TalentGuard
UX Research and Design Strategy
Project vision: Gain insights into challenges facing TalentGuard's talent assessment module through qualitative interviews and thematic analysis.
Deliverable: Consulting Report and improvements for the Talent Management Software
Project team: Chloé Damon, Qilin Li, Tori Mitchell & Ziyan Zhou & me 😊
Duration: Aug 2022 - Dec 2022
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan, US
This project . . .
This project was the result of my Consulting Foundations and Contextual Inquiry course (SI501) at the University of Michigan School of Information in 2022, and under A Non-disclosure Agreement, some of the details in this case study may be vague to protect the client's intellectual property.
Summary
We used qualitative interviews and thematic analysis to understand the current challenges facing TalentGuard’s talent assessment module.
My role
was UX Researcher and Consultant. We worked together to perform user-centered qualitative research and professional consultation services for our clients.
About Talent Guard:
A cloud-based SaaS company offers a range of HR management software to streamline employee performance, development, and succession planning.
What do clients need?
TalentGuard is looking for improvements in the workflow of its Talent Assessment Module to enhance the user experience of the onboarding process.
We conducted 6 interviews with TalentGuard employees.
As a result, we discovered several potential problem spaces beyond just workflow.
How did we do the test?
1.Prepare for the interview (protocol)
2. Conduct semi-structured interviews
3. Interpretation session
Process interview notes into discrete pieces of qualitative data
4. Constructing Affinity Walls
To construct and develop an affinity wall out of affinity notes.
To learn one type of qualitative data analysis.
To analyze the qualitative data resulting from your interviews and any other relevant information from the client
5. Communicating findings and recommendations
Generating, evaluating, and recommending specific recommendations to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the product
Present the result to the client
Write a consulting report
What did I learn? 🤔
Contextual inquiry, eventually is human-centered approach. When I interacted with users, I gathered various pieces of information. These fragments may not immediately form a conclusive suggestion, but the process of categorizing sticky notes into similar groups and synthesizing them into higher-level conclusions is very rewarding. This was one of my favorite parts of the project, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I worked with a diverse team, including members from UX design, UX research, and psychology, each contributing unique perspectives. I also learned to manage external client relationships by writing official emails and coordinating with the team on project timelines, responsibilities, processes, and deliverables.
Interview Feedback
For the interview I took with CEO Frank, extended to an hour, I learned the importance of accurate timing. We underestimated the duration based on our protocol. The interviewee's role, personality, and product familiarity also affected timing. Constantly checking the clock, I realized the need to prioritize questions to skip less critical ones if short on time. Despite a smooth and meaningful session with a responsive CEO, improvements are needed in conciseness, minimizing overlaps, and better preparation. Moving forward, I will practice guiding the interview back on track and rehearse to refine the protocol, ensuring more efficient interviews.