Understanding the needs, behaviors, experiences and goals of the next billion job seekers in India

Client: Vahan
Timeline: 6 weeks
Sample Size: 12
Location: Bangalore

Vahan’s product is a one-of-its kind jobs platform targeted at the next billion job seekers in India.

With millions of Indian job seekers already using the platform, and several tech startups among its clientele, the projected growth and potential for the Vahan product is significant. On the flip side, the marketplace Vahan focuses on is also characterized by a high attrition rate.

Vahan aspired to finetune and strengthen their offering through goal directed design – Fueled by a stronger and deeper understanding of the next billion job seekers.

Over March and April 2020, Anagram Research conducted a research study aimed at gaining a deeper understanding about the context, background and capabilities of different types of targeted job seekers.
Research also aimed to understand job seeker experiences – Including practices, processes, ecosystems, attitudes and behaviors.

This in-context research study for Vahan was completed in about 6 weeks, using a systematic process:

• Participant Recruitment: Job seekers participating in the study were recruited and scheduled in advance by professional recruiters.
  Recruitment was done on the basis of a screener designed by Anagram Research, with inputs from the Vahan team.
  
  
• Home Visits (In-Context research): Detailed 90 minute semi-structured interactions were conducted with each participant.
  Interviews were structured into broad themes rather than being tightly scripted, and included interviewing, observation and quick research activities. Doing this helped to keep the discussions relevant, break the monotony of discussion and elicit in-depth responses on core topics of interest.
  
  





• Data collection: During fieldwork, we captured raw data in the form of field notes, audio transcripts, video recordings and photographs.
  
  
• Synthesis: Two levels of synthesis were completed.
  Quick synthesis – To capture immediate inferences and key observations;
  Detailed synthesis post fieldwork – Data coding and persona scales were used to cluster people with similar attributes to derive ‘design personas’.
  
  

The outcome of the research was a set of job seeker Personas and insights into the barriers and motivations around using online channels for job seeking.

When used actively and consistently, design personas are distinct from marketing personas and can be a very effective and inspirational tool to guide design.
Therefore, our deliverable included a nifty set of Brainstorming Cards to help the Vahan product and design teams imagine future scenarios for their product.
These cards were based on actual and specific user needs and desires.

To help the Vahan team derive maximum benefit from the persona research, our research report also included guidelines on how to use / not use the personas and the brainstorming cards.

Anagram Research has conducted evaluation research studies for several Indian and global tech companies. Our research has helped our clients improve their product user experience and usability or helped them ensure that their products and services reflect user expectations and mental models.

Selected examples of evaluation research projects that we have been involved in, have been featured here:

• A leading Indian mass media company partnered with Anagram Research in 2017 to conduct a foundational research study.
  
  Insights from this study were one of the key inputs towards informing a ‘Mobile First’ strategy for the different news brands owned by this company.
  This research also helped to shape the redesign of the umbrella brand’s business newspaper for digital media.
  
  In 2018, Anagram Research engaged for the second time to test a high-fidelity prototype of the business newspaper.
  The objective of this research was to identify all concept, experience and usability issues prior to going live.
  
  Like many of our evaluation research studies, this study was conducted at professional research facilities.
  A one-way mirror, video and audio setup enabled our client to comfortably observe participants as well as view usage of the mobile prototype being evaluated.
  Encouraging the extended team to observe the research helped evangelize user centered design within the organization.
  
  Anagram Research used techniques like free exploration, talk-out-loud and scenario-based tasks to gain in-depth and accurate user feedback.
  
  

  

  

  This user centered and iterative approach to design helped to ensure that the redesigned digital newspaper reflected key user needs and expectations, as well as afforded a usable and easy-to-use news reading experience.
  
  The redesign launched in 2019 as a mobile app, unseated its long-time competitor and recorded 33 million visits by the end of 2019.
  
  
• While a professional research facility is a suitable and convenient environment for some evaluation research studies, being in the product’s context-of-use is important in others.
  
  Peel Technologies is the startup behind the Peel app – Which turns a smart phone or tablet into a smart TV remote.
  
  The product team at Peel wanted to gain a better understanding about how users in India consume digital content.
  In addition, they wanted to evaluate the user experience on the Peel app and get user feedback on some new concept prototypes.
  
  To meet these objectives, Anagram Research conducted seventeen, 120-minute in-context interactions with users in Delhi, Hyderabad and Mysore.
  
  

  

  

  Like Peel, many of our clients derive greater value from a hybrid research approach – Where in addition to evaluation research which is largely improvement oriented, the time spent with users is also utilized for broader generative research which can lead to innovation.
  
  In this instance, conducting the research in-context was also invaluable – resulting in several strategic insights that would not have surfaced if the study had been conducted at a research facility.
  
  

Evaluation research is a key component of the iterative design process.

Over the years, Anagram Research has facilitated research across all stages of product development – From concept and prototype testing to the evaluation of live apps and websites.
In addition to in-context and lab settings, Anagram Research has experience conducting evaluation research with remote participants.

A potent method within the research toolkit, secondary research can provide valuable and inspiring research-based insight.

An undervalued method that is often omitted from research roadmaps, over the years Anagram Research has engaged in secondary research in multiple different ways:

• Stand-alone projects
  
  We have inspired our clients and identified areas for improvement and innovation through trends analysis, competitor research or benchmarking.
  
  The secondary research projects we undertake are customized to align with specific objectives, budgets and timelines. Our engagements have included quick projects that could be accomplished in a week, as well as complex initiatives requiring a dedicated commitment of a month or more.
  
  Our expertise and approach to secondary research has evolved over the years – We have learnt to anticipate and navigate challenges, conduct research systematically and efficiently, and adapt or construct frameworks to make our findings relevant and easily digestible.
  
  • A framework that we recently used, was inspired by Raymond William’s ‘Marxist Theory of Culture.’
    Although originally used in the field of cultural studies, the ideologies referenced in his work (‘Dominant’, ‘Residual’ and ‘Emergent’), beautifully translated into a timescale for a Trends Map we were working on.

• Secondary Research to gain perspective
  
  While we work across industries, some of the projects that come to us are very domain specific. Gaining a deeper understanding about the domain or topic of research during primary research planning helps sharpen and contextualize our approach.
  
  We gain perspective and immerse ourselves in these projects by conducting stakeholder interviews or by referencing relevant information, expert opinions and diverse perspectives in the form of reports, articles, blogs or previously conducted research.
  
  
• Mixed Method Approach
  
  At Anagram Research, we often use secondary research to substantiate and complement our primary research insights.
  
  
  • In a project exploring different forms of online abuse, we interacted with 30 users across India, to understand their experiences as witnesses or victims of online abuse. Primary research comprising a week-long diary study, followed by in-depth interviews resulted in rich data.
    
    During analysis, secondary research helped us to contextualize some of our findings and enhance credibility of our primary research insights.
    For example, the ‘Bad Girl’ poster created by design students of Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology is a parody of Indian school posters from the 80’s and 90’s. It depicts tongue-in-cheek examples of things men might get away with, but women would be judged for.
    
    We referenced the poster in our insights report, to illustrate the extent of patriarchal attitudes and mindsets towards women in India. Minus this example, some of our primary research findings might have been harder to relate to for a foreign audience unfamiliar with India’s socio-cultural context.
  
  
  • Secondary research on the same project highlighted forms of digital abuse like ‘Hindutva Pop’ and ‘MTV Troll Police’.
    We had not heard about these formats during user interactions, and these findings supplemented our primary research insights or tied in to themes that had emerged during primary research.
    
    For example, we had learnt through primary research that inherent negative emotions stemming from the stress of dealing with life and its challenges, is one of the catalyst’s to online abuse. The reality show ‘MTV Troll Police’ corroborated this insight – Interviews with trolls featured on the show highlighted that trolling is linked to frustration, boredom and the need for attention.
  
  
• Analogous Inspiration
  
  We use secondary research in the form of ‘analogous inspiration’ to encourage and inspire clients to look at problems and pain points through fresh eyes.
  
  







• In a project for a multinational electronics and home appliances manufacturer, we created ‘Brainstorming Cards’ to highlight our primary research insights in a more tangible format.
  
  Problems and needs identified through primary research were placed on the front of printable cards. ‘How might we’ questions were placed at the bottom of each card to prompt the design team to think about each problem as an opportunity for design.
  The cards could also be flipped for more inspiration – The back of each card contained related pictures and snippets from fieldwork, or analogous or existing solutions in the market that were identified through secondary research.