Mentorlst
Web App
PROJECT OVERVIEW
SpaceYaTech is a platform designed to help African tech enthusiasts easily enter the tech industry regardless of their specific area of interest or gender. SpaceYaTech achieves this through Mentorlst, a mentorship platform that connects mentors and mentees sharing cultural and professional similarities, providing Afro-centered mentorship.
Exploring the problem
The approach
Our team of designers were split into three teams: Berlin, Helsinki and Rio - I was the lead for team Rio. However, with the growing needs of the team as well as the restructuring of the project, from just being an open source project for the books to a startup community as a service that will offer for starters a personalized mentorship program, the architecture of the teams evolved and we ended up merging later on towards the end of the discovery phase to combine our research and findings.
We followed an iterative design process including research, ideation, wireframing, prototyping, and user testing
User Research: Conducted in-depth interviews, surveys, and usability testing with both aspiring mentees and potential mentors.
Ideation: Held brainstorming sessions to generate ideas for features, matching algorithms, and user flows that cater to the specific needs of the African tech community.
Prototyping: Developed low-fidelity and high-fidelity prototypes for iterative testing and user feedback.
Survey
Our team conducted a comprehensive survey using Google Forms, which we distributed via the SpaceYaTech Twitter handle to reach tech enthusiasts across Africa.
Survey Objectives
Identify the types of content that African techies find most valuable.
Assess the level of expertise among African techies.
Understand how African techies source information to advance their careers.
Survey Details
Participants: 99 respondents from Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Botswana, and other African countries.
Findings: The survey revealed five common pain points, guiding us to the next phase of our project
Interviews
To gain deeper insights into our users' pain points, we invited volunteers for interviews through our survey. The goal was to build detailed personas to guide our design process, with a particular focus on mentorship—the most popular content choice from the survey. We created 32 open-ended questions for these interviews. Conducted virtually via Google Meet, we recorded the results through voice recordings and detailed note-taking.
The interviews confirmed that mentorship is a crucial need for most African techies. Our affinity maps revealed that participants desired:
Individualized mentorship tailored to their unique experiences as Africans.
Ongoing mentor-mentee engagement that doesn't depend solely on mentees to initiate contact.
Mentors who not only provide advice but also present challenges and offer practical guidance through real-world problems.
Competitive Analysis
The goal of the competitive analysis was to assess the current platforms in the tech market that offer mentorship and identify their strengths and weaknesses. We were also trying to understand where the gap exists in the market, with a keen focus on African techies. The main questions for the competitor analysis include the following:
Unique value proposition (What gives this company unique value?)
Company advantages (What are the things that provide a leg up?)
Company disadvantages( Where might drawbacks exist?)
Unique UX features (Tone, voice, load time, UI, responsiveness?)
Accessibility & inclusivity( how do they achieve this on their platform, where are they failing)
Target audience
Impact (what success looks like for them)
Other factors the team discussed include:
What do all the competitors have in common?
Opportunities we can explore and what we've learned from the analysis.
SWOT Analysis
To better understand our capabilities and challenges in implementing the solution, we conducted a SWOT analysis at SpaceYaTech to assess our manpower and identify potential obstacles
User Personas
Based on these insights, we developed two primary personas: a mentor and a mentee.
These personas guided our design and development process, ensuring that the platform meets the specific needs and expectations of both mentors and mentees
Design Process
User Flows
This comprehensive data, along with affinity mapping from the interviews, informed the development of user personas that would guide the design process. We created user flows to outline the journey from signing up to finding and interacting with a mentor.
Design Iterations
Version 1
Built on an initial design system with a specific color scheme and style.
Served as the foundational prototype
Version 2
Developed using a new design style guide, incorporating a revised color palette and updated design principles.
Reflected changes based on user feedback, usability testing, and further refinement of the platform's features and interface.
Mentorlst remains in active development, constantly enhancing its features. The web application is operational, boasting a user base of more than 1000. The team is currently focusing on future product advancements, including exploring monetization strategies.
Visit mentorlst.com to learn more
Key Takeaways
Working with a startup
Working with a SpaceYaTech taught me the importance of being flexible and adaptable to changing priorities and resources.
Embracing an agile approach allowed us to iterate quickly and respond to feedback efficiently, accelerating the development process
Collaborating with a Big Team
Collaborating with a large team emphasized the importance of clear and effective communication to ensure everyone is aligned on project goals and timelines.
Coordinating tasks and responsibilities among team members required strong organization and project management skills to maintain productivity and momentum.
Evolution of a product
Witnessing the evolution of the Mentorlst platform demonstrated the value of iterative design and continuous improvement in response to user feedback and changing requirements.
The journey from Version 1 to Version 2 underscored the importance of adaptability and willingness to pivot strategies based on insights gained throughout the design process