The Why Awards
Project Overview
Role: User experience designer
Date: jan 2021
Team: 1 PO 1BA, 1XD, 1 Tech Lead, 1 QA, 3 Devs (Distributed)
The Why Awards provide employees with a platform to recognize their peers' efforts and share stories of appreciation. It celebrates those who embody Thoughtworks core values in their daily interactions with colleagues and clients.
The Problem
This was a small project conceived during the pandemic. At the time, people were forced to work remotely, which caused them to lose their sense of connection with each other, in addition to the negative impact on mental health. Thoughtworks also aimed to promote its core values to employees as a way to foster connection and resilience during this challenging period. The challenges were: Business Challenges:
- Promote Thoughtworks core values the exiting and new employees working remotely.
- Maintain people connected and resilient during the difficult time.
Key Results
Outcomes:
- The Why Awards won an internal contest and became a core application for employees to show appreciation for their colleagues and teams.
- Global adoption with strong employee engagement
Impact:
- Increased awareness of Thoughtworks' core values
- Positive feedback received from employees
The Process
This product was a proof of concept (POC) developed during a 3-day hackathon within our IT organization to address the challenge mentioned above.
Despite time constraints, we applied as many design methodologies as possible.
We started with a kickoff meeting to discuss the problem, establish the product vision, define objectives, and create a proto-persona empathy map.
This helped us empathize with users, as we didn’t have time for user interviews.
With the user in mind, we conducted a brainstorming session to generate ideas for the product, which provided valuable insights for its design.
From there, we created a concept, defined the user flow and journey, and developed a navigable prototype.
The prototype was validated with random users and the product owner (PO), leading to necessary adjustments.
Once validated, we created high-fidelity wireframes and handed them off to developers.
Before launch, we conducted an accessibility audit using Lighthouse and tested the app with a visually impaired user to ensure inclusivity.
My role
Product vision / User Journey / Sketching / Prototyping / Navigation flow / Interaction design / High-fidelity wireframes / Accessibility Test / Concept creation / Design Thinking / Brainstorming facilitation
Screens
