iDesignproject programs
UX & Market Research
By applying principles from the field of human-computer interaction (HCI), we assist the technology community to create more effective, usable, engaging, simple and productive user experiences.
iDesignproject Research and iDesignproject Lab work together to ensure all clients and partners have access to the tools and services needed to accomplish their goals. We seek to achieve the following through our user experience and market research product:
- Augment and foster the visibility of the technology community.
- Improve the quality of technology study and design Globally.
- Surface information that influences decision-making of various stakeholders including practitioners, developers, government, non-governmental organizations and entrepreneurs.
- Identify new opportunities for entrepreneurs and help organizations develop contextually relevant solutions and programs through design thinking.
UX & Market Research Services Offered
- Heuristic analysis (empathetic research) where we aim to understand the target users, their environment, what problems they currently have, their interactions with each other and their immediate environment.
- Rigorous market research where we aim to help organizations identify how their existing products are in use, any gaps that exist in the market and providing insight on the opportunities that they can capitalize on to improve their offerings or value proposition.
- Usability tests incorporate techniques used in user-centered interaction design to evaluate a product by testing it on users. This is an irreplaceable practice because it gives direct input on how real users use the system. Usability testing usually involves systematic observation under controlled conditions to determine how well people can use the product.
Startup Support
Are you a startup that recognizes the importance of conducting research but don’t have the professional capacity, resources or time to carry it out? We provide attractive packages to help start-ups with the following and more:
- Market research to inform decisions, including expansion into new markets
- Literature review and technology-related statistics for early-stage startups
Email: nakia@idesignproject.com today to make an appointment!
iDesignproject Data Science Lab
The Data Science Lab at iDesignproject Research capitalizes on the growing opportunities presented by technology and data, through data science – the process of using data to surface information and tell stories. We offer consultancy services and training to start-ups, corporates, academia, development organizations and civil society on the innovative use of data and technology in research and problem solving.
The Data Lab offers expertise on the following critical research processes: Data Collection, Data Management, Analysis and Data Visualization. The Data Lab uses a collaborative approach to perform its functions, engaging top local data scientists and analysts, subject matter experts and graphic designers, to provide high quality outputs.
Key capabilities include:
- Digital data collection.
- Data management using hardware and cloud solutions.
- Qualitative Analysis;
- Data science and analysis of unstructured data using computation methods such as data mining, machine learning, natural language processing.
- Creation of analytic dashboards.
- Data-driven problem solving.
Services Offered:
- Contextualized analytics (based on your needs and requirements);
- Agile and experimental approaches to data research to produce the best results;
- End to end support in the data research process (from data collection to designed outputs);
- Training programs;
- Knowledge management and infrastructure set-up and support for data storage;
- Incubation for data-focused projects.
Hardware Design
The iDesignproject lab Research promotes the design of appropriate hardware for US and International startups and businesses. Our team comprises of committed researchers and engineers with a passion for building impactful technologies and an understanding of how best to serve our communities. This is all done with the aim of encouraging and nurturing aspirations of hardware innovation. Our programs channel the creative effort of startups, early-stage, and late- stage companies through the collaborative development of thoughtful and appropriate hardware solutions.
We offer consulting and training for start-ups, corporates, & academia on hardware design, leveraging our research through hardware design.
The iDesignproject Lab can help you:
- Improve your hardware product design with technical advice and UX insights
- Conduct social and market research on hardware products and the hardware community
- Customize your hardware training curriculum for children
- Incubate your hardware idea through our Developer-in-Residence program
- Spread the word about your hardware products with our corporate partner outreach package
Software Development
In a world where technology is almost as pervasive as people, organizations are realizing that they need to make use of its connecting power to tap into markets, create solutions for clients and help develop the world at large. We create a wide range of tools that allow them to solve their problems while meeting their needs. Be it data automation systems, corporate websites or mobile applications, we have what it takes to meet your expectations with our iDesignproject network.
Project Management & Quality Assurance
At iDesignproject Consulting, everything we take on is a project we value. Our team comprises of expert project managers whose wealth of experience in the kind of things that make/break projects ensures all involved parties get their time/money’s worth.
At the center of all that we produce is a focus on quality. We work tirelessly to ensure the software we develop, brand collateral that we create and even projects that we manage meet and exceed the standards of our clients. We don’t stop until we blow your mind, figuratively speaking of course.
Trainings
At iDesignproject Consulting, we believe that not only is building good software important but how it is built is also important. To this end, we have organized trainings that transform your average developer to a world-class professional. We have trainings that focus on the process of development: Project management, Time management, Client management, Priorities to trainings that cover the industry best-practices when it comes to software development: Frameworks and Plugins, Teamwork tools, Server deployment etc.
We don’t stop at supporting developers. We understand that our developers want to branch off on their own, to start their own companies and startups, and so we organize trainings that focus on how to run a startup: investor readiness, team selection, finance and accounting. We hope that in improving individual developers and companies we will contribute in improving the quality of the work that comes out of the ecosystem
Developer on Demand
Do you need a highly skilled developer to complement your team or get your project moving a bit faster? We think we can help you. With a team of developers (Python/Django, PHP/Laravel, AngularJs, HTML5/CSS3/SASS, frontend design, DevOps, Android,IOS) that uses modern development practices we can easily plug into your existing team and get things moving faster. You don’t have a team? We can create one for you too and our team to ensure the project is delivered well.
Started in 2015, iDesignproject aims to meet the technology needs of organizations by tapping into the immense talent pool that iDesignproject diverse community of freelancers — namely project managers, developers, designers and quality assurers — provides. We realized early on that it was not enough for the iDesignproject to bring these people together in one co-working space. They simply wouldn’t develop as much as we knew they could. It became increasingly important to leverage their brilliant skill-sets, while simultaneously developing them even further, by getting them to work on projects they would normally not be exposed to as individuals. Using the iDesign brand, which was attracting a lot of client attention, we positioned ourselves to provide the world-class tech consultancy that companies were knocking on our door for.
Each year, we put out a call for applications inviting freelancers to apply to become a part of our team. They go through a rigorous vetting process involving the iDesignproject advisory board, staff and community to establish their track record and skill level. We really do not look at how many years they have been in the game, though it is a factor. Are they easy to work with? Do they deliver the goods as and when they are needed? Can they simply show up? If the answer to these questions is a confident “Yes”, then iDesignproject Consulting could be a home for them too. Once they make it through the process they are part of the Consulting team and have first-hand access to projects we receive from various clients — ranging from large organizations like Government, Corporations, and startups. At the end of each project, the consultants receive peer and client reviews, ensuring we/they can track their progress and are held accountable for their performance.
User Experience Training
Is your team or organization struggling with user-centered research and design on a product or service? At the iDesignproject UX Lab we provide user-centered design, design thinking knowledge, and help build other relevant UX technology competencies for clients and the technology community.
In trainings, we focus on people and methodologies to ensure that the designs and ideas produced actually fulfill human needs, are understandable, deliver value and are usable. To facilitate this, we carry out workshops, UX lectures, courses, offer reading resources and collaboratively conduct field activities. In the spirit of contextualized solutions, the UX lab will offer customized trainings on topics you require according to your needs.
The iDesignproject UX Lab staff are equipped with knowledge and experience from industry practice working on researching and designing pertinent solutions to real world problems. Our personnel are vast in various areas of specialization to cover the following sample topics among others:
- Design thinking
- User research (field and laboratory)
- Web and interface design
- Photography and video content editing
- Responsive web design
- User interface design
- Rapid user testing
User Experience Research
User Experience (UX) research prioritizes having the right mindset in approaching real world problems, understanding user behaviors, their needs, what they value, their abilities and motivation behind interacting with various products. Users are the people who get to interact with your product or service. People normally called customers or clients, we call them users. When users interact with your product do they enjoy themselves? Is it easy and enjoyable for them to understand it and how to use it? Is it relevant in their lives? i.e. is it solving a problem for them? UX seeks to answer these questions…and more.
Our UX process begins with empathy, the primary goal of which is hearing the user’s stories and experiences, understanding the people we are designing for and their contexts as well. We achieve this insight by deploying various research techniques and methodologies of obtaining feedback.
Some of the methods and techniques iteratively deployed by the iDesignproject UX Lab in the research phase to help with product development are:
Interviews
Researchers ask users questions relevant to a certain product or service and to gain design insights, develop personas as well as user stories.
Ethnographic studies
Entails being a fly on the wall and observation techniques in interacting with various products in diverse contexts.
Usability Tests
Users get to interact with a product or service
Contextual Interviews
Is a user-centered design process that incorporates observational methods for gathering data relevant to the product via field studies, rationalizing workflows, and designing human-computer interfaces.
Diary Studies
Are self-reporting research exercises, in which participants periodically log entries describing their experiences with a particular task, product, or activity in their lives.
Card Sorting
Is a technique in user experience design where a group of users are guided to generate a category tree. It is a useful approach for designing information architecture, workflows, menu structure, or web site navigation paths.
Focus Group Discussions
Is a form of qualitative research where a group of people is asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes towards a product or service. Questions are asked in an interactive group setting where participants are free to talk with other group members.
A Day in The Life Activities
A member from the UX Lab team gets to spend time with the target users and get insights on the design of the product
UX Support Services
Our team of interdisciplinary and experienced experts will create a customized user experience design plan to suit your needs. At a free initial consulting meeting, our team assess the entire project needs and helps you plan a scope according to your budget and available time.
At our unique user experience lab, we are situated to advise our clients and provide services such as:
Ideation Workshops
Facilitators can help your team take your idea seeds and grow them into well formulated plans. We encourage creativity, iteration, and contextually relevant designs using customized methods for your team and project.
User Experience Research Design and Logistical Preparation/Support
The UX Lab can collaborate with your team in doing UX research in the field. We utilize refined user centered field research tools where we apply ethnographic methods, interviews, questionnaires, surveys, focus groups or participatory design methods.
User-Centered Design Team Mentorship
Depending on the stage of your business the UX Lab will construct a project plan which includes developing and validating a clear statement of goals that will enable us to work towards conducting research, design synthesis and analysis to inform on the product design and development.
Usability Studies and A/B Testing
Our offices accommodate a two-room private testing lab space that can be hired (with, or without our team's assistance). This arrangement includes an interview room with two video cameras that connect to LCD screens for viewing in and recording in an adjacent room.
Tech Team Training or Design Sensitivity Workshops
Are your developers behind screens a little bit too much? If your team has lost touch with your users or the importance of design, we can help! Empathy and a user-centered process is important even for developers. These methods help better with efficiency, communication, and shared company vision. Workshops and trainings are private and designed to target the issues for your team and company.
Expert UX Interface and Experience Design Product Reviews
Senior user experience personnel will do an expert walk through of your product, business, design, or concept. After a thorough review and discussion of your concerns, we can provide a report of actionable design insights and suggestions for improvement. Aesthetic design critique sessions or designed print reports/presentations are also available outputs for this service.
User Profiling or Persona Creation
Our lab helps companies learn about their users, audiences, or markets. What are your user’s beliefs, attitudes, values? Who are they when they really and what is their real-life context of use and interaction experience with your company. Knowing this will wisely shape your company strategy around pain points and user context and behaviors.
Design Empathy or Design Methods Workshops
Everyone needs empathy, but people who design technology and research users or markets need it more than most. We can teach that; it is our business to do it well. If your team needs to learn how to conduct design research or empathetic design activities, we can help. Lessons can be individual or taught to a group.
