Daito Design

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief commercial officer for a software company that specializes in data visualization in oil and gas. 

We build BI platforms and BI tools mainly in JavaScript. They’re designed for the web. The tools are used in various applications in oil and gas so all the companies can provide a BI tool. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Daito Design?

We were launching a new product and platform back in 2016. We wanted to redesign our website and the customer experience. We also needed help with UX design activities like redesigning the user experience of our software.  

What was the scope of their involvement?

Daito Design helped us revamp our digital experience. They conducted interviews with the current user base, and did an evaluation of the application and the customer experience through the website. 

They came up with design recommendations, mockups, visuals, and new designs and optimized user flows. From there, they supported implementation of the coding technology itself. They helped in validating the usability of what was implemented. 

What is the team composition?

There were about five people involved. One was the VP of operations. There were a couple of designers, and one user researcher. There was also a VP of user research.

How did you come to work with Daito Design?

I knew their experience from previous jobs I had to work on. I did a tender and got about five responses and one was from them.

How much have you invested with them?

The first phase was about $300,000. The other work was about $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2017. The work is ongoing. It’s done in several phases. They’re involved with our customers.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The quality is extremely good. Some KPIs were traffic to the website and user experience or user adoption feedback.

How did Daito Design perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate through project governance and regular project status meetings. We would review the activities and the different tracks we had because we have multiple activities within the project we needed to do. 

From there, we were able to follow up. Either we’d be on time or maybe some activities would take a little bit more time. We use Uber Conference and Google Hangouts. We use a whiteboard tool. We also use a lot of Slack channels to communicate on a daily basis.

What did you find most impressive about them?

My favorite part is their scientific approach to the user research and design. Daito Design is able to measure the experience before design and measure it after to be able to quantify the change in terms of efficiency or experience. The data driven design was very important to me. It’s something I enjoyed because we could make a decision based on data and not feelings. 

I also really liked the experience they have in the domain of how you build an application in oil and gas and business intelligence. It’s very unique software to design in terms of UI /UX. It’s really heavy industry type of dashboard where you need to be able to present something pretty complex in a simple, usable way. 

They have expertise and understanding in web application design and how it should translate into a mobile experience. That expertise around the UX was critical for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We encountered some delays but nothing out of the ordinary. It’s a normal issue I’d have with any company I worked with. There could be a little more communication to continue to improve it. It was a pretty successful project.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you want very scientific, data-driven design, work with Daito Design. If you have an application that deals with the enterprise user, industry oil field worker, utilities, etc., where you need a certain expertise to design the system, I highly recommend them. 

I advise you to really follow the methodology because I’ve seen a lot of people skip the user research go straight to the design without having an informed decision. They end up having issues with things not working and hindering the adoption. Follow their methodology because they have a good way to remove that risk. I’ve done many projects with them to know that it works

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former VP of client services at a custom design and development agency. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Daito Design?

We were looking for an agency that could support us with user research and UX design.

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Daito Design worked with us across two projects that were similar in scope, both around UX design. 

In general, their strategy involved looking at past website analytics to identify how users interacted with the site. The team would then craft a comprehensive research plan and conduct interviews with stakeholders to generate insights. Finally, they would create the design before validating it with users again. 

The larger engagement was on behalf of an insurance client who wanted to better understand and diversify their customers. They served businesses of all sizes as well as employees for worker compensation insurance. Daito Design conducted the user research to better understand all of the customer groups and come up with a new architecture framework to design their public-facing website.

The second project focused on user research in the mortgage area. It was the same process — the client was looking to understand their customers’ needs and pain points to develop an improved UI design for their mobile-based platform.

What is the team composition? 

I worked with two main contacts for both projects.

How did you come to work with Daito Design?

It was through a personal referral. Austin is a relatively close-knit network, so I had some connections to them from my previous work.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost was in the $100,000 range.

What is the status of this engagement?

The two projects took place between October 2018–November 2019.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

One of the keys to their success was their ability to engage our clients and get them to buy into their new ideas. The insurance company was an older company that was set in their ways but still wanted to go through a digital transformation. Daito Design was able to educate, collaborate, and convince this legacy team to go through a massive change. 

With the complete re-architecture of the site, we saw resounding feedback from all parties. The new UX was much easier to use because there was more clarity around how to navigate the site. It was a way of building customer satisfaction and trust. If a user trusts the company, then they’re more likely to become a customer. All of that positive feedback spoke to the positive impact of Daito Design’s work.

How did Daito Design perform from a project management standpoint?

The team had strong project management. They always delivered on our expectations, set and kept up with an impressive schedule, and conducted a lot of user research. I was impressed by their ability to track all of those details.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve been doing this work for a long time, and Daito Design was one of the best teams I’d ever worked with. The care and rigor that they put into crafting user personas really stood out to me. Not only did they make sure that the assets were based on data analytics, but they also tied the personas to specific functionalities.

It was an incredibly useful quantitative and qualitative approach that gave us critical insights. Those personas in particular helped guide our client through the digital transformation. The team printed them on huge sheets to put on the wall, and the client used them on a daily basis.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything. They have a dozen years of experience.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Daito Design is in high demand. If you want to engage them, give them as much time in advance to plan ahead. The more brain space they can dedicate to the project, the better the results will be.