UI/UX Design Strategy for Virkware, an HR Startup

Background

Praxent was hired by an HR development startup for support building an MVP. The team, focusing on UI/UX, worked off of client-supplied wireframes. They also conducted market research before the outset of the project.

Though their engagement has ended, internal stakeholders feel the development work executed by the team has laid the foundation for future success. Users are pleased with the final product, and customers can expect excellent project management and a collaborative, supportive team.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of Virkware, an HR startup. We offer a collaborative software solution.

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Opportunity / Challenge

What challenge were you trying to address with Praxent?

We needed support building our MVP, an HR platform that would allow employees to strengthen skills and improve engagement while at the same time allowing companies to make better use of available resources within their firms.

When we began building our product, we wanted a partner who could focus specifically on the UI/UX component of the platform. We were also looking for consultation on the viability of the software within the market.

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Solution

What was the scope of their involvement?

Praxent delivered two objectives for us. First, they helped us to define the key elements of our solution, including workflows and use cases. 

To achieve this goal, the team conducted competitive audits as well as a marketplace review, focusing on three of our specific competitors. Praxent also ran several collaborative workshops with our team.

Next, based on a rough wireframe we provided, the team built a prototype that represented some of the major capabilities we’d identified in the first stage of the project. After several collaborative discussions, we finalized a version of the solution refined by user feedback. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with four people regularly. Kelly (Senior Delivery Lead, Praxent) was the project and product manager as well as our main point of contact.

We also worked with Deanna (Director of Product Strategy & Design, Praxent), and two colleagues from the UI/UX and customer research area, Mark (UX Lead, Praxent) and Victor (Senior Product Designer, Praxent).

How did you come to work with Praxent?

Though we’re based in Singapore, we knew we were going to build our product with the United States in mind as one of our core markets. We knew we wanted a partner who could conduct market validation from the US on top of the UI/UX capabilities we required.

We did a lot of online research and ended up on Clutch and selected a list of companies, one of which was Praxent. Based on collective feedback from some of our experienced, trusted contacts, we decided to reach out to Praxent at the start. 

From the outset, the team was authentic and interested in shaping the engagement, so we decided to partner with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $80,000 on this engagement.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our work together took place from September 2018–May 2019.

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Results & Feedback

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

The work Praxent did to validate our idea gave us the confidence to stay the course and build our solution. Now we have a final product that we’re working to make commercially viable. 

Though our engagement with Praxent has ended, the initial work they did on the UI/UX components has laid the foundation for the capabilities our team has now. 

We’re very happy with the output Praxent developed. We’ve tested it with a number of potential clients, and it still holds true.

How did Praxent perform from a project management standpoint?

Kelly was an excellent, communicative project manager. Our timeframe was very strict, and he did a great job of balancing deadlines while allowing space for us to brainstorm. He had a strong sense of ownership of the project, keeping us on schedule and contributing to content, workflow, and design.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We valued Praxent’s input greatly. Throughout the engagement, we looked forward to the collaborative discussions that took place between our two teams. We work completely remote and they were able to employ really effective tools, which made it easy to work together. We never felt like we were losing out because of the distance.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We were very happy with the quality of their deliverables. The process flows, the prototype, and the design were all extremely high quality. However, the team could have improved the presentation of the competitive audit and user interview results. 

They were detailed, but the team could have provided a version for us to present easily to senior management, board members, or potential investors. Despite that, we’re very happy overall with the quality of work Praxent produced.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Know that the team is very responsive, flexible, and willing to change their approach according to your needs.