Fuzzy Math

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior director of UX organization for a software company. We create a variety of data-oriented products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fuzzy Math?

My company has many products, but we hadn't invested heavily UX. We started looking at different product sets and aimed to create synergies across different product lines. The CEO asked me if we could modernize the UI of the entire product set, which was an astronomical task. We first needed to understand our UX strategy, so we searched for a consulting firm to help us with that.

We selected two product lines and Fuzzy Math helped us with the user research phase for that.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The first stage was a kickoff involving internal stakeholders from the different product lines (data integration and data quality). We had a one-day workshop where we tried to understand the challenges around the UX and potential synergies. We also collected customers and companies that we wanted to be part of this user research project.

After the kickoff, they performed 30-minute interviews with the stakeholders. In the months after that, they conducted interviews with different companies and users. The next phase was a heuristic evaluation of the products. They went through the training courses we had so they could get a better perspective of the products, identifying opportunities for improvement. There was also a proposal for a “voice of the customer” program.

They then started to put together the work product. Their team built journey maps and archetypes for our personas. The final item was a strategy roadmap for the UX.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Mark (Founder, Fuzzy Math) from the beginning. The project had three primary figures—Mark and two other researchers. They did an incredible job running workshops with stakeholders and conducted customer interviews.

How did you come to work with Fuzzy Math?

We used Clutch to find qualified companies that could help us. Eventually, we narrowed it down to three and chose Fuzzy Math. They were at the top of the Clutch list I looked at. We looked at other companies from other referral sources, but after significant analysis, we determined that Fuzzy Math would be the best partner.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested $325,000–$350,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

They began work in October of 2018. The final wrap-up was in the summer of 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We began some of the strategic recommendations they had. Their suggestions were wonderful, but some of them haven’t gotten funded yet. The things we were able to do have gone well, and we’ve made progress. They advised us to start a design system and acquire a modern technology stack. We’ve initiated a project to focus on one product line and put extra resources on it. They’ve helped clarify UX opportunities to the executive leadership team.

How did Fuzzy Math perform from a project management standpoint?

We had a SharePoint site and used Basecamp to share information and communicate. We met with them on a regular basis, and they stuck to the schedule. If there was anything not on schedule, it was something out of their control. Overall, we stayed closely aligned with the timeline of the original project proposal.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I felt a lot of compatibility and camaraderie with them. They had the same thought process that we do; it was like we’d known them forever and always spoke the same language. They were incredibly supportive of me and allowed me to voice any frustrations that I had. They also helped me communicate with the executive leadership team, which was good because sometimes the consultant has more weight in those discussions.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes they have issues with not being brief. They’d have 10 slides that I needed to reduce to a single slide. However, I get the idea of putting as much information as possible out there from their perspective. Afterward, I could take it down to the most germane points.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the president of an IT technology company that develops custom software systems for the Metals Service Center and manufacturing markets.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fuzzy Math?

We were working on a project to migrate our main application's Windows GUI to a modern web-based UI. Previously we handled all the UI design work internally; however, moving to a web interface required design skills we didn't have. Our application includes order processing, inventory and warehouse management, and a fully integrated accounting module. These modules encompass hundreds of screens (transaction entry, maintenance, reporting, etc.) that support numerous workflows. We hired Fuzzy Math to help us redesign the UI/UX by building a new UI pattern library and style guide .

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fuzzy Math began the project with a discovery phase. Their team traveled our office to better gauge our design preferences and overall project goals. They visited one of our local customers to observe how users interacted with the current Windows UI. They used this information to develop their design proposals. They used an iterative process to create POC designs, and they validated these designs with our local customer.  

Fuzzy Math created a comprehensive web UI/UX pattern library and style guide. Applying these deliverables to a few of our most heavily used screens, they created a series of templates bringing the patterns together into functional screen designs.

What is the team composition?

My team worked with four Fuzzy Math team members. We collaborated with their project manager and designer on mockups, workflows, and system performance. Another designer worked on the color schemes, high-definition design, and the overall look and feel. A final teammate assembled all of this design work into an interactive pattern library and style guide with detailed CSS and HTML documentation.

How did you come to work with Fuzzy Math?

I found Fuzzy Math online when I searched for local UI/UX companies.  I also looked at their review on Clutch. I put a bid out to three different companies before ultimately choosing Fuzzy Math.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent $180,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project spanned May–September 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The pattern library enables us to create a consistent user experience. We’ve completed our first user acceptance tests, and feedback has been positive.

How did Fuzzy Math perform from a project management standpoint?

Overall, the project went well. We used Basecamp. A couple of times, we needed to regroup to clear up misunderstood requirements or timelines. Once we had a few conversations, we resolved the issue.

What did you find most impressive about them?

When we began working together, my team knew very little about practicing modern UI/UX techniques. Fuzzy Math took the time to educate us on what they were doing and why. We weren’t accustomed to this process and often wanted to speed it up, but they did a great job managing our expectations so that we didn’t rush the work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The CSS in their final deliverable didn't immediately translate to the web development framework we were using. A more detailed discussion on the technical aspects of the deliverables could have made the handover smoother.  Ultimately, it was a non-issue, and it was quickly resolved.

Any advice for potential customers?

Keep an open mind, be patient, and make sure they can speak to your customers or end users.  For instance, we have a very fast-paced user base. Observing our users helped Fuzzy Math see that some design concepts, such as a scrolling screens, wouldn’t work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the VP of digital strategy, e-commerce, and product development at Hyatt Hotels.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fuzzy Math?

We needed to revamp our property websites across all 11 of our company's brands.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fuzzy Math spent a lot of time cultivating a thorough understanding of each of our brands. They interviewed departments within our organization that had a vested interest in the property sites. For each of our multiple brands, they met with our branding, digital, analytics, and product development teams for the individual properties. Our lead product developer informed their design decisions. They arranged meetings with our stakeholders to understand our standards and desired look and feel.

Our UX team ensured they were designing a digital design system that's compatible with the one we had in place. 

Our corporate site and 11 individual brand sites with over 700 individual properties each have a distinct personality. Fuzzy Math excelled at tapping into the needs of every single one. They showcased unique activities surrounding our resort properties and positioned our city-based hotels as suitably geared for conferences.

By extracting existing metrics and analytics, they showed us how our existing property sites were performing; most were outdated and broken. After studying user behavior, they determined what our audience needs and used those findings to inform our future designs. 

During the visual and structural refresh, we conducted user testing to see if flat or nested types of navigation performed better. They generated metrics for everything, down to the millisecond of time it took users to complete tasks or find information. Flatter navigation with a long scroll performed better and was highly preferred by our end users. 

By doing this project, we created a single website code base that uses responsive design. The information on the screen adapts based on whether you’re looking at a desktop, a laptop, a tablet, or a mobile device. The templates were optimized for SEO as well, which was paramount for us as we saw a huge uptick in traffic coming to our site.

What is the team composition?

For each brand, they assigned us an interaction designer and a visual designer. There was a design lead overseeing those teams. 

How did you come to work with Fuzzy Math?

We met at a conference in Chicago. My director of UX had worked with the team before and knew their co-founder through UX conferences.

Initially, we invited several firms to pitch and chose Fuzzy Math based on their expertise and UX design skill. They were capable of building responsive property templates with SEO for our individual property sites.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $850,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September 2016–2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Fuzzy Math captured the differences between our brands using creative elements from the style guidelines. They were innovative without deviating too far from our image. While slightly bending the rules, they stayed true to the core aspects of what our brand stands for.

Fuzzy Math designed our property sites to help users easily find all the useful information we've always had in place. Their designs improved and simplified the navigation tremendously. Some of their ideas have started to make their way into our print material.

When we launched the new website for the first brand, we immediately received a lot of positive feedback. End users love the new sites and find them much easier to use without getting lost. Our individual brand managers are delighted with the designs. 

Another huge win was increased web traffic for our dining and entertainment sites, especially the special events sections. We've also seen more user engagement like filling out requests for quotes or more information.

One property’s general manager said they’re getting more requests for meetings and events. In 2017, there were 12–14 requests total. Within the first month and a half of 2018, we secured more than 30 requests through the tool. This was a huge bonus we were pleased to see.

How did Fuzzy Math perform from a project management standpoint?

The team's design method fit perfectly with our Agile development process. They were very flexible with us. We had a standing review meeting every week. I always looked forward to seeing the designs for each new branded template. It was exciting to watch them bring our concepts to life.

Communication was fantastic. The project lead was always in constant communication with our director of UX, who was leading the efforts. They were responsive to all our questions.

We had a cyclical schedule. As they completed the design of the brand, we moved that design to our development team. Then, our development team started creating the template within Adobe Experience Manager for that brand. As it was being developed, Fuzzy Math stayed involved for questions and supported us in figuring out the design challenges around those questions. Fuzzy Math was wonderfully attentive as questions popped up.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Throughout the project, we always felt like their number one client. They worked with other clients during our project, but it didn’t impede or infringe upon the velocity or quality of work we were getting from them.

The overall engagement from their team members was great. Every week, when we’d meet with them, we looked forward to hanging out with them. They’re great people to work with. That goes a long way when you have a long, grueling project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be as open and transparent as possible. They will be empathetic to your needs, but no one can read your mind. We immediately felt an inherent trust in Fuzzy Math, so we included them in a lot of discussions. Understanding us enabled them to step up and pitch in. They felt like an extension of our team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of VHT Studios. We're a visual marketing company and we work primarily in the real estate industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fuzzy Math?

We're developing a new line of business and we're looking for investors. We needed a partner to help us build a prototype of what our new platform would look like and what it would do.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We presented our concept to them in a couple of sketches and they did everything else. They did the storyboard and designed the wireframes, providing recommendations on how we could improve our concept. Then, they built the prototype of our new platform, managing both the creative design and the development. The demo model replicates what the actual platform will do.

What is the team composition?

We worked with their team lead, a creative person, a designer, and a developer.

How did you come to work with Fuzzy Math?

We worked with them in the past and we liked the quality of their work. We also interviewed other companies for this project, but Fuzzy Media was our first choice.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $35,000–$40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them between February–June 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We got an incredible response, and we actually received three offers. Fuzzy Math made the prototype very visual, so everyone is impressed with it. People even think that's an actual live product, which is exactly what we wanted.

How did Fuzzy Math perform from a project management standpoint?

We spent a lot of time up front making sure everyone was working towards the common goal. Fuzzy Math was always on top of things, so we never had to push them. Their team lead really kept us on track with the project. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They took ownership of the project and helped us make our product even better. Many companies just follow directions, but Fuzzy Math really cared about our success.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we haven't had any issues.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Follow their lead. As long as you can clearly articulate your expectations, they can meet them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of product management and development at software developer. My team oversees a software suite that supports higher education institutions and course materials management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fuzzy Math?

We’ve used them for a few different projects. We initially brought them on to do a dashboard to track instructor submissions, but have since used them for two larger projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In addition to the compliance dashboard project and an analytics dashboard for our publisher partners, one of the most important projects they worked on was a UI overhaul for one of our products. They took a holistic approach and analyzed our website. Once that was complete, they gave us an evaluation of what was working and what could be designed better.

We discussed our vision, and they came up with a few different versions of what they thought would benefit us. After we gave them feedback, they built updated wireframes and came up with a solidly consistent look and feel for us. It’s clean and concise, and includes a comprehensive pattern library. They created a fantastic, living document with embedded HTML. There is no guesswork on how to build each icon or button, all we have to do is grab it and insert it into the code whenever we want to make changes.

What is the team composition?

We interacted with a team of three or four people, including a project lead and a design lead. It was good to have a mix of people working on the project, since they each brought a different opinion and viewpoint to guide the process.

How did you come to work with Fuzzy Math?

My former boss discovered them and brought them in for the first projects we did with them. The first project was the single-page compliance dashboard, which they did a good job on. I liked their working style, so when the time came to redo my UI, I immediately reached out to them about the project.

How much have you invested with them?

I believe we’ve spent around $80,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve worked with them on several projects, but the UI redesign started around January 2016 and ran through April 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The biggest indicator of the impact is all the positive feedback we’ve received regarding the new UI. Previously, our feedback was mixed, which was one reason we decided to do this revamp. We immediately heard positive responses from the campuses and stores that have our products, so we know the project has paid off.

How did Fuzzy Math perform from a project management standpoint?

Deliverables are always right on target. They always stick to the timelines we agree upon in the statement of work and often deliver ahead of schedule. The quality is never rushed, and they clearly spend a lot of time and care on our projects.

We email regularly and have half-hour weekly meetings to go over touch points. Each project has a set of milestones that we establish at the beginning. As they complete each milestone, they check it off, send us previews of the work, and move on to the next part of the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their approach is very professional, but also laidback and casual. I’m not a serious person, so that kind of blend appeals to me. Even though they’re not exclusively our partner, they’re fully invested in our projects and the final results.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’ve had nothing but really good experiences with them. They do really well with project management and deliverables, and I can’t think of any criticisms for them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you work with any third-party vendor that isn’t physically in your office, keep the lines of communication open. We’re always most successful when we have weekly updates to keep the project on track. They process stayed focused and we didn’t have to go back and fix things.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the Senior Manager of Web Services for a Healthcare Company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fuzzy Math?

We noticed that our website had been speaking to our audience in a very generic way. The content’s tone was too legal and not resonating with the message we wanted to convey. Our team engaged a firm to research users and use cases. Once we discovered our users’ different personas, we hired Fuzzy Math to redesign our website in collaboration with the in-house development team that I lead. The improved UX design needed to meet the needs of the individual user personas.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Based on the previous research, we had identified our users and the content priority for each type. Fuzzy Math updated the UX design to give our brand a consistent voice while catering to each user persona. The team worked on memory dashboards, claims ordering, ID cards, and search and eligibility verification functionalities. To complete these features, Fuzzy Math wireframed the visual designs and then developed with HTML and CSS to make the site mobile-responsive. The team also helped write content for the entire site.

What’s more, we hope the improved UX will reduce the number of incoming phone calls for enrollments and inquiries. Fuzzy Math is aiming to achieve this result by correcting our bad data. They’re creating calls to action in prominent areas of our website that ask users to update addresses and phone numbers. We’re also collecting contact information as well.

What is the team composition?

The core team, which has lasted throughout the partnership, includes a project manager and about five other people. At the start, we met with the same number of teammates twice per week. We’ve also interfaced with a developer and separate content and UX teams.

How did you come to work with Fuzzy Math?

I had worked with them about 10 years ago at a different organization. Due to that prior relationship, I included in this project’s RFP process. A group within our organization evaluated about four different candidate companies during a demo and presentation. We also considered cost and preparedness, among other criteria.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $350,000–$400,00.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2017 and the partnership is ongoing. Fuzzy Math has wrapped up the first statement of work and will proceed with the other SOWs. In addition to HTML and CSS development, they will build additional functionalities including a backend administrative tool. The official launch will be in early 2019 when all the full website and its content are complete.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The UX design was responsive and functional across different devices. The redesign also matched our brand as far as readability and utilization of whitespace and color. For example, even the simplest action buttons are consistent in appearance throughout the website. We’ve already received positive feedback from our internal steering committee. Our team can’t wait for the responsive design to go live because 40% of our users already visit us via mobile devices.

How did Fuzzy Math perform from a project management standpoint?

Their organization and workflows are exceptional. We have two phone calls every week or two hours of meetings. They share files via Basecamp and design screens with InVision. We leave comments on the latter to complement communication via phone and email. Occasionally, we use in-person meetings to work through specific issues.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their core team works closely together and as part of our in-house team. Communication is easy and everyone has a sense of ownership. In an impressive iterative process, the design team has created over 600 pages and received feedback from 15 people for each one. Furthermore, the project manager and senior leadership are always available by phone. That level of accessibility is phenomenal.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’ve kept better track of progress over time. That issue stemmed from not having proper project management on our side. At this point, I don’t think there’s anything else to improve or change.

Any advice for potential customers?

Clients should work with the same team I have. That group has been fantastic; they’re very detail-oriented. I encourage new customers to form the same kind of relationship we have with Fuzzy Math.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of MyTaskit. We are a work coordination software company that provides software as a service options to help companies coordinate daily tasks.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fuzzy Math?

We ran into design and usability hurdles in a product. We had a particular audience that needed a simpler UI/UX that worked with their level of technological ability. We wanted to strengthen our team and decided to bring in a UI/UX specialist.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

For each project, I talk through our high-level needs with their CEO. He makes sure he understands our business needs and scopes out all their services. They refine the requirements, make recommendations, and get up to speed on the application. We give a demo of the application as needed and they interview us and our existing clients to build a case document. We make changes and they build a low-fidelity wireframe. We agree on the functionality and they then work on high-fidelity designs. They’ll then either hand the product over to our developers or collaborate with us to complete the product.

Our most recent project was adding functionality to a scheduling system for human resources. They helped us build a variety of views. A user can look at the scheduling app within our app by day, by week, by month, by asset, by tech, and by customer. It’s a complicated system with a lot of moving parts.

What is the team composition?

I interact directly with their CEO and our product manager works with a point of contact on their team. I am not as involved with the process, so I only interact with a few people on their team.

How did you come to work with Fuzzy Math?

A contracted project manager of ours was looking for Chicago-based teams that were local to him. He did all the research and we chose them based on his recommendation. We were so impressed with their initial work with us that we had them build out our new pages and functionality for an application and they became our go-to UI/UX contractor.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together initially in 2014. The most recent project with them began in November 2017 and finished around June 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had two clients who were waiting for us to complete the app before signing on with us. One joined us after we had the low-fidelity wireframes to show them and the other signed on after the high-fidelity capabilities were clear. They committed to us and became the two largest deals of the year.

How did Fuzzy Math perform from a project management standpoint?

We use a tool for project management and use agile and scrum methodology. They enter our scrum processes and become a part of our team. They attend each scrum session as it relates to their work. They have a specific set of skills, and are willing to recommend other companies if our needs don’t fall within their wheelhouse.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I can describe what I’m looking for and they just get it. It doesn’t matter what market we’re in, they understand what we’re after. They ask the right questions and get the answers they need. They grasp the unique requirements of each project and know their project management and UI/UX skillsets. We have our own UI/UX person now, but we still use them to augment our team and they’re very helpful with transitions. I’ve worked with four startups and they are some of the best UI/UX people I’ve ever seen.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the COO of PrintNinja. We are a U.S. based print brokerage, which means independent creators come to us with ideas for comic books, children’s books, etc. and we handle the printing for them overseas to reduce costs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fuzzy Math?

We were unhappy with our website and really believed that we were successful despite it instead of because of it. We had built it in-house and felt it was getting old and stale, and we were getting feedback that the user experience wasn’t great. We decided we needed help rebuilding the site that was focused equally on aesthetics and usability.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The site is built on WordPress and Fuzzy Math handled all of the UI/UX for us. Everything we produce is totally custom for each of our customer’s artwork, so it was really important for us to showcase the work our customer’s have done. We wanted people to see that we work with illustrators and authors whose names they would recognize, and we believed showcasing their work would make the site inherently beautiful.

When we first met with Fuzzy Math we told them the things we thought did and did not work on our old site and left the rest of the design up to them to create. We eventually took what they created and handed it of to a development partner who said it was one of the cleanest packages they had ever received with beautiful HTML. Now we are waiting to finish up a few things before we officially launch.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager and technical architecture expert and his visual counterpart who focused on the design. They both worked really well together to create a great final product. Fuzzy Math’s founder would also check-in about once a month to make sure everything was going well.

How did you come to work with Fuzzy Math?

We did an online search and used Clutch to find the best possible partners. When we started our search someone told us we were either going to find companies that are solely tech focused or design focused, which was largely true. However, Fuzzy Math seemed to be the best of both worlds, and we really liked how attentive they were to research. They made it clear that they would gain user input throughout the project so that we wouldn’t have a big reveal after a few months without having any feedback up to that point. Rather, they were focused on creating a lean, agile process that included feedback at each step, which really appealed to us.

How much have you invested with them?

We have spent $75,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in July 2017 and they handed everything over to us to pass on to our development firm in January 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We absolutely love the website. We think it is gorgeous and the feedback we have received from our colleagues and development firm has been outstanding.

How did Fuzzy Math perform from a project management standpoint?

They were available whenever we needed them and we never had any communications issues at all.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Fuzzy Math was really understanding of the fact that no one at my company had a UI/UX background, and they went out of their way to make these foreign concepts approachable. At each meeting they would explain what they were talking about so that we could really be involved in the conversation and give our input rather than have these tech terms thrown at us. I think that education component is what made them truly great partners.

I would strongly recommend them to anyone, and we will definitely work with them again in the future.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

There is nothing I can think of other than the fact that you don’t know what this process is like until you go through it. I think because we were new to this type of project we thought things moved a bit slowly at first. However, they did a great job of laying out their methodology for us so that we understood each step and its purpose.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the CTO and EVP at SAP Fieldglass, a platform allowing large companies to manage their non-employee labor and supply-chain associated with it, including contractors, consultants, offshore resources, and service providers. Large companies tend to have huge quilts of these people working for them, and our platform helps them manage the entire process.

I am currently CEO at Catalytic, a company providing a platform which helps companies streamline and optimize their processes through better codification, guidance for users, and automation of other tasks.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fuzzy Math?

The need with my previous company was a combination of general interface uplift with a focus on refreshing and simplifying it. It was an enterprise software we’d grown over a long period of time, so the nature of the beast was that it had grown in complexity. We’d been entrenched in building the software for 8 years, so we needed a process that would challenge our approach. It made sense to bring in a fresh perspective to focus on UX.

We didn’t have enough work to hire someone who really understood UX and all the various pieces we needed to make this successful, which is why we went to an agency.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In the first engagement we had a series of projects, the first of which had a pretty broad canvas and set the tone of our continued work with Fuzzy Math. We told them that it was our main product, so we wanted them to be relatively unconstrained in how they thought about a new version of it. We gave them the major components, some of the main use cases (which had to be available to everyone), some of the edgier ones, and some of the ones we considered redundant, which would be disposed of or moved to a more obscure part of the application. We then gave Fuzzy Math freedom in working with the product from a proposal perspective. We also gave them access to customers and had them participate in a couple calls.

Fuzzy Math had the chance to conduct their own studies, some of which we were involved in. They also got to talk to our services team, including the helpdesk, to get a perspective of what the current product problems were. We also engaged them with two of our customers that had their own UX teams, and were interested in helping us on this front. Those were great, forward-thinking companies, committed to simplifying the overall experience for their users.

We handled the implementation ourselves, but Fuzzy Math did create some live prototypes for us, as well as delivering some frontend JavaScript examples. They primarily returned design documents, including wireframes and a style guide. It was mostly static collateral, but this is what we needed.

We brought Fuzzy Math in very early with Catalytic, our second engagement, because we didn’t have many resources as a startup. Having someone work with us on a contract basis made a lot of sense since we needed many more people to focus on specific areas. Fuzzy Math worked on a part of our app that we didn’t have the resources to develop, but that needed to be started quickly. We wanted someone to put a lot of attention into what it might look like, what types of functionalities it should have, the API design, and how it would impact the main part of the app. All of these things can have a lot of interplay.

Fuzzy Math also helped us think through this part of our app and set it out from beginning to end. We had them involved in the core part of the app as we started to put out out engineering-heavy product. We involved a design director so it wouldn’t be so heavily focused on engineering, but he easily became overwhelmed having to manage an entire team alone, so we knew we needed help and a specialized UX perspective. Fuzzy Math offered a lot of feedback, which was great. They were acting as early potential users while also providing feedback from a UX standpoint. This all worked out very well.

What is the team dynamic?

The initial project was more of a heavy lift, and we had more people involved in it on a fulltime basis. I’m not sure how many people were involved behind the scenes, but we actively saw at least 3 people.

After the initial phase, we started focusing on specific areas for Fuzzy Math to target so that we could make incremental improvements. Once we went into that mode, we retained 1.5-3 resources. The scope tapered off from both our ends after the first engagement because we wanted them to come in and take bite-sized chunks.

How did you come to work with Fuzzy Math?

I went to a couple of my peers in the Chicago tech community and asked about a company that focused on UX. I didn’t want designers, but rather people who could work on user experience, making the product feel better instead of looking better. One of my initial impressions during the search process was that there wasn't a lot of differentiation between visual and user experience design.

Many of the initial people I reached out to were more focused on the aesthetics. A few of my friends came back with Fuzzy Math, which made me feel good about the choice. We also looked at another company, but the referrals and recommendations from the friends I trusted, and who’d actually had hands-on experience with Fuzzy Math, were the primary decision-making criteria.

I’ve had a similar experience with Fuzzy Math across my current company and SAP Fieldglass. The fact that I’ve used them across multiple companies probably says something in and of itself.

How much have you invested with them?

The SAP project took place a long time ago., so I can’t accurately recall the cost. It was a small part of our overall budget, and I may not have had a lot to do with the payment. Over the course of our multiple-year collaboration, the overall cost may have surpassed $900,000.

The project at our current startup is a more significant part of the budget, but overall, it’s still small.

What is the status of this engagement?

The initial project ran for 6 months, from the initial information-gathering and interview phase, to the design iterations. We then went into an ongoing mode, continuing to work with Fuzzy Math all the way into 2015. I'm not sure when we first engaged them, but the collaboration ran for at least 6 years.

The Catalytic project started in early 2016. Fuzzy Math worked with us for 2-3 months, after which we set up an in-house UX team. This approach is more central to what we do, and the differentiation we have as a company. We would definitely continue to use then if we didn’t have an internal team, and I will still probably reach out to them for augmentation. Fuzzy Math has been very helpful, despite the fact that we’re not using them officially right now.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We did not quantify the impact with metrics, but perhaps the best indicator of success is that we incorporated quite a number of Fuzzy Math's recommendations into our product. With many consultants, their recommendations are often unusable or ignored for other reasons. With Fuzzy Math, most of their output was very practical and adopted.

How did Fuzzy Math perform from a project management standpoint?

If they had any problems delivering, we certainly didn’t get to see it, and Fuzzy Math generally delivered what we agreed to within the timelines. There may have been a few slips over the course of working together, but there was nothing that would make me think this company was not able to manage its workload. In general, Fuzzy Math did a good job managing everything. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They work well holistically, and bring together an overall package which I find fascinating. It’s not design-heavy or centered on wireframes, and we ended up with a good, practical package. They thought through the technical implementations instead of having a pie-in-the-sky type of design that sounds good on paper, but would be impossible to implement. The work was well-balanced, and Fuzzy Math really focuses on the UX while putting consideration into the technical implementation. I like this about them, and I find it unique. I’ve not found too many service providers who can do a good job of balancing all these elements.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We could have given Fuzzy Math more work if they had excess capacity. They chose to grow at particular and small rates, functioning as a sort of artisanal brewer. I respect this, but it would be nice to give Fuzzy Math more work and have more things occur in parallel. Assembling a larger team would have been nice, but this is less of a criticism and more of a wish.

They do tend to want to do things their way. This isn’t a criticism, but when signing up with them, the best approach is to let Fuzzy Math go through their process. They have a balanced approach and are able to bring all things to the table, which are both strengths. However, there were parts of certain projects where my team tried to bring them in for specific tasks, and Fuzzy Math ended up working below the sum of their parts. They were essentially showing up as a designer, and they probably shouldn’t have performed these tasks. It takes away from their overall packaging, but it’s possible that Fuzzy Math doesn’t offer this anymore.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

​NORC is an international research institution at the University of Chicago. We’re non-partisan and work in a variety of mostly public interest fields like healthcare and education and economics. I’m the senior vice president of strategic communications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fuzzy Math?

We have quite a bit of creative direction and overarching web expertise in terms of web strategy here, but we don’t have information architects in-house. This specific need I was looking to hire for was an organization that could really think through in detail when we do large web launches and large system launches, a group that could really think through the user friendliness of the site and the overall usability.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We've worked on probably ten or so engagements, but some of them have been small exploratory projects and some of them have been larger pieces. They helped us recently with the launch of a product called ForeGround. We had a new group in house that was doing an analysis of real estate economics. They were looking at how different trends and economic sources affect commercial real estate buyers’ decisions and the kinds of data and analysis that they need to do their job. Fuzzy Math helped us think through that entire process and the entire structure of how it’s organized, the user needs, how those are being met online, and how those can be best displayed.

Another project we worked on together was called The General Social Survey. It’s one of the largest social science data sets in the country, second only to the U.S. Census, just to give a sense of scale. We’ve been working on a project to make that data more available to the research community called the GSS Data Explorer. People are coming to this data set from a variety of different perspectives, whether they’re students, professors or analysts. The interface had to be intuitive enough to work for super experts all the way down to people are just getting started analyzing social science. It was a big challenge and Fuzzy Math did a great job.

In general, Fuzzy Math handles the frontend planning, strategy, wire framing, user needs, research, process flows and use cases, etc. It’s usually two to three people per project. Ben [Partner, Fuzzy Math] is usually our principal and that is great. Then we have different IA’s depending on the project and their availability.

How did you come to work with Fuzzy Math?

I don’t remember initially why I chose them other than I thought they were the right fit for us. The portfolio that we looked at really evidenced a wide range of things that we could engage them on, both small scale and larger scale endeavors. The second reason is that we just like them. One thing we really value at NORC is collegiality. We really believe work should be a fun, cool place where you enjoy the people you’re working with. Fuzzy Math has a good vibe and life is too short to not work with cool people.

How much have you invested with them?

Around $200,000-$400,000 over the course of time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The easiest metric I can give you is that different people across the organization hire them. When they do work for us, they create jealousy with the other teams. They help people realize that it’s not just about design, it's about being super well thought-through in terms of usability and user experience.

When my teams and I came in seven years ago, we rebranded the organization as a modern and fresh research institution rather than a tired and old organization. Fuzzy Math has really helped us contribute to that because so much these days is about not just how something looks, but how it makes you feel and what type of experience you had with it. They really contribute to our ability to do that for our stakeholders.

How did Fuzzy Math perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re always on time. There’s only been one issue that I remember and it was completely our fault. That doesn’t really happen anymore unless we add components or modules at the last minute.

They’re super good at hitting the marks they’re asked to hit. They’re one of the best firms I’ve ever worked with in that regard. We’ve always found them to be of really consistent quality, which is a little surprising. I came from the web development side of the house and it's common to see inconsistencies in resources, but Fuzzy Math has really amazingly consistent quality in the people they hire.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re fun to work with and they do great work. I keep hiring them over and over. I’m super picky, just to put a point on it.

There are a lot of different firms who do basically the same things, but I feel like Fuzzy Math is really good at giving you what you need. They’re good at cutting to the chase. They’re good at saying, “I hear your problem. What you guys really need is…” I feel like they don’t just sell services to sell services. They really like to solve the problem well and as elegantly and efficiently as possible.

Are there any areas they could improve?

That would have been in the earlier engagement. It’s harder for me now because we have a system and a process down now.

If I were to think back at the things that they could have been better at, it took them some time to understand our nomenclature and what we do. Given that our users are scientists, it's pretty hard to understand if you’re a layman. I don’t know that this dings them per se. That would be something anyone who is a non-expert would have to do. Now It’s such a long going relationship that it’s a well-oiled machine at this point.