User Connect Consultancy

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Director of Product Design for a SaaS offering catering to needs of customers in US, Canada and Europe.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire User Connect Consultancy?

We are a startup looking for an ICP. We found the ICP through market research. We wanted to understand their needs better to position of product offering to them.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

User Connect Consultancy gave brief outline of the research work that they had done for their clients without disclosing any details. The top management was convinced of their capabilities and were impressed with the variety of interesting research projects done across domains for well known brands. They were cost effective, enthusiastic and sharp on timelines.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

The project required recruting customers from Canada and the United States. They suggested the agencies and portals for recruting along with the right incentives. They conducted stakeholder interviews to understand the business goals and ensure clarity for all. They formulated the research questionnaire and conducted indepth interviews on our behalf. They delivered the summary of their findings periodically in phases which help the design team to act on the findings to start work on product features.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

A total of four researchers worked on the team which included two Senior Researchers and two Junior Researchers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The synthesis for phase 1 of the project helped unravel 6 key themes which the product design team was to address the customer needs. The phased deliverables helped greater agility for the product team action and build the necessary features to align with cusyomer expectations.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The collaboration was very smooth and effortless with quick actioning. We found them to be supr agile and outcome focussed. The best part which worked in our favour would be the clarity of communication from the very begining till the end of the project.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

They were very adaptive to our current needs and situation. They were advisory in nature and guided us through yo make the right choices at each stage.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

None so far because the top management was quite pleased with their deliverables.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the head of design for a large technology company that was looking to develop a new product. I lead a team of five and have over 10 years of industry experience.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire User Connect Consultancy?

I hired User Connect Consultancy to help us decide which users to target for this product. I asked them to create some key customer personas and help us understand what these personas care about and how to best target them.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I received a referral from an existing client. They are inexpensive so I thought they would be a good option.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Shipra started by creating a roadmap of what they could do and asking what we wanted from their firm. After that we settled on the different tasks they would be in charge of. I got a chance to meet Shipra's team. While I think Shipra is very talented, her team lacks in professionalism which should have been a red flag from the start.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

My team directly worked with Shipra most of the time, but we also met from time-to-time the direct employees who work under her.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The outcome was a disaster. I believe that Shipra knows what she is doing but she really needs to hire more people. The questions asked during user research were pretty irrelevant to what we were looking for. I felt the user personas lacked depth and I could've gotten a better result by just hiring an intern.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Again, Shipra was very easy to work with but her team was concerning to me. There was one member of the team who I shall not name who was consistently passive-aggressive and incompetent. What made it even more concerning was she was the one conducting user interviews and I hoped none of these users would associate her with our company and project.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

I appreciated how organized they were.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Hire better people. Shirpa is a talented woman but she needs others who can support her mission.