Connections.
Within reach.
I led the research and targeted redesign of TEFConnect, turning audience needs and usability findings into a clearer path to support.
Research-led redesign · Validated high-fidelity prototype
4 iterations
- My role
- Senior UX designerSolo research, evaluation and high-fidelity design
- Project setup
- Independent research projectResearch planning, synthesis and prototype testing
- Scope
- 12 weeks / 27 screensFour iterations across the key platform journeys
- Figma
- Qualtrics
- Notion
An entrepreneurial network.
A clearer path to support.
The Tony Elumelu Foundation built TEFConnect to connect African entrepreneurs with mentorship, resources and one another. I focused on the steps that turn a visit into a useful connection.
Aspiring entrepreneurs
Find guidance, backing and a community to learn from.
Experienced professionals
Share expertise, guide new talent and contribute.
People shaped the brief.
Evidence set the priorities.
I combined stakeholder analysis, a community survey, interviews and moderated testing to understand who the platform served, where the journey broke down and what to prioritize.
Age / reported survey profile
- 19–29
- 76.1%
- 30–49
- 15.2%
- 18 or younger
- 8.7%
Gender / reported survey profile
- Female
- 59%
- Male
- 39%
- Non-binary
- 2%
Recruitment extended beyond existing TEF users through entrepreneurial communities on Facebook, Instagram and Reddit. These figures describe the reported research sample, not the whole platform.
Different people. A shared need for connection.
Four original persona sheets connect audience needs to the design priorities.
Discovery needed the most attention.
Original task completion rates. Open a row to see its finding and response right below it.
Find relevant people
Connect with entrepreneursView findingHide finding60%
A useful network needs more than a list of members.
Make country, industry and role visible so people can find relevant entrepreneurs.
Connect with mentorsView findingHide finding40%
Finding mentorship was a core audience need.
A dedicated role filter and visible results give mentorship a clear place in discovery.
Connect with investorsView findingHide finding0%
Investor discovery had the lowest reported completion.
Rebuild discovery around country, industry and role, with a clear action from a profile.
Use filters successfullyView findingHide finding40%
The audit corroborated unreliable filters and weak search feedback.
Show selected filters, matching people and an obvious way to change the search.
Participate in the platform
Create event for businessView findingHide finding40%
The audit also found a calendar without a clear exit.
Recommend dependable calendar interactions and an obvious way to dismiss it.
Showcase own ideasView findingHide finding40%
Members needed a clearer place to share their work.
Give member activity a distinct hierarchy alongside profile context, learning and tools.
Interact with community sectionView findingHide finding20%
The interview questioned “community” within a platform that was already a community.
Clarify the purpose of activity, learning and business tools in the home experience.
Successful paths to retain
Message connectionsView findingHide finding100%
This task succeeded; a separate audit still found compose actions difficult to discover.
Retain the successful connection path and make the conversation entry explicit.
Log in with social loginView findingHide finding100%
Social sign-in was an existing strength to preserve.
Keep social entry while making email sign-in and account creation immediately visible.
Task rates are reported as recorded. Audit observations add context; the study’s separate 55% overall result is not the average of these nine rates.
Three priorities for a more dependable experience.
Ten heuristics reviewed. These were the highest-severity areas: 4 is critical; 3 is major.
Show what the system is doing.
Search could take 10–15 seconds without loading feedback. Navigation lacked a clear current-page state.
Selected filters stay visible during the search.
Mentor · Media
Make page state, selected filters and search results visible.
Reconstructed recommendation; the original audit retains the full record.PESTLE context and the research method
Research beyond the survey.
A semi-structured, task-based interview explored experience, trust and motivation. It reinforced the need for a stronger human identity, useful community content and dependable search, messaging and calendar behavior.
9 participants took part in moderated Zoom sessions covering discoverability, navigation, trust, ease and safety. They were recruited among friends, colleagues and relatives; no compensation was offered.
Other findings included a missing calendar exit, repeated privacy prompts, redundant navigation, undiscoverable shortcuts and inconsistent page naming. The original evaluation retains the complete record.
Content inventory / all nine pages
Study questions and baseline documentation
The study examined success with primary tasks, frustration in discovery and navigation, and perceptions of trust, ease and safety. The original documentation retains the study setup and reported task results.
Original research / Google SheetsOpen usability test documentationA clear way in.
A reason to stay.
I made account entry visible and gave the home page a stronger hierarchy. Member activity, learning and business tools each had a distinct purpose.
Visible entry, without a detour.
Email fields, account creation and social sign-in share one clear starting point.
The complete original design.Open the original for optional zoom controls.
Try the entry interaction / illustrated example
Useful content, with a clear place.
Research exposed confusion about “community” within a platform that was already a community. I separated member activity from learning and tools so the home experience was easier to understand.
A place for each purpose.
The original design separates profile and learning, member activity, and business tools.
The complete original design.Open the original for optional zoom controls.
Explore the home hierarchy / illustrated example
The right people.
A useful next action.
I made country, industry and role explicit, keeping the selected filters beside the results. The original screens show how discovery became a clearer path to relevant people.
Make the search criteria explicit.
The original discovery screen gives country, industry and role a distinct place before members inspect the network.
The complete original design.Open the original for optional zoom controls.
From preferences to relevant people.
South Africa, Media and Mentor selections remain visible beside the matching people.
The complete original design.Open the original for optional zoom controls.
Try discovery and conversation / illustrated example
A clearer experience.
Validated in the prototype.
I retested the high-fidelity prototype against the core journeys. Task completion reached 100% in the study summary, with shorter task times and positive feedback on the network.
- 01 / Establish the baseline
Observe the original journeys.
Nine moderated tasks exposed where discovery, navigation and trust broke down.
- 02 / Refine the prototype
Focus on the critical paths.
Four Figma iterations addressed entry, home and network across 27 screens.
- 03 / Retest the experience
Check the path, then listen.
Task completion, time on task and participant feedback checked the redesign.
Reported task completion
Original study summaryReported prototype-test results. The archive does not document a paired sample.
The network became a strength.
The study describes the network as the feature participants were most enthusiastic about in the retest. Observed completion and shorter task times supported that feedback.
“The prototype is a delightful experience!”
Usability test participant / Round two
Trust needs more than polish.
The most important recommendation was a stronger human element. Continuing the work would mean testing how existing users adapt, keeping content useful and refining the product story with the people it serves.
The work behind the story.
Inspect the research personas, heuristic evidence, earlier experience and redesigned screens. The original prototype preserves the full journey.
Network / filtered results
The image shows South Africa, Media and Mentor filters with matching people.