an open innovation platfom:
BlendXTwo design sprints to develop a platform for connecting the corporate world to tech companies, startups, and professionals.
innovated by Swallow Twice
BlendX is to be a web platform that facilitates innovation by connecting tech companies, startups, and professionals to corporations looking for fresh ideas.
Sprint one: Innovator research
One of the early concepts behind BlendX was for it to be a hub for hackathons and other innovation events. The goal of the first sprint was to research and identify the needs of the “innovators” (i.e. event attendees) that they saw as potential users.
We conducted interviews, immersed ourselves in innovation communities on social media, created maps and insights to inform a set of recommendations for how they might move forward with the platform in a way that would attract innovators.
Sprint two: UX
The second iteration of BlendX switched its focus and wanted their proprietary search function and ranking system to be the focus of the product. At this stage, they requested a preliminary a site map for their MVP and wireframes for the signup process.
We began the process with a UX audit, mapped persona flows, and worked with the client to help them narrow their focus and identify pain points within their infrastructure. In the end, we advised them to narrow their focus on one user group for the MVP instead of trying to tackle them all at once.
