Numbrz (Internship)
Role:
UX Assistant to Chief Research & Strategy Officer
Overview:
Numbrz is a start-up based out of the San Francisco area. It attempts to automate financial modeling processes through a shared experience and seamless integration into desired tools such as Google Sheets, QuickBooks, or Excel.
On their website, they highlight fostering a community dedicated to model building but allow those more novice in the programming side to use others' contributions to achieve their success through a Numbrz-housed marketplace of models and data.
I was only part of the Numbz internship for several weeks before their Chief Research & Strategy Officer moved on. During my time, we were able to develop a research plan, collect data, and present our findings from a think-aloud to all stakeholders.
This presentation helped change the philosophical direction of the company by informing leadership of the importance of establishing a seamless onboarding process before bloating an already good product with more features.
Problem:
Numbrz, several months after launching, noticed a customer retention issue and with no collected data on the customer end, was open to any assistance and feedback.
Through CGU’s UX program, one other student and I volunteered for an internship opportunity to rectify the issue.
Think Aloud Protocol:
Our initial research plan was designed to grab any information we could about the onboarding process, experience, usability, or even inherent need, of the Numbrz platform for those actively in the financial field.
We settled on a think-aloud protocol and chose to deliver relevant information upon the completion of each analysis. This led to our first and only stakeholder meeting before the internship ceased.
Conducted remotely over the comfort of Discord, the participant’s preferred platform, and lasted 1 hour.
Valuable insight was collected which seemed to support frustrations within Numbrz.
Deliverable:
It seemed Numbrz was severely lacking in its onboarding experience and favored developing features more so than a customer experience.
After the insights, the latter of the presentation provided suggestions and tools to develop a well-fleshed onboarding process.
Since the findings were disheartening and delivered matter-of-factly, there was some initial pushback by leadership. However, this was quelled by the support from the majority of stakeholders present, who stated they echoed similar concerns years prior.
Immediately after the presentation, much attention and effort was directed toward customer quality of life changes and informative elements.
Such as:
(1) Developing a Chrome plugin for direct collaboration with other spreadsheets
(2) Crafting a more well-versed homepage that informs and displays Numbrz capabilities.
(3) Focusing on a more clearly defined target audience.
Lessons Learned:
Flexibility:
Our initial research plan followed a conservative estimation and allowed for wiggle room. Since the other student and I were still young in our professional experience, we mistook the time allotted and needed to adapt to an industry pace.
Handling Pushback:
The stakeholder's reaction was expected since there were some significant concerns found for a beloved product. Nevertheless, we were able to come to an agreement and acknowledge all issues, including a more scrutinized process for selecting participants.
Come on Up
Role:
Assistance with Analyses
Overview:
Come On Up is a sharehouse company established in 2006 that operates 30 different houses in nomad-friendly cities throughout Japan.
I joined the Come On Up team later than most but it was primarily with the intent of a website redesign, an area of UX I wished to be more versed in.
However, plans rarely work out as intended, and much of my effort was in tandem with analyses and assisting the team to present deliverables to stakeholders.
Assistance with Analyses:
During my time with Come On Up, a multitude of redirections occurred based on the stakeholder's needs at the time. This caused the company to eventually pivot away from a website redesign and focus on usability testing, interviews, and delivering a refreshed landing page.
My role during these projects was to assist where I could with qualitative interpretations and provide recommendations based on insights.
Lessons Learned:
Adaptability:
This case study, though small, showcased my adaptability to shifts in the development cycle and my ability to persevere despite moments of diminished appeal.
While my primary goal in joining the Come On Up team was to gain experience in website redesign, I also seized the opportunity to support my teammates in every way I could.
Joyce University
Role:
Competitive and SWOT Analyses
Overview:
Joyce University is a nursing school based out of Draper, Utah that aims to train those seeking licensure, whether for nursing or therapeutic assistance, but chose the nontraditional towards higher education.
Seeking to further connect to the customer and match their competitor’s strengths, they reached out to our Games and Interactive Technologies lab director for help.
Competitive & SWOT Analyses:
Another student and I developed a competitive analysis matrix based on Joyce University’s top 4 competitors. They were:
(1) Grand Canyon University, (2) Western Governs, (3) Galen College of Nursing, (4) Arizona College of Nursing
Among the 5 total universities, a ranking for each aspect was determined through online investigation, and a SWOT analysis was delivered. Some of these aspects included:
Childcare support, credibility, social media presence, affordability, and networking opportunity
Key Takeaways:
-While Joyce was not falling behind in any area, conversely no aspect helped them stand out from their competitors.
-Western Governs was their #1 competitor, which excelled in social proof, financial accessibility, flexibility, and scholarship opportunities.
Deliverable:
The deliverable given to Joyce University was a SWOT analysis to help them understand their Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats relative to their competitors.
Lessons Learned:
The Bigger Story:
A nice, digestible SWOT deliverable does look great on a slide deck but it fails to communicate a lot of crucial points and context.
I believe the SWOT analysis alongside our competitive matrix bodes much better for stakeholders to base decisions on.
