Student Beans Apps

I joined The Beans Group to help the business streamline their mobile apps, and assist in the creation a multi-tiered, global student verification system.

High Level Overview

Strategy

Assisted in creating the strategy for streamlining the apps, including sourcing and leveraging data on generation ‘Z’ user habits and expectations, so as to drive feature development.

Leveraging Data

I led the requirements surrounding gathering data from within the apps, and implemented a strong A/B testing strategy. I also adopted Google’s HEART framework for translating results.

App Updates

I put a strong focus on updating the discovery feed (home screen) and the ‘Saved’ screen, as well as NFRs around improving search, and the user’s instore options.

Student Verification

I created a streamlined verification process which allowed users to verify as students globally, and which facilitated acquiring new clients thanks to a more thorough KYC process.

Discovery Feed Update

Updated the app’s home screen to improve discoverability based on user behaviour and data trends.

Search Functionality

Worked on search term discoverability, auto-complete logic and product suggestion.

Instore Improvements

Explored leveraging beacon technology to increase retail engagement and revenue.

Student Verification

Proposed a six tier verification system to increase confidence that the millions of registered students were real.

A/B Testing

Led a strong initiative to implement Firebase driven A/B Testing & analytics within the apps.

Data Consumption

Changed the way the business consumed data, by adopting Google’s HEART framework for interpreting analytics.

25% of all UK students used Student Beans, as well as more students globally. It was vital that the apps appealed to the latest generation of users.

Some more information…

Background How it was Built My Scope

How do you dynamically deliver on the expectations of a young demographic?

25% of all UK students use Student Beans, as well as hundreds of thousands of users globally, all of whom represent a demographic which never ages in light of the product, owing to the very nature of the app. For this reason it was essential to ensure that the look and feel represented the latest technology trends and met the demographic’s expectations in terms of navigation and user experience, familiar to the user.

We delivered on this by seeking to understand generation ‘z’, or centennial, behaviour, not just in terms of UX, but also the psychology behind the generation’s decision making processes, their influences, expectations and objectives. This understanding eventually led to an updated feature roadmap, with an emphasis on the importance of data, and improved tracking within the apps.

In addition to this, there was an increasing demand from the business’s clients (the sellers who’s products were listed on the site and the apps) for improved verification. After discussing this with the business, I was tasked with producing and delivering an extensive strategy which sought to provide a more stringent, and simpler, verification method (I’m quite proud of this so you can read more about this under the ‘How it was Built’ tab).

How do we go about aligning a large shift to native within internal teams? 

Development was done in-house, by our developers in Manchester and London. This allowed me to work very closely with the development teams, enjoying a very dynamic and streamlined development environment.

As part of my remit I was also responsible for creating a streamlined verification process which allowed users to verify themselves as a student anywhere in the world, therefore facilitating the acquisition of new clients through a more thorough KYC process. This targeted new and existing mobile and web users, and was built using IP validation, LBS verification, a more streamlined onboarding process, federation and clearing house lookups and campus prize draws.

I began this project by setting out a vision for the verification process solution, this sought to identify the target group, product, needs and business goals.

After this I created an effort prioritisation matrix for the various initiatives, as well as a suggested development and launch calendar, before outlining the actual verification strategy. This constituted of six separate tiers of verification, the number of which students would need to meet would depend on the strictness and value of the clients in any given area, as well as the reliability of existing methods in any given region.

Part of the strategy was to propose a new onboarding process. I had experience with this during my time with the Onboarding & Cross-Sell Team at PokerStars, and proposed various new methods for improving registration facilitating student verification.

In order to identify university campus IP addresses I also proposed an LBS and IP cross-reference solution driven by a free prize-draw, which required students to be on campus in order to enter, thus using the CAPTCHA principle of repeated user-driven confidence, I sought to identify if students with academic email addresses were in fact still active at their colleges and universities.

The prize-draw feature could be turned on and off at a university level, or only for those universities which do not send IP service provider details, for example. Once the information is received, an algorithm would validate entries by matching IP addresses to the majority of submissions, flagging those which fall in the minority category for review.

What were my main areas of focus?

Strategic

  • Working with CEO in defining the strategy for modernising the iOS and Android app.
  • Translating business requirements, user feedback and analytics into a product vision and strategy.
  • Defining & presenting a multi-tiered student verification strategy to increase confidence in student identity.
  • Defining app release and update strategies and schedules.


Product

  • Defining and owning the product roadmap and prioritising features.
  • Defining metrics for the user experience of apps and establishing clear success definitions adhering to Google’s HEART framework.
  • Creating strong A/B Testing testing framework within the apps.
  • Turning data insights into product features with actionable outcomes to the customer.
  • Prioritising and refining the feature backlog, balancing the requirements and expectations of stakeholders, users and customers.
  • Working to translate product roadmap features into well-defined product requirements including features, user stories, and acceptance test criteria.
  • Undertaking competitor research.
  • Working with cross-functional teams and stakeholders including: design, security, BI, and engineering.
  • Managing strategic third-party relationships with suppliers.
  • Working closely with Development Teams to understand challenges on the go, and seeking to resolve these as quickly and efficiently as possible.


Testing

  • Carried out UAT and signed off new features for submission.


Reporting

  • Presenting sprintly feature demos to stakeholders.


Academic

  • Regularly researching student and teenage tech trends to identify expectations.
  • Seeking to translate said trends enjoyed by the student demographic into exciting appealing features.