Good conversations, some serendipity … and Coffee
Serendipity has come into my mind a lot recently and especially as I have been doing some user research and hearing people’s experience with our Coffee Connections platform. This is a free initiative for anyone working in the charity sector who is interested in connecting with a peer to chat about all things digital. It was launched in 2018 as an MVP (minimum viable product) and we now have almost 300 users on the platform, with matches being made every two months.
We regularly run user research interviews and surveys to understand how we can improve the experience. In January and February, we spoke to a small group of users to find out why they signed up, what their experience was, how useful the conversations were and whether they had stayed in touch with their matches. We were pleased that those who took part in the interviews felt that Coffee Connections was a valuable service for the sector and we got some useful feedback for the next stages of development. The following is a brief overview:
The Good
Networking and learning opportunities — participants value the chance to meet people from different organisations and sectors. They appreciate the diversity of experiences and the opportunity to learn from others, share knowledge, and get fresh perspectives on their projects. One participant noted “it’s good to meet people from different organisations who might have mirrored challenges and different perspectives.”
Positive experience with matches — users generally had a positive impression of their matches, enjoying the conversations and finding them meaningful. People mentioned as conversations develop, a lot of common ground comes through.
Longer term collaboration — some users have stayed in touch with their matches, indicating the potential for longer-term connections and collaborations. One participant liked the idea they could get back in touch with any of their matches as it creates an “open door feeling”.
Some suggestions for improvement
Frequency and scheduling of matches — there was a mixed response regarding the frequency of matches, with some participants indicating a desire for more frequent interactions, while others are satisfied with the current pacing. Scheduling and making time for these meetings can sometimes be challenging.
Support for conversations — participants suggest providing more support for conversations, such as icebreakers, suggested topics, or questions to help make discussions more fruitful.
Keep sharing with us
On this particular piece of research, our cohort for user research interviews was self selecting and that may have introduced a positivity bias. If you have other views on Coffee Connections and you’d like to share with us, do contact us at tori@wearecast.org.uk.
What about Serendipity
As I was conducting the interviews, I was also struck by the idea of serendipity as part of the process. The matching process is automated and completely random. However some people we spoke to assumed that rather than being random, their matches had been curated by CAST as they had so much in common. This got me thinking about serendipity and what part it plays in the innovation work we do. Our innovation friends at Nesta, who started the idea of Coffee Connections suggest that you build in serendipity as it’s delightful. And it is clear serendipity often emerges through diversity and collaboration which was a common theme from our research participants.
Further development — and the joy of an interesting conversation
Building on what we’ve heard in these interviews and previous research and survey data, we are continuing our development plans with a number of changes to the platform, including making it available for other organisations. We will share this in more detail in a future update.
In the meantime, we know coffee and coffee houses have a long history of bringing together all sorts of people, and encouraging them to exchange ideas and launch common projects. We encourage you to try the platform and consider meeting people who you might not ever come across otherwise: adding diversity to your network, creating new connections and opportunities for collaboration, and the joy of just having an interesting conversation with someone new. The next round of matches will take place in early April; join Coffee Connections for free now to be included!
