MY WORK SETTINGS
ETHNOGRAPHIC
Occasionally I live within a specific group of people and collect data about their lives and cultural attitudes.
CONTEXTUAL
At the user’s context and location, I learn the unexpected by observing people in their environment.
CONTROLLED
I work in controlled settings when I need to make the absolute most of the precious time I have with the user.
REMOTE
I perform moderated and unmoderated remote sessions to reach broader audiences.
PORTFOLIO
USER RESEARCH (UNDERSTAND USERS)
Research for decision-making
OutSystems is a global enterprise software company. It provides a low-code platform for building enterprise solutions. Here, almost every day there is a different challenge to solve, new teams to support and exciting things to learn! The fast-paced environment allows me to work on the field, and at tactical and strategic levels.
As a Senior User (Experience) Researcher at OutSystems, I play an essential role in supporting decision-making processes.
Besides doing what a UX Researcher does in a tech company, I'm applying Systems Thinking and introducing participatory research methods in an agile fast-paced environment.
UX (UNDERSTAND USERS’ EXPERIENCE)
Agricultural knowledge base
The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture aimed at improving agricultural practices in up to 36 million hectares of land.
However, smallholder farmers couldn’t get reliable information to farm properly because field technicians struggled to provide appropriate guidance to them. Also, large-scale farmers and agro-dealers struggled to make informed choices, and other stakeholders faced difficulties in tracking and promoting project accomplishments.
So, we created a user-friendly knowledge base and, afterwards, we created a mobile app for novice users.
HUMAN-CENTERED / PARTICIPATORY
Field & photo diaries
Across the world, efforts by entities aimed at helping people often fail due to the lack of "on the ground knowledge" about the communities in which they operate.
So, we have been implementing field & photo diaries in multiple communities to give expression to what is important to people in their everyday life.
E.g.: the Agro-Forestry Villages Program (TechnoServe) was generating a substantial amount of new employment in rural areas. Consequently, communities experienced small and big changes that were positive and negative. We spotted those changes and performed program course corrections.
USER-CENTERED / BEHAVIORAL / SERVICE
Service design for a franchise
MMMills only provided services of maize milling and hulling in alternative to the long and painful process of manual pounding. It was facing strong competition from well-known home-based mills and needed to gain competitive advantages.
We optimized the service by creating an enthusiastic environment that encourages staff and clients’ creativity, and by providing appealing in-store experiences at an affordable price.
Also, to co-develop new products and services to be sold at the mills, we created an Innovation Center.
SYSTEMIC / HOLISTIC (BIG PICTURE)
Systems in an arid island
I performed systemic and ethnographic research to identify problems and opportunities in an arid island named São Vicente (Cape Verde archipelago).
Emerged that one of the most pressing problems is non-saline water scarcity. So, we decided to introduce a do-it-yourself water purification device to enable people to reuse greywater. Residents have a hands-on attitude, and making a simple purification device with materials widely available locally is easy for them.
By optimizing the use of greywater, the acquisition of freshwater (desalinized) reduces up to 63%.
PHOTOGRAPHY / GRAPHIC DESIGN
My artistic side
In addition to spotting and addressing problems/opportunities, I enjoy creating visual assets (e.g.: diagrams, illustrations, and 2D animations) and photography.