Role

UX Researcher

Timeline

20 Weeks

Team

Daniella Sapiente, Sam Giustizia and Myself. 

OVERVIEW

Hack the NU.

Hackathons are taking company cultures by storm; they effectively increase brand engagement and are an easy way for companies to reap business benefits.

In the fall of 2018, my group put forward a winning case study for NUVO Network, a suburban co-working start-up in Burlington, Ontario, that piloted a yearly hackathon initiative called “Hack the NU.”

 

Challenge

How might we re-imagine the member, visitor and community experience of a co-working space to help grow their client and community relations?

Solution

A company-led hackathon inviting local talent, businesses and various community partners in an intense collaboration to help garner networking opportunities and company exposure for NUVO Network. 

OVERVIEW

Research Process

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OVERVIEW

Project Preface

 
 

NUVO Network is a co-working hub like no other housing business leaders, content creators and independent firms from across the Halton and Hamilton region. The company prides itself in its vibrant and community-focused eco-system and believes its state of the art facility can benefit anyone looking to join a co-working space.

In the fall of 2018, NUVO reached out to the Interaction Design program at Sheridan College in hopes that students can put forward well-researched case studies that would allow NUVO to reimagine their member and visitor experience to expand their reach.

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USER RESEARCH

Research Objective

Enhance NUVO Network's visibility by attracting new clients and fostering beneficial partnerships with local businesses.

USER RESEARCH

Data Collection

 
 

Our goal was to give NUVO recommendations based on evidence. To do this, we had to understand NUVO's business values and learn about what their current and potential clients think and want.
We used 3 main data collection methods to get this information:

  1. Subject interviews with NUVO staff and members.

  2. Background research on the business.

  3. Observational studies at the facility.

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USER RESEARCH

User Interviews

 
 

Our subject interviews were semi-structured and about 30 minutes in length for both NUVO staff and members/potential members. For staff, the questions focused on learning more about the company's current business practices. We wanted to learn how NUVO enforces its values into daily business operations to help reach their short/long-term goals while tending to their current client base's needs.

For members/potential members, our questions focused on the topic of "why join a co-working space"? The goal was to understand their attitudes and perspectives towards NUVO and the co-working community in general.

During these interviews, our goal was to understand how NUVO Network currently operates and identify any issues or areas for improvement from the client's perspective.

Below are 2 profiles of needs extracted through our interview findings.

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ANALYSIS

Overarching Themes

 
 

Once we gathered our qualitative data, we analyzed our findings in detail. Conducting a thematic analysis was crucial in identifying key patterns and recurring themes in our results.

Here are some summary cards outlining the main themes we identified in our studies:

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ANALYSIS

SWOT

 
 

We also conducted a SWOT analysis to identify NUVO’s current strengths, weaknesses and capture their overall strategic positioning. This framework helped us better understand NUVO as an organization.

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ANALYSIS

Key Insights

 
 

After weeks of expansive research, we brought it all back together and established key goals for NUVO and their members/ potential members.

NUVO Network

  1. Becoming active players in the community.

  2. Increasing clientele.

  3. Gaining public exposure.

Members/Potential Members

  1. + Networking opportunities.

  2. Forming unexpected connections.

  3. Socialization. 

IMPLIMENTATION

The Pitch

 
 

Taking into account all aspects of our study, we started to brainstorm actionable ways our research could translate into future steps for NUVO.

After a few days of referencing back to our findings, we reached the conclusion of pitching to the company to host a NUVO-led hackathon.

Here’s why...

Hackathons provide a value exchange for sponsors which can lead to business partnerships for NUVO.

Hackathons create networking and socialization opportunities.

Hackathons invite a diverse talent pool (potential clients).

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THE BOTTOM LINE

Hackathons create buzz 🐝

IMPLIMENTATION

Driving The Project Forward

 
 

In summer 2019, I was hired by NUVO to launch "Hack the NU" with a focus on raising the company’s public profile while being mindful of financial resources. We partnered with the United Way of Halton & Hamilton to shape the event's theme and align with NUVO's community-centered ethos. Engaging local non-profits, tech hubs, and start-ups as sponsors, volunteers, and judges led to fresh partnerships for NUVO and covered over half the event's costs. Hack the NU also provided networking opportunities for NUVO members and exposed the brand to over 100 new faces.

The event created a space where community involvement, collaboration, networking and brand promotion could take place all at once.​​​​​​​

EVENT STATS:
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REFLECTION

Looking Back…

 
 

This project enabled me to apply UX research methods and understand how it can be used to evaluate business models and aid companies in achieving their objectives more effectively. As an intern at the company, this project taught me how to effectively communicate with stakeholders, and approach challenges with a solution-oriented mindset.

Things I could improve on...

Reflecting back, I would’ve liked to spend more time defining our research and capturing users with more effective personas.