Led a product team to create a new mobile mentorship service.
Led a product team to create a new mobile mentorship service.
From discovery to a MVP.
Roles & Responsibilities
Roles & Responsibilities
Initially joined the Community Dreams Foundation as a User Experience and Interface Designer, and later became a Product Manager and Lead Designer for what became GreenConnect.
GreenConnect: led a team of Researchers, Designers, and Developers. Reported to the founder/president of CDF.
Goals & Constraints
Goals & Constraints
Stakeholders at CDF (a nonprofit organization aimed at increasing access to opportunities in the environmental sector) had a hypothesis for a new useful service:
Using some tools they had already developed, they could create a mobile app for pairing interested newcomers with professionals – they could create a mentorship service.
At my arrival to CDF, mockups had been shown to stakeholders, but there was very little new activity on the project.
I set up a meeting with our main stakeholder, CDF's president/founder, to find out why.
The issues were:
Small team sizes, and not much time for the project
Lack of market research and user research to confirm the usefulness of such an app
I learned also that CDF had a lot of experience working with the same groups of people that this app was intended for, so I asked if I could look through our previous user research, and write interview questions for our Researchers to ask target users. If the findings showed that such an app was indeed relevant, we could proceed with a protoype.
Stakeholders at CDF (a nonprofit organization aimed at increasing access to opportunities in the environmental sector) had a hypothesis for a new useful service:
Using some tools they had already developed, they could create a mobile app for pairing interested newcomers with professionals – they could create a mentorship service.
At my arrival to CDF, mockups had been shown to stakeholders, but there was very little new activity on the project.
I set up a meeting with our main stakeholder, CDF’s president/founder, to find out why.
The issues were:
Small team sizes, and not much time for the project
Lack of market research and user research to confirm the usefulness of such an app
I learned also that CDF had a lot of experience working with the same groups of people that this app was intended for, so I asked if I could look through our previous user research, and write interview questions for our Researchers to ask target users. If the findings showed that such an app was indeed relevant, we could proceed with a protoype.
Research
Research
Goals: identify any opportunities to improve on the current mentorship process, specifically for people new to a field. This included finding a mentor, and mentorship itself.
We found a lack of centralized online platforms, particularly for the environmental sector, but also overall. We found that the search for a mentor was highly unpredictable, and could also make people feel unmotivated/negative. Success rates were low, with success defined as "found and had a lasting positive experience with a mentor." When searching for a mentor, personality traits and characteristics were almost as important as relevancy of experience.
We also found that a website would likely be the most useful tool for finding mentors, though a mobile app would still be useful for our target audience (albeit less capable). Despite this, when I presented our research findings, the decision was made to create a mobile app. Still, we had identified a pain point to address.
I was asked to lead the remainder of the design process, and to create a testable prototype as quickly as possible.
Goals: identify any opportunities to improve on the current mentorship process, specifically for people new to a field. This included finding a mentor, and mentorship itself.
We found a lack of centralized online platforms, particularly for the environmental sector, but also overall. We found that the search for a mentor was highly unpredictable, and could also make people feel unmotivated/negative. Success rates were low, with success defined as “found and had a lasting positive experience with a mentor.” When searching for a mentor, personality traits and characteristics were almost as important as relevancy of experience.
We also found that a website would likely be the most useful tool for finding mentors, though a mobile app would still be useful for our target audience (albeit less capable). Despite this, when I presented our research findings, the decision was made to create a mobile app. Still, we had identified a pain point to address.
I was asked to lead the remainder of the design process, and to create a testable prototype as quickly as possible.
Creating a Teststable Prototype
Creating a Teststable Prototype
Created user and mentor profile setup processes. For users, prioritized an open-ended, personal expression of career/personal needs. For mentors, focused on a quick setup flow, even considered possibility of LinkedIn integration (though bookmarked for later implementation due to technical constraints).
For searching, created a feed of mentor profiles, based on user preferences. Added filters and a natural-language search function (since newcomers may not know specific jargon). Added a bookmarking feature so users could gather and review profiles later.
Conducted moderated usability tests with a small group of users, and received strong positive feedback. We wrote some terms that users found confusing, and we decided to add an "intro to mentorship" section for onboarding mentors.
Created user and mentor profile setup processes. For users, prioritized an open-ended, personal expression of career/personal needs. For mentors, focused on a quick setup flow, even considered possibility of LinkedIn integration (though bookmarked for later implementation due to technical constraints).
For searching, created a feed of mentor profiles, based on user preferences. Added filters and a natural-language search function (since newcomers may not know specific jargon). Added a bookmarking feature so users could gather and review profiles later.
Conducted moderated usability tests with a small group of users, and received strong positive feedback. We wrote some terms that users found confusing, and we decided to add an “intro to mentorship” section for onboarding mentors.
Creating a Minimum Viable Product
Creating a Minimum Viable Product
Results
Results
Our MVP was handed off to Developers, but later cancelled when CDF shifted its focus to creating AI-related services. Although there was real value to our target users, the project did not launch. I still valued this as a great learning opportunity, as this was first time leading a product team. I learned about setting and managing design benchmarks, creating communication between stakeholders and team members, and ensuring that our time was being used as efficiently/effectively as possible through collaboration and check-ins.
Our MVP was handed off to Developers, but later cancelled when CDF shifted its focus to creating AI-related services. Although there was real value to our target users, the project did not launch. I still valued this as a great learning opportunity, as this was first time leading a product team. I learned about setting and managing design benchmarks, creating communication between stakeholders and team members, and ensuring that our time was being used as efficiently/effectively as possible through collaboration and check-ins.
“Alex assembled and led a cross-functional team of UX designers, researchers, and developers. Throughout the process, [he] consistently demonstrated an understanding of our target users, and a refined ability to address their needs with specific designs. He had a proactive approach, was receptive to new ideas, and incorporated my feedback while iterating the app. Alex proved to be a valuable team member, consistently delivering high-quality results.”
– Dion Richardson, founder of the Community Dreams Foundation
“Alex assembled and led a cross-functional team of UX designers, researchers, and developers. Throughout the process, [he] consistently demonstrated an understanding of our target users, and a refined ability to address their needs with specific designs. He had a proactive approach, was receptive to new ideas, and incorporated my feedback while iterating the app. Alex proved to be a valuable team member, consistently delivering high-quality results.”
– Dion Richardson, founder of the Community Dreams Foundation