PWC
Strategy & experience design project: Exploring new ways of learning to boost employee competitiveness and meet customer expectations through enhanced digital learning experiences.
Course project, 2020
Information Technology Program, Aalto University School of Business
Collaboration partner: PricewaterhouseCoopers Finland
Tools used: Google Workspace, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Acrobat DC, Figma, Miro, Zoom, Microsoft Teams
Other team members: Ulrika Ura, Cheing Tan, Thanh Duong, Ameya Chikramane, Michael Hendershot
Keywords: Service design, Co-design / co-creation, User research, Workshop facilitation, Strategic design, Prototyping, Persona development
Summary of the Project:
In an ever-changing world, digital skills and know-how are at the core of delivering value to customers. Continuous recruitment of already-skilled people is not possible since digital tools develop, and new ones emerge rapidly. Therefore, it contributed to a continuous programme to ensure that PwC employees stay at the forefront of technological advancement that is accelerating change across societies around the globe.
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PwC Finland wished to explore new ways of learning to boost employee competitiveness and customer’s expectations. The mandate provided by PwC Finland to our team was to create a solution to, 1) emphasize the roles and identities of experts within the organisation, and 2) create a common process to schedule and log time.
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Using a design thinking approach, our team explored the various aspects of coaching, learning, and the motivation behind the employees’ attitudes and behaviours towards these topics. The research questions aimed at understanding:
1) how employees learn and teach new skills in the workplace
2) the various coaching relationships that arise out of this need within employee circles
3) the ways in which the coaching experience in workplaces could be improved to increase the efficiency of learning, coaching and motivation of employees.
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To address the research questions, our team conducted employee and expert interviews, a questionnaire, a literature review, a competitor analysis, and co-design workshops. We successfully pinpointed the key personas and the main problem definitions. Based on the research and interview findings, we ideated various prototype features for the Matchmaking Tool and created strategic guidelines to showcase the feasibility of each feature.
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Due to project confidentiality, no further materials can be publicly shared.
Team members’ comments on working with me:
Team Cocoon and Roles:
While each team member had a specific area of focus, we all contributed to every phase of the project and worked as service designers throughout the process. Our team was multidisciplinary and multinational, bringing together expertise from design, business, marketing, finance, and international business across five different countries.
Ulrika Ura (Uuki)
Head of Communication
Design, BA
Aalto University
“I sent all the messages and reports to our client and coordinator. I also contacted team White Velvet, the other team worked for PwC. In addition, I set the interview times and answered further questions via email.”
Cheing Tan (CC)
Monitor
Finance, MSc
Aalto University
“I analysed new proposed ideas and suggestions based on objective logic and contextual needs. I prefered to observe as an outsider and pose counter questions and perspectives.”
Thanh Duong (Katelyn)
Assurance
Marketing, BSc
Arcada University of Applied Sciences
“I actively contributed to forming ideas and carrying out tasks in the most efficient way.”
Ameya Chikramane (Amz)
Facilitator
New Media, MA
Aalto University
“I facilitated workshops and team exercises to ensure that the team was able to move ahead through research and ideation, given the constraints of time and remote working.”
Inka Mattila / Inkeri Mark
Scheduler & Graphic Designer
Design, BA
Aalto University
“I worked on our schedule, made sure that we met every deadline and had a clear understanding of what was the priority of the tasks. I was also in main charge when it came to graphic design.”
Michael Hendershot (Mike)
Researcher
International Business, MIB
University of South Carolina
“While we recognized that we all took part in conducting some level of research, it was my duty to carry out the more in-depth looks such as in our literature review and competitor analysis, and to ensure the validity of such information.”