Research
Before each (re)design of an app, we do research. We design digital products for users, so we believe is important to get to know those users. Which problems do they have? What are their goals?
Govrn
Shaping the idea to improve boardmeetings, into an MVP
The 2 ambitious founders of Govrn came to us to help design the idea they had to improve board meetings and connect board members to their companies. They had performed over 100 interviews and knew exactly what to improve, they just didn’t know how.
About Govrn
Govrn is an online platform to improve board meetings and management.
The ask
Today, board members of companies are overwhelmed with emails on decision to make.
Govrn wanted to create an effortless way for board members to securely communicate and make informed decisions through a digital platform.
When you are targeting highly demanding users, like board members, they expect the best product. That's why we choose Smooth Sailing to create a great user experience.
Visualize & validate first ideas
We created an MVP to get early feedback;
- We dove into the existing research to understand all insights and problems
- We started cutting and pasting screenshots from our favorite search, documentation, and productivity tools we created a first tangible concept.
- After 10+ iterations of the wireframes we derived a clickable prototype of how the app should work. We worked with a mobile-first approach, which forced us to keep the interface simple.
- We went to potential users and asked their feedback. We learned that the voting functionality and the calendar concept were unclear at that point. Build fast, learn fast!
Analyse, design & build
After that first validation, we dove headfirst into the MVP creation. We deployed 3 tracks at the same time, pretty challenging to keep everything smoothly coordinated, but we managed!
- Detailed analysis of all functionality: we created feature passports where the why, the how and the KPIs are captured.
- We designed a high-fidelity HTML version of the user interface. Patterns were documented for swift implementation.
- The engineering team (of Exthand) was able to build the MVP based on our feature passports
Launch & quality control
We released the software internally first to generate a lot of feedback. We organized and structured the feedback, so bugs were identified quickly and new ideas were parked for a later stage.
Happy beta users were onboarded not long after that.
Services used
Product management
Making sure all decisions are well-informed and consistent is the core of a good product. Combining user input, technical reality and business goals is the task at hand.
Product design
We design whatever we’ve drawn out together and make sure it’s rooted in research, deliberation and testing. A clickable mock-up serves as a testing ground for the future.
Validation & Usertesting
After we designed or build something, we test with the right target audience if we created the correct solution. This means; whether they understand what its purpose is, how it works and if they flow through it correctly. We want users to be able to use a digital product fully and understand it with little mental effort.
- Hannes
Interested in a product vision workshop?
Are you an early stage software start-up that is looking to secure funding? We can help with creating a clear narrative that speaks to potential investors. We can translate your (future) ideas into a clean and understandable product vision.