MY TAKEAWAYS

Pivoting

During the initial ideation phase, we explored potential audiences such as sober roommate matching, digital nomads, and the trade sector. However, we quickly realized that we struggled to identify a clear, tangible user base, which made it difficult to define the product’s direction. After reassessing our options and considering the project’s timeline, we pivoted to the healthcare sector, specifically targeting immigrant nurses. This pivot not only aligned better with the project’s scope but also addressed a critical issue in the healthcare system—nurse shortages and the integration of immigrant professionals.

A User-Centered, Accessible, MVP-First Approach

When designing Onward, we focused on developing core features that were impactful and feasible within the project’s timeframe. The dashboard plays a central role in ensuring users could easily access the app’s essential features, and was its design was iterated upon several times.

Understanding that immigrant nurses often face language barriers and the challenges of adapting to a new healthcare system, we prioritized creating an intuitive interface. The design incorporated inclusive colours that paid homage to healthcare and clear, accessible language to ensure ease of use.

Main Challenges

The scope of the project required us to develop a product within a 3-4 month timeframe, necessitating a focus on a problem that was both impactful and feasible to execute with AI integration.

A major design challenge was differentiating between the Mock and Practice Interviews, both accessible from the dashboard. We made these features distinct by presenting them prominently on the opening screen and respective pages. Through multiple iterations, we refined the visual cues (such as written explanations and minimized distractions on the mock interview pages) to clearly communicate the difference.

Impact

Onward has proven to be more than just a solution for immigrant nurses; it’s a tool with significant scalability potential. After presenting in front of business and tech professionals, and angel investors, we received feedback that the app’s core features—resume and job posting uploads—could be adapted to other sectors, increasing its reach and impact to serve a wider range of industries facing talent shortages and integration challenges.

Onward was showcased at the D3 & FSWD 2024 Annual Student Innovation Design & Technology Showcase at the British Columbia Institute of Technology on Dec. 6th, 2024.

Product can be viewed at onward-prep.ca