UX RESEARCH // CLIENT WORK

Understanding the Audience

C L I E N T

CO Gives Foundation

ROLE

Lead UX Researcher

T O O L S

Figma // Zoom // Trello // Qualtrics // Google Slides

The Colorado Gives Foundation, a leading community foundation in Colorado, sought to understand what Colorado employers need in order to grow their workplace giving and corporate philanthropy programs. The Foundation is using the research to inform the development of new and existing products & services.

I served as the lead researcher on the project. In close collaboration with my colleague, I conducted market research, developed the questions for in-depth interviews; wrote the moderator guide, co-conducted interviews; created and managed the quantitative survey, synthesized and analyzed results; created user personas; presented research results and proposed new business solutions.

The Problem

The Foundation has had remarkable success in its solicitation of individual donations; yet they saw room for growth in their engagement with corporations and workplaces. They suspected they could increase their impact across the state if they could identify what employers truly need in order to launch and grow corporate philanthropy and workplace giving programs.

The Process

Empathize

I conducted preliminary desk research and, with my colleague, held initial meetings with stakeholders to gather as much information as possible about the Foundation and the broader corporate philanthropy landscape in order to identify what’s already known, what’s suspected, and what’s doubted. From there, we derived the primary questions we hoped the research would answer.

Client Alignment & Kick-off Research

My colleague and I conducted 15 qualitative interviews with Colorado-based employers who have shown an interest in workplace philanthropy. I co-facilitated the interviews and was responsible for drafting the interview questions, creating the moderator’s guide, and taking and organizing notes.

In-depth Interviews

I synthesized and analyzed the interview notes, and using Thematic Analysis, I grouped related quotes, ideas, needs, motivations, and behaviors to identify the salient themes. I assessed the frequency of their emergence and their relevance to the Foundation’s goals in order to prioritize their importance.

Thematic Analysis

person in front of a laptop conducting remote interview

Define & Ideate

Informed by the results of the in-depth interviews, I developed a quantitative survey to validate the information more broadly. I was responsible for creating the survey questions, answer options and logic; incorporating stakeholder feedback; building the survey on the Qualtrics platform; selecting and managing the purchase of the research panel; ensuring data quality for our team; and synthesizing and co-analyzing the results.

Validation through Quantitative Survey

I distilled the qualitative and quantitative findings into attributes relevant to the Foundation’s aims. I created four unique personas to address the four kinds of key decision-makers in workplace philanthropy. I wrote the copy and used Figma to design the presentation of those personas into relatable and memorable characters that would guide the creation of the business solutions.

Synthesis of Research into Personas

Prototype & Test

Informed by the results of the in-depth interviews, we developed a quantitative survey to validate the information more broadly. I was responsible for creating the survey questions, answer options and logic; incorporating stakeholder feedback; building the survey on the Qualtrics platform; selecting and managing the purchase of the research panel; ensuring data quality for our team; and synthesizing and co-analyzing the results.

Validation through Quantitative Survey

I distilled the qualitative and quantitative findings into attributes relevant to the Foundation’s aims. I created four unique personas to address the four kinds of key decision-makers in workplace philanthropy. I wrote the copy and used Figma to design the presentation of those personas into relatable and memorable characters that would guide the creation of the business solutions.

Synthesis of Research into Personas

laptop screen of a remote meeting with a houseplant in the foreground

Advice for My Future Self

  • When in-depth interviews diverge significantly from one another, the analysis requires more interpretation and researcher-assumptions. To enable greater accuracy and efficacy, have a great mod guide and adhere closely to it. Be sure to articulate the priorities so moderators are sure to collect the most important information in every interview.

  • A survey’s completion rate is inversely proportional to the amount of time it takes a respondent to complete the survey. Ensure all of your questions are necessary; avoid curiosities and ask questions that will yield actionable insights and validations. If you can’t identify how the response will advance the research’s actionable objectives, consider cutting it out.

  • Open-ended survey questions risk generating a lot of unusable or unrelated responses. If you can identify a way to obtain the information in a closed-question format, you may have an easier time making use of that information.

  • At every step, affirm and reaffirm stakeholder alignment. Check assumptions, articulate expectations, and seek input on deliverables to ensure things stay on track and all are headed in the same direction