Our model

There are many approaches for product development. At Catalpa, we use a mix of methodologies and tools that we have been testing and adjusting to meet the specific needs of the context and nature of our work.At Catalpa, we approach any problem or challenge using our design model that focuses on: Learn, Create, Refine and Evaluate. We use participatory design principles as well as human-centred design tools. In product development we take our own approach to agile methodologies.

Catalpa design thinking

Learn (prepare, discover and empathise)

Designing meaningful and innovative products begins with understanding peoples’ pains, needs, goals and behaviours.

Create (ideate and implement)

Prototyping a product or service helps us think realistically about how people would interact with it.

Refine (build, release and test)

Through feedback and usability testing, we iterate to make products and features more effective for people.

Evaluate and iterate (measure results, maintain the product)

Ongoing evaluation and iteration on product development means we can enhance our products and scale our impact.

An introduction to participatory design

We create products using co-design and participatory processes. We engage customers, users, beneficiaries and specialists through several mechanisms to ensure the product:

1) is working for the target audience,

2) is delivering functionalities in an inclusive and context responsive manner,

3) has buy-in from users and customers, and

4) is sustainable.

An introduction to human-centred design (HCD)

What is human-centred design?

Human-centred design workshops and exercises help us empathise and deeply understand users and their context. They also provide users and partners with an opportunity to provide input and create a sense of ownership of the design. What distinguishes HCD from other problem-solving approaches is its obsessive focus on understanding the perspective of the person who experiences a problem, their needs, and whether the solution that has been designed for them is truly meeting their requirements. At its most effective, the people who experience a problem the most are a constant part of the design process and, when possible, become part of the design team itself.While the HCD process has many forms, the model we will use for this work is divided into four key phases - Learn, Create, Refine, and Evaluate, with a key focus on regular feedback, incremental approach, and review cycles.

An introduction to agile methodology

Catalpa utilises an iterative and adaptive project management and software development approach called “agile”. Agile approaches help teams deliver value faster and with fewer headaches. Instead of betting everything on a "big bang" launch, an agile team delivers work in small, but consumable, increments. Project requirements, plans, and results are evaluated continuously and teams have a working rhythm that accommodates when there is a need to change or adapt quickly.An iterative and adaptive approach will allow us to test solutions and integrate feedback into the application and program. This methodology takes an incremental approach, very different from traditional project management approaches, such as the “waterfall” approach where requirements are defined at the start of the project with little room for flexibility and adaptation. These ways of working allow our teams to learn, explore solutions, iterate and improve as we progress throughout development. It also ensures the program can adequately respond to risk in a challenging context.For our agile framework we use mainly SCRUM tools. We use SCRUM in a flexible way to meet our product needs and respond to our project and team constraints. We are flexible, as we understand that the tool or the methodology is not the most important, it is only a tool, a way to achieve development outcomes. You can learn more about SCRUM in this interesting article by Atlassian.

How we work within a project or program

There are - at this point - 3 types of products used in our programs:

• Core products (e.g. Bero, Openly)

• Bespoke products (e.g. Alfela, Eskola)

• Off-the-shelf products (we won’t cover this path for now)

Core products - product directions and roadmap are owned and controlled by Catalpa. There is an independent team (product team) working on product development. That team supports project teams but is not embedded within a project. Project teams inform the product roadmap but ultimately the decisions are made by the product lead with the product team.

Bespoke products - we embed a Product Lead and a product team within the project team. The product is developed within the project. It responds to the specific programmatic needs and functional requirements of the project and is fully managed and directed by the project.