Using Empathy to Discover User Needs

Company Name: 14Dayz
Research Challenge: Optimizing Time Tracking SaaS and Mobile App Use
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My Role

I served as a customer discovery and user experience research consultant with 14 Dayz / Brains4All, Netherlands, a developer of time-tracking software (SaaS).

The Context

Since 2019, I have worked as an independent consultant in customer discovery and user experience. Prior to that, I have worked as a management consultant with 10+ years of experience with a variety of organizations in the public, private and not for profit sectors.
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In 2020, I received an email from 14Dayz CEO Pepijn Bakker from the Netherlands: his father passed away and he was exploring how to keep the company alive. The software company employed 3 people full-time, and 2 part-timers.
I shared my positive experience of the software and was supportive and encouraging. We spoke about how other users derived value from the software. 

14Dayz - simple and powerful time-tracking software (UI, 2018)

Pepijn explained he did not have the evidence required to make a business case for investing in further development to change 14Dayz’ software features, nor to the business itself.
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Before  receiving this email, I was an active user of time tracking software, to track my time across multiple consulting projects. I liked that I was able to learn it easily and quickly, and that it offered easy data entry and powerful Excel reporting.

The Problem

When launched in 2005, 14Dayz' software was a market leader with little competition. By 2020, it was lagging in a crowded market, even after adding a mobile app. ​

The key challenges were:

1. Identifying new strategies for increasing the number of paid users.
   
2. Getting clarity on user needs, and how to make the user experience less frustrating and more delightful.
   
3. Retaining paid users by providing better value. 
   

A mobile app was developed in 2020

The Process

• ​​Conducted competitor analysis, marketing research.
  
• Conducted 20-1 hour user Interviews focusing on pain-points, needs and motivations​.
  
• Collected, analyzed user data and user behavior.
  
• Generated insights about the users’ journey.
  
• Recommended a variety of changes in workflow, messaging and content, pricing and website design​​.​​

Competitor Analysis of Time-Tracking Software (2020)

User Research: 20+ interviews, identified user pain points, needs and motivations

• New and current users were interviewed in-depth, via surveys and Zoom. The goals of the interviews were to gain clarity about user needs, and engage them in speaking about their experience of the software, even though it was outdated by 2022 standards. We wanted to know what problems the software was solving for them, and how it could be improved; and what they were using the software for, beyond time-tracking. 

Questions, questions, questions

Quantitative and qualitative questions were asked:

• Quantitative questions:
  • First name, last name, job role and level, company name, size of company, number of employees, geographic location.
• Qualitative questions:
  • Questions were open-ended, and included “how” and “why” questions including:
    • How did you learn about 14Dayz?
    • When did you become a user? How long? How many people in your organization use it? Why, and when has this changed?
    • Why? What were the features and benefits that attracted you?
    • What do you like / dislike? Areas for improvement?
    • Would you recommend 14Dayz? Why / why not?

UX research revealed user pain points and key insights

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• I collected and analyzed quantitative and qualitative data.
  • The qualitative data was recorded in a Google Doc in a text file
  • The quantitative data was recorded in a Google spreadsheet. 
    • The research methodology used for the text was content analysis, to identify patterns in language and feedback.
    • I reviewed the quantitative data, looking for patterns, for trends in company size, and the user’s role and job description.
• I made recommendations based on patterns found. See Next Section on User Insights.

User Insights

The UX research found:

Users preferred 14Dayz for its:

• Ease of use, simplicity of user experience.
• Being able to use the software right away with no training.
• Ability of users to download and export data.
• Pricing and affordability.

Users did not prefer 14Dayz for its:

• Lack of billing and invoicing features.
• Lack of API, integration with modern software programs (i.e., Hubspot, Salesforce).
• Restricted ability to improve productivity and reduce duplication of effort. For example, depending on an organization’s workflow and sharing permissions, data exports could lead to potential errors, more work and frustration.

Workflow analysis provided insights to reduce cart abandonment.

​Results

• Users were identified primarily as: accountants and auditors; IT professional services consultants; and small businesses leaders with fewer than 50 employees.
  
• Users confirmed the value of the software for them.
  
• Users wanted billing and invoicing features.
  
• Users were frustrated that there were no APIs or easy ways to integrate 14Dayz with modern productivity software.
  
• Users were frustrated that the software required extra steps and extra work, which led to duplication of effort and errors.
  
• Users used the software to track research and development. This indicated a new use case.
  
• Users learned about the software primarily by word-of-mouth, and through IT and professional services consultants.
  

Pepijn Bakker, CEO. 14Dayz

Testimonial

"It is not always easy to receive constructive feedback and criticism of a product that you have created.
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It is very helpful to learn about it before investing a lot of money focused on the wrong direction or market segment. Now, we know what to do, where to make changes, and how to move forward in growing our business in the US."

- Pepijn Bakker, CEO,
​14Dayz