New America Survey Assure

ConsenSys was hired by New America and the State Department to develop an open-source survey visualizer, backed by blockchain-recorded data to increase trust and immutability for its participants and stakeholders.

The goal was for Harvard SHINE to use the MVP when surveying workers at factories for their clients. We worked with Harvard and Levi Strauss Foundation’s production across four factory locations for the pilot data and discovery insights.

Team & Roles

I worked as ConsenSys’ Product Design Lead for the project, which included coordination with external team members and stakeholders from New America and Harvard SHINE.

The Problem

Our first step in discovery was figuring out how surveys were being conducted by Harvard SHINE, and where problems existed for both users and the process.

Our Solution

At a high level, we needed to achieve success in two key areas
for the users and audience:

• By developing a system that protects the worker’s identity, while keeping the integrity of their data in a transparent, immutable fashion; with every answer auditable on Blockchain.

• By creating an application that streamlines the survey process, with results in near-real time, offering more timely improvements for all participants and workers.

Process

Discovery
We interviewed key stakeholders and evaluated their existing process for conducting surveys and processing results. Members of ConsenSys traveled to factory locations to observe and document the process and identify the users of the system from end to end.

Definition
In confirming the requirements, we spent time vetting the existing tools, competitive landscape and artifacts generated by the Harvard SHINE team for previous year’s reports and presentations. We worked to get a clear sense of the tools and methodology needed to improve the system without disruptions for the users, audience or facilitators.

Design
We began with research and documentation, which evolved into user journeys, mapping data flows and iterative wire-framing. All the materials generated were continually evaluated by Harvard SHINE and New America to ensure parity with the process.

Development
We followed a lean, agile process for the last 6 months of development in order to create our MVP and hit key milestones, like live pilot surveys and feature demonstrations. I worked to keep research and design at least 2 weeks ahead of engineering, which helped us stay on schedule and reduce friction when pivots were necessary.

Delivery

We gave our final demo presentation for the platform tool in early May, and successfully published a documented repository on the New America Github.

The code base for the MVP was released in accordance with the MIT open-source license, which allows for other companies to benefit and build on top of our foundation. Harvard SHINE Is planning to use the tool with other clients beyond Levi Strauss.

Some feedback received: