After a brief period of synthesis, working with CGAP and the client team to brainstorm new solutions for increased usage of mobile money, Cris Valerio and her IDEO.org team return to Ghana for some rapid prototyping and iteration.

Prototyping can be messy.

It can be chaotic.

It’s most definitely exhausting.

And I love it.

10 days...7 core team members...4 prototypes

These are the key numbers we were working with during our two weeks of prototyping in Ghana. To say it was a massive undertaking is to put it lightly.

First, let's rewind. Our IDEO.org project team has been collaborating with members of our client team and the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) in order to improve the adoption of mobile money transfer programs in Ghana. Mobile money systems are effective in helping low-income populations for two reasons: they establish a relationship between unbanked consumers and a formal institution, and they offer more money management opportunities to low-income individuals. By strengthening the use of mobile transactions, financial institutions can more easily reach rural customers in typically unreachable areas, and those with limited access to a physical bank branch can still use financial services. 

A week before beginning our prototyping process, we shared the beginnings of a new blueprint brought to life in eight concepts, which we successfully narrowed to four - hence our goal to create 4 different prototypes to address each concept. So how does one IDEO.org team plan and test four uniquely different prototypes in urban Ghana with so many moving parts and needs? 

The secret formula is organization, organization and a pinch of luck. Were it not for the key coordinating skills of our fearless leader (here’s looking at you Mr. Won) we would have been utterly lost. Thus, lesson number one for this type of undertaking: make sure to round out your team with an experienced and incredibly detail oriented individual (who also happens to be amazing at karaoke). 

Prior to leaving San Francisco we created a grid of prototypes to days and then mapped activities and people accordingly. It was so useful; I cannot underscore this enough. One thing we wanted to make certain of was that while some team members were responsible for overseeing a specific prototype, all members of the team (both IDEO.org and the client) should touch and be part of all prototypes throughout our time in the field. This was to ensure knowledge and learnings would be housed across people and organizations including the local implementing partners. It also just makes us smarter -- the more well-versed we are coming to the table for synthesis and iteration, the better. 

In the following two parts of this blog series, the aforementioned John Won and I will delve into the process of planning, executing, and iterating two of our four prototypes, which were: 1) a kiosk to deliver high quality customer service to low-income Ghanaians, and 2) a set of tools for our client to educate and woo potential customers to their product.