They recently set out to turn their service offering into a SaaS product but wanted to move faster. They embarked on a product audit with us to understand how things could be improved.
The audit included interviews with key stakeholders, such as leadership, content, and product teams, to understand the current product operation.
We identified issues with how the product team was set up and the design processes & systems in place, which meant that progress was slower than hoped and the product design was looking different to the original vision.
The outcome of the audit included a breakdown of the key obstacles at play, followed by strategic & tactical recommendations for getting the product back on course, plus actionable next steps. These included priority improvements to the user experience, user interface, and design processes, as well as recommendations for hiring.
Our venture design sprints always begin with stakeholder discovery. In this case, we met with film directors, financiers, and producers to identify their pain points, and then the founders to understand their product journey so far.
Using affinity mapping, we processed the discovery work and identified common themes. We explored the future of Web3 for short films, unpacking ideation and developing foundational concepts for the project. We also considered design elements, design parameters, and How Might We statements in their design considerations.
Using the How Might We statements as a foundation, our team developed venture requirements, evaluated potential technical partners for the build and decided on technical infrastructure: which blockchain to use. We ultimately selected Solana as the blockchain platform due to its robust architecture and relatively favorable environmental impact.
Finally, we also created a go-to-market strategy for NFTs and developed a tokenomics model that included supply, breakdown, and utility.
We finished off the project with product roadmapping and high-level strategy so the founders had a clear path to move forward with.
To begin the project, we started by defining and refining the objectives and then identifying target age groups and user personas. We honed in on a core design challenge and conducted foundational research to inform our scoping and ideation efforts.
Rather than developing a single product, we centered around the concept of a gaming platform upon which the client could launch different games to address the unique needs of different learners. This would be the fulcrum of their R&D efforts, giving them a platform to not only deploy and test new learning experiences, but directly retrieve data on the efficacy of those experiences to then add to the broader pedagogical literature.
We worked on designing the learning experiences on the platform, and led user testing and usability testing for both the platform and the games.
We then provided strategic guidance, including identifying potential partners such as schools and tutoring organizations, and developed a scalable software architecture for the platform.
In marketing and comms, we worked on branding and identity, including brand strategy, mission, vision, and values. In addition, we composed a go-to-market strategy.
To support the completion of the product, Modern Mantra provided human resources and technical team building support. We worked with the client to vet and hire a Head of Product, a Head of Engineering, and two development studios with expertise in gaming and education to bring the product to life.
As part of the audit, we made a number of user experience recommendations to bring it more closely in line with the root intention of the product.
With a leadership team that self-identifies as spiritual, we had a shared appreciation with the client of the power of breath.
We therefore sought to integrate breathwork and mindfulness into the product experience. This would help cultivate a state of presence in users when engaging with the product, and also potentially have positive effects on their wider being.
The main area this played out was in employee satisfaction surveys, where we introduced the concept of meditational practice before each question to help the user tap into a place of truth when answering.
Ultimately, the audit helped the client gain clarity on what was going wrong with their product development and how they could do things differently going forward. They recalibrated their team and design direction, continued with in-house development, and are now closing in on their beta launch.
