Pioneera
Case Study
Role: UX Research & UI Designer
Team: 20 Designers
Client: Pioneera
Timeline: 3 Weeks Design Sprin
Key Objectives From Client:
Pioneera is a company focused on managing workplace well-being to prevent stress and workplace burnout. Their AI Indie combines machine learning and psychology to integrate seamlessly into Slack and e-mails to assess an individual’s sentiment and recognise signs of stress.
The primary objectives are to wow the customer/user with simple & seamless onboarding and to encourage repeat usage.
Rip the Brief Session:
We aligned and defined our scope and limitations to this design sprint with both the CEO, COO and Product Manager of Pioneera. We defined our problem statement -
Professional Aussies are unsure of the security behind AI Technology to help their work stress levels, and therefore are hesitant to try out new technology and sign up with Pioneera.
Research Focus Area
We had one research goal and that is to be able to understand how our users feel in particular the answer to the questions below -
How do professionals in the workplace feel about AI tech assisting with stress and well-being?
Are managers aware of AI tools to help prevent workplace burnout? What are some of the things management has in place to reduce workplace burnout?
Surveys & Interviews
We crafted an in-depth survey that was sent to our individual groups’ wider connections. We have received a total of 102 responses in the space of 24 hours. In addition to this, we conducted 23 one-to-one interviews with both individuals in management as well as regular employees.
Insights for Managers
They show interest in AI and how they may assist their teams’ wellbeing.
Worried about implementation with systems.
“Time to get software approved and going through multiple levels of management is a barrier”
Managers are too time-poor to conduct in-depth research
Worried about how their team may react to this software
“I pride myself in building trust with my team, they may feel that they are perhaps being monitored and would trust me less”
Insights for Users
75% of users answered neutral - negative when asked about AI analysing their slack/email platforms.
They are concerned about data breaches and privacy
“I have to admit I have a work persona…I’m worried that this would make it harder for me to open up to my colleagues”
They’d like to see testimonials, product guides, and the tech behind it before opting in and using it.
“How does it work? I need to see exactly what data they’re taking because I really care about my privacy at work”
They were sceptical whether Indie could help
Affinity Map of Survey + Interview - Top (Users) Bottom (Managers)
Pivot Moment
As we can see above, through user research additional insights have been discovered. As a result, we shifted and our problem statement to reflect this new direction.
Professionals are time-poor and unsure of the purpose of indie to assist with stress management in the workplace so they are hesitant to advocate this new technology.
Personas
Through synthesising all the data we’ve collected through research - it was clear that we saw 4 different personas. There are 2 management personas, as well as 2 user personas. All of our personas will become our blueprints when we move towards ideation and our delivery phase.
Management Personas
User Personas
Now that we have some insights and shaped our personas…how might we?
How might we help Rebecca build her confidence in Indie?
How might we help Sarah communicate to her team about Indie so they feel more comfortable using the product?
How might we provide Hannah and Oliver with a level of trust before, during and after the onboarding process?
MVP Matrix & Direction
Our ideation session helped us crystallise concepts and focused on prioritising ideas that are feasible, desirable and viable.
We synthesised our key findings from our ideation workshop session and worked together to define our focus areas as we navigate toward our final products.
Directions moving forward were grouped into
The Science Behind the Tech
Show professionals that have researched and worked closely with the team at Pioneera outlining the science behind the technology. Showing testimonials from other users that have used Indie and outlining their experience.
Educational Content
Including lots of educational content using laymen’s terms to convey the technology, security, privacy, and the psychology behind Indie.
Transparency and Clarity
Maintaining transparency to ensure the trust is not broken between management and employees.
Storyboard
We revised Rebecca, Sarah, Hannah and Oliver’s storyline to reflect the ideal use and implementation of Indie - utilising the concepts and features that we mapped on our MVP Matrix.
User Flow
A new user flow was established which included our Electronic Direct Mail (EDM) plan and deliverables for both users and managers. We broke down the flow into four sections.
Pre-onboarding
Onboarding
Install
Usage & Consolidation
Our investigation and heuristic review made it evident that the current website lacked a compelling call to action and consistency. Users abandoned the site before finishing it due to its outdated graphics and complex layout.
The landing page has to be designed to immediately grab Rebecca and Hannah's attention. To entice a user to keep scrolling, we only have a brief window of opportunity to make an impression.
My role as a UI designer included the creation of wireframes and prototypes following the direction of our Lead UI Designer. I took initiative in the creation of storyboards for Pioneera’s new video demo, Pioneera content template flyers, content & copy of Indie’s nudges and notifications on Slack and conducted usability testing of the uplifted dashboard prototype. Moving into delivery, this role sees me across development, usability testing and iterating based on user feedback.
Wireframe Usability Testing
5/6
Rebecca’s and Hannah’s felt a disconnect with Pioneera and Indie.
4/6
Found redundant or repeated information (e.g. multiple demo links, multiple FAQs).
6/6
100% of users enjoyed the use of white negative space and liked the clean minimal look and feel
Low Fidelity Wireframe (Website)
High Fidelity Wireframe (Website)
Final Products
We provided Pioneera with a working prototype of a revamped website, updated user dashboard, content templates, as well as a roadmap for the organisation's following actions.
Dashboard Uplift
When we evaluated our usability testing insights of the existing dashboard we discovered that Hannah’s and Oliver’s felt that it was “just another tool I have to use not necessarily want to use”
We took this feedback onboard and created more of a snapshot with helpful nudges that includes a calendar API integration so that our personas are able to action the tips from Indie.
Content Templates & QR Code
Our MVP Matrix gave this concept a high rating because the flyers and content templates were made to increase brand recognition and clarity. It can be utilised to convey thorough and in-depth guidance as a component of a "Welcome Pack" or "PDF Downloadable Resources."
Next Steps
As the project was a short sprint, there were many things we were unable to fully complete due to time constraints. We mapped out additional next steps for Pioneera below -
Further refinement of Pioneera & Indie brand strategy.
Design systems and brand guidelines should be updated to reflect the new strategy.
Usability testing of manager & user dashboards.
Consideration of including a ‘Starter pack’ or ‘Welcome Pack’ with branded elements (e.g. a stress ball or a calendar) to help get users to familiarise themselves with the brand and help our personas with managing stress.
Key Learnings
The clarity in scoping was a challenge for this design sprint, as it was a very broad brief. However, I always believe that we should design meaningful experiences and go above and beyond for our users as long as we communicate on a regular basis with our stakeholders and team members. As a result, we proposed solutions that are beyond digital to be able to create that relationship and build that trust between Pioneera and its users.
thanks for reading through!
thanks for reading through this case — this was such an awesome project and experience to be a part of! I’m currently learning more about AI and excited to see how it grows in the next couple of years.