The Anatomy of Authentic Collaboration
Creating a product based on ecological design thinking
Client
Primer
Duration
6 months
Tools
Post-its 😄, Miro, Adobe Illustrator, Figma, SquareSpace
Project includes
UX strategy
User research
Ideation workshops
Prototyping
UI design
User tests
The Premise
My passion for utilising design thinking led me to co-found Primer. Primer introduces an innovative framework that transforms how organizations collaborate and develop projects. It blends leadership mindset with effective project management, fostering inclusivity, innovation, and growth. Primer's principles and tools empower holistic leadership, enhancing team dynamics and execution.
The Problem
Amy, my co-founder, needed to get the theoretical framework into a practical product for the end user. Incorporating non-linearity as a mindset, at the same time helping users execute tasks according to design thinking principles posed a substantial challenge. What would be the best way forward?
Wireframing physical cards
BD sprint
The Solution
Post-market research and BD plan, it became apparent that there needed to be a two-pronged approach to interacting with users:
- a physical, tangible approach that helps in cognition hardwiring
- a digital framework to support and tie the entire process
- a dependency algorithm that shows how different aspects of an organization are affected by efficient collaboration
The Physical Cards
Based on the guiding principles and their designated tools, the cards had to be ergonomic, distinguishable in a pile, and carefully formatted to support translated languages. The design I went for was largely utilitarian, with elements of the organic principles reflected in the colour scheme and illustrations.
The Site
Primer’s website acts as the primary gateway to the product. It does the heavy-lifting in terms of parting key knowledge of the ecological design thinking framework that is being used, and why and how it works. It also showcases the different engagement options for users to choose from.
The Dependency Algorithm
Much like an ERP, the dependency algorithm provides a crucial overview of the effect parameters connected to authentic collaboration has on various branches such as adaptability to change, organizational identity, organizational agility and much more.
The calibration of relationships were done on detailed studies of papers and data sets. Creating a dependency algorithm with feedback interdependencies was tricky, but successful! The final dashboard is still in the make.
Low fidelity prototype of data representation
The algorithm database
Field Test
We onboarded an NGO based out of Singapore, with teams in Nepal, Bangladesh and India working on creating sustainable economies in communities. They needed help crafting a better approach to their community partners and within the field team and the HO teams. They enlisted our help in equipping their staff with the principles of Primer in order to elicit authentic collaboration.
I went to Nepal to conduct a three-day workshop for team members from all participating countries. The objective of the workshop was to introduce them to the concept of Primer, and a thorough breakdown of all the tools and how to use them.
Post the workshop, core team members were chosen to be Primer ambassadors, and were further coached for 3 months, with live project application of Primer.
Reflections
A project really close to heart, this is a long-term R&D prospect. Further market tests will help us hone this in more. Remains to be seen if this will be taken up by businesses that fall on the other side of the spectrum.