Olakunle Abimbola

Client engagement with the Department for Education (DfE) as a Senior User Researcher on two distinct projects:

1. Manage Free School Projects – Milestone tracker, enabling internal users efficiently manage the establishment of new public schools.

2. External Applications Project – Streamlined process for academy applications, improving the experience of applicants such as schools, academies, and trusts.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Identifying relevant sources of data to support research objectives.
• Enhancing the understanding of key market trends with deep-dive competitor analysis.
• Collaborating effectively with multidisciplinary team members for effective project coordination.
• Utilising robust quantitative and qualitative methodologies for comprehensive findings.
• Managing multiple research projects simultaneously, ensuring timely completion.
• Ensuring adherence to ethical standards throughout all stages of the research process.
• Implementing innovative data visualisation techniques for impactful report presentations.
• Delivering detailed reports summarising research findings to key stakeholders.
• Promoting transparency by documenting all methods, procedures, and results accurately.
• Implementing research findings into product development through UCD collaboration.

Honed my expertise in leading public sector user research at the DfE, aligned with Government Digital Service (GDS) standards in contributing to three distinct portfolios:

1. Schools Portfolio – Discovery user research understanding how schools respond to cybersecurity incidents, identifying key challenges and improvement opportunities.

2. Early Years Portfolio – Investigating how early years practitioners determine whether their qualifications are classified as full and relevant.

3. Policy Lab – Short discovery sprints across various policy areas, delivering preliminary findings to inform subsequent workstreams.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Collaborating with cross-functional UCD teams within agile frameworks.
• Analysing, synthesising and communicating research findings applying GOV UK standards.
• Creating and managing research roadmap with delivery teams.
• Managing iterative prototyping in close alignment with design and development teams.
• Leading strategic planning for product design improvement.
• Developing an understanding of end-to-end customer journey.
• Facilitating workshops with key stakeholders to gather insights.
• Present research findings and potential strategic options to senior leadership team (SLT).

Focus on enhancing back-end user experience for British Airways contact centre, where telephony support is provided to customers booking holidays using points earned through their loyalty.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Conducting user research using a variety of qualitative and quantitative research methods.
• Collaborating with stakeholders including UX team members and PMs in prioritising research.
• Conducting user research of design concepts and prototypes.
• Leading iteration and product improvement with UCD team based on user research evidence.
• Continuous improvement on accessibility in delivering usable designs.
• Improving operations efficiency, profitability and waste reduction within the business.