Jam is a digital business card app. Scan a QR code, share your contacts. The team came to us with one question: should we add analytics, and what kind would actually matter to users? Our job was to find that out through real people, not assumptions.
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interviews conducted
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Properties managed
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usability tests
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Avg. investment growth
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analytics feature designed
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analytics feature designed
[ Real Problem ]
People collect contacts at events. Then have no idea what happens next.
Through research, we found the real problem wasn't "no analytics". It was that networking feels like shouting into a void. The team was ready to design a metrics screen. I pushed to stop and reframe the question first: people didn't want numbers, they wanted a reason to come back.
No signal after the scan
"I shared my card with 20 people. Did anyone actually look at it?"
LinkedIn isn't enough
"I scan, share, close the app. Until the next event."
No reason to return
"I shared my card with 20 people. Did anyone actually look at it?"
No signal after the scan
"I shared my card with 20 people. Did anyone actually look at it?"
LinkedIn isn't enough
"I scan, share, close the app. Until the next event."
No reason to return
"I shared my card with 20 people. Did anyone actually look at it?"
[ Research ]
We talked to 10+ professionals. The picture got clearer fast.
[ 10+ INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS ]
[ 1 FOCUS GROUP ]
[ COMPETITOR AUDIT ]
[ HEURISTIC EVALUATION ]
01
Users wanted analytics, but only if it captured interactions beyond the app itself, not just within it.
02
Privacy was non-negotiable. Granular control over visibility came up in 7 of 10 interviews unprompted.
03
Without a reason to return between events, Jam would stay a one-time tool, not a networking habit.
[ Target Audience ]
Based on research, we created a persona that grounded every design decision.
Mark Baker
Recent IT grad Networking out of necessity
Goals
Land first IT job
Build meaningful connections
Improve networking confidence
Behaviors
Attends career fairs
Active in online communities
Reaches out for mentorship
Pain points
No visibility into who's interested
Doesn't know when or how to follow up
Feels limited without analytics
Point of view
Mark needs to see which connections actually engage, so he can spend his networking energy where it matters most.
Mark Baker
Recent IT grad Networking out of necessity
Goals
Land first IT job
Build meaningful connections
Improve networking confidence
Behaviors
Attends career fairs
Active in online communities
Reaches out for mentorship
Pain points
No visibility into who's interested
Doesn't know when or how to follow up
Feels limited without analytics
Point of view
Mark needs to see which connections actually engage, so he can spend his networking energy where it matters most.
[ Challenge ]
Both PMs had different ideas of what analytics should even mean. We ran an ideation workshop to get to one shared definition, then narrowed the focus to three questions worth designing for:
How might we make analytics feel actionable, not just informational?
How might we make analytics feel actionable, not just informational?
How might we give users a reason to return between events?
How might we give users a reason to return between events?
How might we surface insights without compromising privacy?
How might we surface insights without compromising privacy?
[ Solution ]
One feature, three parts, each designed around a specific insight from research.
Analytics dashboard
A weekly digest showing which links got clicked, which platforms converted, and which industries your card reached. Designed to skim, not study.
Smart follow-up reminders
Context-aware nudges that connect events, contacts, and timing. Not "open the app." More like: "Remember Alex from last Thursday?"
Connection profiles
Each contact becomes a living card with event history, talking points, and follow-up notes. Networking memory, externalized.
[ Usability Testing ]
8 tests on the hi-fi prototype. Feedback was direct and immediately useful. In hindsight, we tested with people who already network comfortably. The users who need Jam most are the ones who find networking hard, and we never talked to them.
Added text labels to bottom nav, reducing confusion in 5 of 8 tests
Added dividers and color, clarity rating improved from 2 to 4.5
Restructured around event context first, contact details second
Added text labels to bottom nav, reducing confusion in 5 of 8 tests
Added dividers and color, clarity rating improved from 2 to 4.5
Restructured around event context first, contact details second
[ Reflections ]
"The brief is rarely the real problem."
My role
Getting one shared definition of analytics from two PMs with different ideas took as much work as the screens did. That's the part that doesn't show up in a portfolio, but it's most of what senior really means.
Reflection
My call. The team was ready to design a metrics screen. I pushed to stop and reframe the question: people did not want numbers, they wanted a reason to come back.
What's next
Validate the analytics hypothesis with shipped data
Run a second round on notification fatigue thresholds
Explore how onboarding can prime users for the analytics habit from day one
