Finding the right people to support innovation can be tricky. The Technology Strategy Board running the UK’s largest social network for innovation specialists approached me with the challenge of improving user discovery and increasing connections between members.
_connectMe is a highly adaptable network visualisation and discovery tool that encourages users to find and connect with other people who share similar interests. It relies on machine learning models to discover which individuals, companies and documents are most relevant to the user. As principle product designer and development manager, I designed and managed the development and delivery of _connectMe.
_connectMe is an engaging playful tool utilizing the power of gaming mechanisms, leveraging motivations between the social network and its users. It provided actionable statistics, acting as a more informative and interactive way to navigate through the _connect network.
Users benefit from a dynamic visual representation of recommendations from the system based on their proximity of interests and activities of the other users.
The solution delivered over 600% increase in user connections, compared with the original platform design. It also increased new content discovery by over 270% per user.
I particularly enjoyed creating an intuitive multi-platform app with a delightful interface that delivered new insights through the web, mobile and tablets and connected thousands of people together.
_connectMe app and platform have been folded into the UK Research and Innovation Network.