Kontrack
Supercharge your team with kontrack and never miss an hour
Product Experience
Problem Space
Problem Statement
How might we reduce the operational overload and maintain a motivated and satisfied workforce for Small businesses?
Problem Background
The problem being addressed is the challenge of reducing the operational overload and maintaining a motivated and satisfied workforce, which can have a significant impact on a small business success.
Who are our customers:
Segment 1 - Small Business owners or contractors managing team in these industries – Healthcare, food and hospitality, general labour and professional services.
Segment 2 - Full time Employees, part time employees and Contract Employees
Need or Problem: The need from employers is to enhance employee engagement and reduce turnover rates, which are common challenges among small businesses. Rising numbers of disengaged employees can lead to decreased productivity, increased turnover costs, and decreased overall morale in the workplace. For employees, the need is entirely different, they want a reduced operational workload, a flexible system with a great user experience.
Research Insights
User Pain Points
“Using Quora and Facebook groups, we identified a few different categories of prospective users and did over 10 user interviews…”
We surveyed 12 current and previous employees from targeted industries and they shared their unique experiences with handling HR related task for work. Had a short conversation with an employer who shared his challenges as well
Supporting Data
“85% of people we spoke to mentioned they were unhappy with the current solution ..”
54% 0f the users reported that their current HR system does not meet their work needs and that this system needs to be improved.
Feedback
“Our preliminary user research to validate this problem with undergraduate students in Nigeria found that ..”
Our research findings highlight a crucial insight: there's a recognition of the existing HR solution, but a clear need for enhancements. The demand for a more user-friendly application that effectively meets both employee and employer needs is a powerful signal.Addressing this need presents an exciting opportunity for innovation, collaboration, and positive change. By focusing on creating a solution that prioritizes user experience and aligns with the diverse requirements of employees and employers, Kontrack can propel the HR processes to a new level of efficiency and satisfaction.
Landing on the Solution
Features
1: Employee Schedule Management
2: Shift Swap Requests
3: Communication
Future Steps
“This is what we learned from speaking to customers ..”
“Possible additional problems to address”
Get Started Page
This page shows the two users of the platform for our MVP, the employers and Employees. Our research helped us understand the journey for the employees and how to help employers retain their workers.
Schedule Management
Employees can view their work schedules and receive notifications about any schedule changes.
Managers can create, publish, and manage schedules efficiently.
Shift swap
Employees can request shift swaps, and managers can approve or deny these requests. The system tracks and notifies users of shift swap status changes.
Communication
Employees can send direct messages to colleagues and managers. The communication platform is secure and user-friendly.
Web App Home page
Learnings
Product Manager Learnings:
Henry Elui
Co.lab has evidently played a pivotal role in shaping this journey by emphasising the importance of a clear problem statement. The significance is seen in my value proposition of focusing on employee experience to address the challenges faced by small businesses. It's impressive to see how my vision for Kontrack has been strengthened through this research, reinforcing the importance of creating a solution that not only streamlines HR processes but also enhances the overall work experience for employees.
The mentorship has played a huge part in deepening my understanding of Product management and how to narrow down to the main pain point of users and create relevance for the product.
Designer Learnings:
Designer Learnings:
Jo Sturdivant
- Adapting to an Established Team: Joining the team in week 6 of 8 was challenging, as I had to quickly adapt to existing workflows, dynamics, and goals. This mirrors real-world situations where you often integrate into teams mid-project, and flexibility is essential.
- Work-Blocking for Efficiency: With only two weeks to complete the project, I learned the importance of a structured work-blocking system. This approach allowed me to manage my time effectively and meet deadlines under pressure.
- Making Data-Driven Design Decisions: Unlike my past projects, I had to rely on research conducted by others. This was a valuable experience in using pre-existing data to guide design decisions, helping me focus on the core insights without starting from scratch.
Developer Learnings:
Developer Learnings:
Vanady Beard
&
As the back-end developer, I learned how important it is to create efficient and reliable systems that support the entire application. This experience also taught me the importance of optimising the database and ensuring the backend is scalable and easy to maintain.
Developer Learnings:
Stephen Asiedu
&
As a back-end developer, I've come to understand the importance of being familiar with various database systems and modules. This knowledge enables me to build diverse applications and maintain versatility in my work. I've also learned that the responsibility for making the right choices rests on my shoulders, guided by my best judgement.
Developer Learnings:
&
Developer Learnings:
Maurquise Williams
&
- Process of Creating an MVP: Developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) taught me how to focus on delivering core functionalities balancing between essential features and avoiding scope creep.
- Collaboration in a Real-World Tech Setting: This experience taught me how to collaborate efficiently in a fast-paced tech environment, keeping the team aligned and productive, even while working remotely across time zones.
- Sharpening Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills: This experience honed my ability to think critically and solve problems efficiently. By tackling challenges and finding quick solutions, I sharpened my decision-making and troubleshooting skills in a dynamic, real-world setting.
Developer Learnings:
Jeremiah Williams
&
All in all this experience was very awesome I learned that in coding with others being transparent is key
Developers Learnings:
Justin Farley
&
I learned how important communication is when working with a team. Communication provides understanding, advice, ideas, and much more. While working with the product team, I’ve found that communication keeps everything flowing smoothly. Working with a team also showed me that every member brings something different to the table and we all have to work together in order to align and meet our end goal.