Supporting Tech To The Rescue’s processes through comprehensive product discovery

The challenge

Business Need

Tech To The Rescue (TTTR) is an international foundation dedicated to enabling access to technology for nonprofit organisations worldwide. Their mission is to connect nonprofits with technology partners, allowing both parties to join forces on developing technology-backed solutions to the world’s most pressing problems, e.g., climate change, animal welfare, or humanitarian crises. TTTR is committed to extending their support to as many organisations as possible and recognised the need to enhance their capacity for building partnerships at scale. As such, the organisation felt that it was time to design a better digital experience of scouting and choosing the right projects for tech companies willing to invest their resources into social impact initiatives.

In pursuit of that objective, TTTR turned to Objectivity, one of their founding partners, seeking to harness their technical and consultancy expertise. Objectivity’s task was a thorough evaluation of TTTR’s existing processes and tools as well as suggesting improvement actions. They would also spearhead the design of an advanced website that would serve as a platform for seamlessly connecting nonprofits with technology partners while reducing the workload of TTTR’s matching managers.

The solution

Project Details

The Objectivity team embarked on a comprehensive discovery process aimed at gaining a profound understanding of TTTR’s situation and the diverse expectations of the company’s stakeholders. The key component of the process was leveraging Objectivity’s expertise to conduct an in-depth exploration of TTTR’s operations and identify potential obstacles and areas that would benefit the most from dedicated actions.

Objectivity’s efforts were structured into two concurrent streams: general research and technology background analysis. In the research stream, a team consisting of a Business Analyst, Product Designer, UI Designer, and UX Specialist cooperated closely with TTTR. Their goal was to assemble a full picture of the company and the partnership matching processes, which involved a meticulous analysis of existing materials and data. More crucially, it entailed engaging with stakeholders through workshops and individual interviews to gain insights into their perspectives and pain points. Additionally, interviews were conducted with nonprofits that had partnered with TTTR to discover the perspectives and challenges faced by users of TTTR's services and website.

In parallel, Objectivity’s Technical Architect worked closely with TTTR’s technical experts to fully understand their technical landscape and propose a solution to meet their specific needs. The ultimate product was divided into two components: a general website accessible to all visitors and an enhanced user-dedicated site accessible post-login. The general website needed to furnish the essential information to the primary user personas: tech companies (providing insights into the partnership process), nonprofits (outlining benefits and registration procedures), and donors (offering information for companies interested in providing financial support). Moreover, the existing user-dedicated section would be further enhanced to provide additional functionalities, such as improvements regarding the type of data collected about projects seeking tech partners.

With a website structure proposal in hand, encompassing elements for both the general and post-login sections, Objectivity concurrently commenced the task of defining the technology stack. This stack would be instrumental in addressing both functional and non-functional requirements. The process was conducted in close consultation with TTTR to ensure that the selected technology aligns seamlessly with their specific needs. Subsequently, the team prepared low-fidelity mock-ups and designs for both website segments, considering possible use-case scenarios.

The results

Business Benefits

Following an in-depth analysis of TTTR's matching processes and technical requirements, Objectivity concluded the discovery phase by recommending essential adjustments for process and expectation alignment. The deliverables included website designs and a comprehensive backlog for development. The team supports the development activities by offering recommendations, specifying requirements, and suggesting themes for the selected content management system, namely WordPress.

Thanks to Objectivity's expertise, TTTR possesses the means to realise its vision for an enhanced website, complete with the desired look and feel. They also have a clear understanding of the functionalities that will streamline the matching process for both partnering organisations and themselves as well as an improved data collection process.

Furthermore, the discovery process shed light on the diverse perspectives held by TTTR's stakeholders, granting everyone the opportunity to express their views and engage in constructive dialogue. This empowered TTTR's teams to acknowledge their differences, understand their origins, and work toward alignment while forging a shared vision and action plans. The comprehensive analysis of processes and the impartial presentation of available technologies have equipped TTTR to make informed decisions, effectively addressing pain points and selecting a technology stack tailored to their specific needs.

As part of TTTR’s collaboration with Objectivity, the organisation was able to discover underlying challenges and develop definitions for key terms and services, which now allow them to communicate more effectively. Armed with this fresh insight, they are now poised to align their processes in full support of their overarching goal: facilitating even more successful partnerships between nonprofits and their ideal tech partners.