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p r o j e c t m i n e r v a .

MINERVAM COMPARE CONNECT GROW

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t h e p r o l o g u e .

“A s a n i n t r o v e r t , I f i n d t h e

c o n c e p t o f ‘ m e n t o r s h i p ’ a

b i t i n t i m i d a t i n g a n d I ’ m n o t

s u r e I w o u l d p u r s u e i t . ”

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p r o j e c t o v e r v i e w.

• Pre-discovery and discovery

• Defining my problem statement

• Ideating possible solutions

• Developing final solution (and validating)

• What’s the next phase look like?

• Research & Findings

• Ideation & Architecture

• MVP/Project Proposal

• Prototyping & Testing

• Next Steps

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t h e u s e r g r o u p .W h o a r e m y t a r g e t a u d i e n c e ?

• I n t r o v e r t e d

• M i l l e n i a l s / G e n Z

• D i g i t a l - s a v v y

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u s e r i n t e r v i e w s .3 in depth user interviews / 5 casual chats

“It feels like an imposition to ask someone ‘be my mentor’”

“I look for different people for different advice”

“I wanted a mentor but got overwhelmed as soon as I

tried looking for one”

“Authentic relationships are a prerequisite to

finding a mentor”

“How do I know having a mentor will be valuable?”

• Conducted to understand the user’s needs, behaviours, experiences and motivations.

• Identify themes

• Understand language of users

r e s e a r c h & f i n d i n g s

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d i s t i l l e d f i n d i n g s .

Goal: They want to know upfront if the relationship will be valuable

Goal: They want different advice from different mentors

Goal: They want meaningful connections but impartial advice

Goal: They want mentor relationships to be more accessible

Goal: Introverted personality types need time to think before they respond

1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 .

Another key finding: users found the term ‘mentor’ to carry negative connotations!

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i n s i g h t .I r e a l i s e d t h a t n o m e n t o r s h i p

e x p e r i e n c e w a s m e a n t t o b e t h e s a m e , e a c h o n e i s u n i q u e .

I n e e d e d t o l e t p e o p l e ‘c h o o s e t h e i r o w n a d v e n t u r e . ’

r e s e a r c h & f i n d i n g s

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c o m p e t i t o ra n a l y s i s .• The market is saturated for career

advice / mentorship

• They each do well at solving their specific use problem

• It became clear that none of them actually solved the problem I was looking at

r e s e a r c h & f i n d i n g s

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i n s i g h t .N o c o m p e t i t o r s a c t u a l l y f o c u s e d o n t h e ‘ p r e m e n t o r s h i p ’ r e l a t i o n s h i p .

T h i s i s t h e p a r t o f t h e u s e r e x p e r i e n c e t h a t I n e e d e d t o f o c u s o n .

r e s e a r c h & f i n d i n g s

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p e r s o n a s .

• Foster empathy for specific users

• Helps break away from designing for everyone

• Constantly leverage throughout full project

• Through distilling my research, I found 2 distinct personas emerge

r e s e a r c h & f i n d i n g s

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d e f i n e .

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d e f i n e .

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f i r s t u s e r f l o w.i d e a t i o n & a r c h i t e c t u r e

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a n a l o g o u s c o m p e t i t o r s .

• Looked at comparison sites as they solved a similar goal but in a different domain

i d e a t i o n & a r c h i t e c t u r e

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f i n a l p r o b l e m s t a t e m e n t .i d e a t i o n & a r c h i t e c t u r e

Jamie + Sora need a way to find the right mentor/s for their situations and on their terms because no

mentor relationship is meant to be the same.

We will know this to be true when we see a higher rate of engagement in mentorship with introverts

and happier, more connected workplaces.

We believe that by focusing on the pre mentorship stage more deeply and providing a customisable experience we will be able to connect users with

truly valuable mentors.

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f e a t u r e p r i o r i t i s a t i o n .• Distill vision for what will be in the MVP

• Map features to user goals

• Features to solve the core user problems

i d e a t i o n & a r c h i t e c t u r e

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p r o j e c t p r o p o s a l .• Summarize research findings

• Defining the vision

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p r o j e c t p r o p o s a l o v e r v i e w.• Overall objectives

• Problems we’re solving

• User goals being answered

• Key research takeaways

• The target audience

• The MVP

• Features for phase one

• Project constraints

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p r o j e c t p r o p o s a l

t h e m v p .The MVP aims to solve the core user goals and add value with room for future development.

A web application with:

• View mentor and mentee calendar

• Book time slot in calendar

• Request a mentor to connect with you

• Interaction type filter

• Comparison feature

• Customisable user profile

• Transactional feature

• Add to mentor list

• Get to know your mentor/mentee

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f i n a l u s e r f l o w.

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k e y s c r e e n s & i t e r a t i o n s .

phase two instead of MVP

not built in prototype as not key to test.

not actually serving a purpose

1. sign up and profile customisation is key to keeping users engaged.

2. Is this feature solving the user goal of providing valuable options?

3. Will this help users feel less intimidated of pursuing mentorship?

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s k e t c h i n g / p a p e r p r o t o t y p i n g .p r o t o t y p i n g & t e s t i n g .

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w i r e f r a m i n g / p r o t o t y p i n g .p r o t o t y p i n g & t e s t i n g .

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u s a b i l i t y t e s t i n g .

p r o t o t y p i n g & t e s t i n g .

2 rounds of usability testing with 2 participants in each round.

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u s a b i l i t y r e s u l t s .p r o t o t y p i n g & t e s t i n g .

Key takeaways:

• Add to compare should be a feature ranked higher than view profile

• Search and Compare filters should be narrower to help users along the journey

• Streamline sign up journey by only including what is necessary - to get them to their goal quicker

• Make the dashboard feel more like a game - when you start, it tells you what to do next, changing the dashboard nav to purely administrative tasks and keeping the actions on the main profile

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U s e r s l o v e s t o s e a r c h f o r i n f o r m a t i o n a n d a n a l y s e a n d

r e s e a r c h h o w e v e r i t ’ s n o t a l w a y s i n t h e i r b e s t i n t e r e s t .

i n s i g h t .

p r o t o t y p i n g & t e s t i n g .

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p r o t o t y p e i t e r a t i o n s .p r o t o t y p i n g & t e s t i n g .

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p r o t o t y p e i t e r a t i o n s .p r o t o t y p i n g & t e s t i n g .

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p r o t o t y p e i t e r a t i o n s .p r o t o t y p i n g & t e s t i n g .

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f i n a l p r o t o t y p e .

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n e x t s t e p s .

t h a n k y o u .

MINERVAM COMPARE CONNECT GROW