CARODAK
Back to projects

Leading the Development of E-Cog, an Online Platform to Train Healthcare Professionals

E-Cog: Front page, https://e-cog.ca (2026-04-20)
E-Cog: Front page, https://e-cog.ca (2026-04-20)
E-Cog: Pages I developed, figure taken from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12535630/
E-Cog: Pages I developed, figure taken from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12535630/
E-Cog: Wireframes I developed
E-Cog: Wireframes I developed
E-Cog: example of database schema I designed with my colleague Alexandre Caron
E-Cog: example of database schema I designed with my colleague Alexandre Caron

Introduction

What was this project about?

E-Cog is an online training platform designed to train healthcare professionals in two mental health programs, developed as part of a research project across multiple sites in Canada.
This project was part of my full-time developer role at Douglas Mental Health Institute.

My Role

I was mostly the lead developer, but also contributed from early concept to implementation, including needs analysis, wireframing, user testing, course content creation, and scientific paper writing.

Technical Details

WordPress CMS, LearnDash LMS, PHP, JavaScript, HTML, CSS.

Timeline

2020-2026, including platform development, evaluation, and deployment across multiple Canadian sites.

Links

1 2

Quick
TL;DR

Problem

Healthcare professionals had limited access to online training for two mental health programs.

  • Training was mostly delivered in person or inside research contexts.
  • That made the programs harder to scale and less visible outside specialized networks.

Solution

I built an asynchronous platform to make the programs accessible worldwide.

  • Users log in, follow assigned training programs, and progress at their own pace.
  • The platform uses a maintainable WordPress/LearnDash stack with SCORM-based interactive course content.
  • I kept it self-hosted, flexible, and ensured that new features were editable through the admin panel for non-technical collaborators.
More
information

Process

01

I interviewed researchers and analyzed their functional needs. The main challenge was turning very specific research requirements into a flexible architecture that could evolve over time.

02

I defined the system architecture: technology stack, server setup, hosting, database, and overall system structure. The final stack included WordPress CMS, LearnDash LMS, other WordPress plugins, PHP, and JavaScript.

03

At one point, we had to change LMS because the previous system was outside our control and often unstable. I identified a new LMS and migrated the platform to a self-hosted setup.

04

I worked on system design, including database schemas, system interfaces, APIs, and class diagrams, while following practices that kept the platform scalable and easy to maintain.

05

I designed the UX flows and page mockups, then led platform development across the frontend in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and the backend in PHP.

Impact

74+

healthcare professionals registered on the platform, showing successful uptake during the project.

6/6

credibility and trustworthiness score from tester research colleagues for the information provided.

88%

of these testing users would recommend the training program to others, and 100% would return to complete further trainings.