to create a kind of a virtual whiteboard, where everyone’s voice could be heard in a fun, engaging, and meaningful way.
Atomic’s Software Design Practice Lead in Ann Arbor, Bryan Elkus, led design work on the project. He saw the user experience of going through the Learning Map activities as a type of collaborative online challenge.
Under the guidance of Atomic's Software Consultant & Designer Bryan Elkus, the project emphasized collaborative user experiences, akin to an online group challenge, focusing on:
- Consultants facilitating onboarding, ice-breakers, and exercises.
- Client company employees engaging in organizational change.
Atomic Object Software Consultant & Developer Matt Soto his development work focused on delivering Root’s vision of polish, complex features, and emphasizing a business model around the digital product.
Root's VP, Nate Butki says Atomic’s consultative approach helped the project team uncover and address underlying needs rather than merely executing requests.
“Atomic didn’t want to just figure out what we wanted and give it to us—but rather figured out the need and helped us with it,” he said. “If they had listened to us and spit out exactly what we asked for, they would have only gotten 80 percent of it. Atomic’s team asked the questions and pushed us further.”
Technical Specs
Atomic designed the system architecture and wrote software and firmware for:
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/628d552469d2a1b0c6b730a9/6362571bbe17203b58c6ab7b_network.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/628d552469d2a1b0c6b730a9/63625882a89d6c4d89f0e07f_gateway.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/628d552469d2a1b0c6b730a9/636258867bb31f12ea922948_web-app.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/628fcc1631ad0b25b32f223e/634597e79e7ef82e3acd21ee_CQC-Circle.png)
Online Learning
The new platform also integrates with Bridge Learn to offer e-learning. Participants can improve their CQ via videos and articles, and the system can customize curriculum based on the student’s CQ scores.
Previously, all training came from in-person facilitators. The new system is more affordable and easier for companies who want on-demand training.
Phase 2: Developing a Full-feature Workshop Experience
With the Learning Map developed into a digital product, Root wanted to further help users dive into their organization’s strategy, financials, or processes with a second release. Among other features, they sought to create a kind of a virtual whiteboard, where everyone’s voice could be heard in a fun, engaging, and meaningful way.
Atomic’s Software Design Practice Lead in Ann Arbor, Bryan Elkus, led design work on the project. He saw the user experience of going through the Learning Map activities as a type of collaborative online challenge.
Under the guidance of Atomic's Software Consultant & Designer Bryan Elkus, the project emphasized collaborative user experiences, akin to an online group challenge, focusing on:
• Consultants facilitating onboarding, ice-breakers, and exercises.
• Client company employees engaging in organizational change.
Atomic Object Software Consultant & Developer Matt Soto his development work focused on delivering Root’s vision of polish, complex features, and emphasizing a business model around the digital product. Root's VP, Nate Butki says Atomic’s consultative approach helped the project team uncover and address underlying needs rather than merely executing requests.
“Atomic didn’t want to just figure out what we wanted and give it to us—but rather figured out the need and helped us with it,” he said. “If they had listened to us and spit out exactly what we asked for, they would have only gotten 80 percent of it. Atomic’s team asked the questions and pushed us further.”
Nate Butki, Root VP
Results
Taste-testing the Product in the Field
Delivering A Great Product and An Empowered Team
By getting to share their decades’ experience with agile practices, Atomic’s team got to watch the counterparts at Root develop new skills over the course of the second engagement.
Soto says he loved watching Root’s inherently collaborative culture adopt the agible practices they were learning.
“After a few months, they loved how easy and smooth it was to make last-minute changes, to pivot in another direction, and use feedback to spend their time where it was most impactful,” he said.
Root’s Jared Page says the agile approach to product design, development, and management he saw during the engagement had a profound impact.
“One of my favorite things about this project is that everyone got better—better at our jobs and better with communication; it just feels cool,” he said. “Sometimes you work for a year and don’t know if you’ve improved but everyone could look back on this project and say they’ve improved. This project changed the way I will work forever.”
Results
- The new platform expanded CQC’s product offering and customer base.
- In its first 4 months, more than 10,000 new people used the portal.
- CQC is now able to offer training services on demand.
- The tool significantly lowers administrative overhead with smart automation.
There’s no question the platform is already performing at the rate of $1 million in annualized revenue. And it’s been such a smooth process. Existing users have gone out of their way to tell us how much they love it.
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/628fcc1631ad0b25b32f223e/634598efd86cd50da3df28ed_CQC_documentation_FW.png)
Coordinating Stakeholders
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/628d552469d2a1b0c6b730a9/63625c0796c6527710c14ea9_Recycle.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/628d552469d2a1b0c6b730a9/63625c054b004d70d1c2c567_Groups.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/628d552469d2a1b0c6b730a9/63625c028a367e8a4bebfcc0_Computer.png)
A Partnership with a Storybook Ending
The team’s careful project management, client communication, cutting-edge architecture, and cohesive design strategy helped the team ship the product on time and on budget.
Reflecting back on the multi-year, high-profile project, Robinson said Atomic helped his company arrive at a special moment in time.
“We'd never done anything this big. Ever,” he said. “We’re live across all the major pillars Atomic said they would deliver on. It was delivered on time, on budget, to expectation, live. Not three or four milestones late with people leaving and the platform half-baked and full of bugs.”
StoryLoom began open-beta in December 2022. A global launch is scheduled for the spring of 2023.
“We’ve been given a rare opportunity," said Robinson, "to find success by chasing opportunities Starship Enterprise-style: going where people aren’t—pushing boundaries.”
Atomic provided web app development for the CQ platform using Ruby on Rails for the user-facing app and Active Admin for the internal employee tool.