Ontologic
Ontologic is a fresh start up company that aims to disturb the research ecosystem by allowing people to get the most out of their science with a standardized data management and analysis platform.
My Role: Lead UX/UI Designer
Design Opportunities
Conducting research is time consuming and requires lots of knowledge about the subject at hand, but also, on how to set up testing equipment and features to get the job done. Designing an efficient way to input data and having easy access to yours or other researchers materials is challenge worth solving to optimize current and future tests.
Research Phase
User Interviews: Through Ontologic’s current user base and academic network, I was able to reach out and interview 8 participants of diverse backgrounds. I crafted questions that would target insights into their process, needs, wants and frustrations and was able to compile them into 4 topics:
⚙️
Customization
Participants voiced for a feature that allows them to send their data to an email in case they are away.
📤
Data Sharing
We found that 7 out of 8 participants wanted a way to share their findings with other researchers.
🩹
Pain Point
Half of the participants are not coders and rely on outside resources to find code that is relevant to their research or learn how to write code.
🙂
Usability
Users found the current prototype easy to navigate, but need different codes to run their research.
Persona: Using the information obtained from the interviews, I was able to synthesize it in the form of a persona which helps set a target and goal when formulating and creating a platform from ground up.
Design Phase
Sketches: I started sketching some potential ideas to present to stakeholders. Some early feedback and suggestions consisted of: organizing and managing files/folders more easily and allowing the ability to upload files in parameters.
Mid-Fidelity Wireframes: Let me show you some mid-fidelity wireframes that I was able to create after the initial sketches. I was also able to conduct usability testing to make changes to the platform.
Having the search bar on the dashboard was confusing and there was no way for users to return to the dashboard.
This page provided necessary settings, but users want a couple “Upload File” feature that allows preset data to be used.
Iterations and Hi-Fidelity Wireframes: After multiple usability testing, I was able to come into an agreement with the users and stakeholders.
Dashboard tab added onto the side panel so that users know how to return to the main page.
Settings input cleaned up and now allows users to upload personal files.
Users have the ability to organize and manage their files/folders while being able to preview.
Researchers are able to upload onto Ontologic's database, share amongst others, and download their results.
Next Steps
Develop designs for a coding platform within the current platform so that researchers are able to write and implement their own code for their scientific purposes.
Conduct interviews and research with users who are able to write up their own code to create specific analysis scripts for others to use.
Learnings
Early stage preparations with users and stakeholders allowed for better communication and insight on developing the data analysis platform.
By working in a cross-collaborative environment and maintaining strong levels of communication, it allowed for an easy handoff and transition into other projects.