Test your skills in lifelike chats—get scored with feedback to grow fast.
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Boost conversation skills with quick, fun brain teasers.
Personalized goals and time limits keep learning focused and impactful.
Netwise
Make every connection count with Netwise, your AI-powered guide to smarter, more meaningful networking.
Client
Project Status
Currently in Development 🔨👨🏻💻
Industry
EdTech, Professional Networking
Duration
4 Months
The Team
2 UX Researchers, 1 UI Designer, 1 Developer
My Role
Conducting user interviews, creating and analyzing survey results, competitive analysis, creating a persona, building a design system, prototyping and usability testing.
Tools Used
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An Overview
Netwise is your smart networking wingman, helping you feel prepared, confident, and connected. With AI coaching, real-time feedback, and event insights, it tackles anxiety, awkward intros, and forgettable follow-ups, transforming how you build relationships.
🔒 View Slide Deck ↗
Prefer a hands-on look?
Scan the QR to explore the prototype on your device!
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The Problem
Users face challenges in building confidence, mastering networking conversations, preparing for events in uncertain situations, and sustaining meaningful professional connections.
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Gets nervous starting conversations with strangers
Finds networking tools impersonal and overwhelming
Often forgets key details after networking events
Struggles to follow up in a way that feels natural
Finds it hard to keep track of who she met.
Note: Emily's persona was built based on data gathered from user research.
Boost your confidence with AI-powered networking practice—anytime, with a lifelike MetaHuman coach.
Learn, challenge, and grow - your MetaHuman coach delivers real-time questions, brain teasers to sharpen your edge
Your AI-powered networking coach
Train with a lifelike MetaHuman to practice real conversations, refine your approach, and boost your confidence—before you ever step into the room.
Learn, challenge, and grow with your MetaHuman coach
Ask real-time questions, sharpen your thinking with brain teasers, and receive personalized performance reports with targeted recommendations to level up your networking game.
Test your skills with MetaHuman
Put your networking abilities to the test in a realistic conversation and get a personalized score and feedback report to track your progress and improve.
Stay sharp with brain teasers
Fun, bite-sized challenges keep you engaged while strengthening your thinking and conversation skills for real networking moments.
Personalizing the learning experience
By setting clear goals and time limits, we made the learning journey focused, manageable, and tailored to participants' needs for greater impact.
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Discover events around you
Stay in the loop with a personalized feed of nearby networking events—so you’re always in the right place, at the right time, ready to connect.
Meet the right people, not just anyone
Get a smart list of recommended connections —complete with reasons they’re a great match and conversation prompts built around shared interests, so breaking the ice feels natural.
Real talk, real connections—Made easy
On event day, use tailored conversation prompts to spark meaningful chats, then log key details and insights right after—so every connection is remembered, not just made.
Stay connected with smart, personalized follow-ups that feel real
Get gentle reminders when it’s time to reconnect—along with personalized message suggestions based on your past conversations, so every follow-up feels thoughtful, not forced.
The Impact
Was it actually helpful?
Let the stats talk
Following our post-launch UX satisfaction survey, we gathered valuable insights—here’s what the data reveals about the user experience.
Challenges
Not always smooth sailing…
But I steered through it
Every step came with its own set of challenges—but each obstacle helped shape a smarter, more thoughtful solution.
THE Challenge
The lag that breaks the flow
Humans naturally respond within 200–500ms, while AI delays of 1.5–3 seconds can feel awkward and disrupt flow. Delays over 2 seconds can drop engagement by 40%.
This responsiveness gap becomes even more noticeable in real-time conversations, especially during networking or coaching scenarios where timing is key to maintaining rapport.
The SOlution
Ensuring real-time, seamless conversations
To reduce latency and keep conversations natural, we used Deepgram’s Aura for real-time TTS under 200ms.
NVIDIA ACE and Convai powered lifelike speech AI in Unreal Engine MetaHumans for realistic interactions.
On-device processing ensures speed and privacy, making networking feel smooth, secure, and human.
THE Challenge
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What’s in it for organizers?
Event organizers may hesitate to host their events on new platforms due to concerns over reach, engagement, and the platform’s ability to provide valuable features for their events.
Building credibility and showcasing unique, organizer-friendly features becomes essential to earn their trust and participation.
THE Solution
Phased rollout: From skill building to real-world connections
We initially launch as a networking skill-building platform, focusing on helping users gain confidence and refine their abilities.
As the user base grows, we gradually introduce event integration, ensuring a seamless transition to real-world networking.
Seamless by design
From micro to macro:
Crafting delightful interactions and cohesive design systems
Designing microinteractions turns everyday actions into delightful moments, enhancing usability and emotional connection. Paired with design systems, they create cohesive, user-loved experiences I’ve enjoyed crafting!
Tried. Tested. Loved.
How users reacted to using Netwise
From awkward to awesome—see how users reacted after putting the prototype to the test and how it changed the way they think about networking.
Lessons Learned
Behind the screens:
What I really learned
From design decisions to real-world testing, this journey came packed with surprises, setbacks, and skills I never knew I needed—here’s what I took away.
Real problems > Assumptions
Starting with experience mapping and interviews, we learned that people don’t struggle with “networking” itself—they struggle with what to say, how, and when.
Generic advice didn’t help users; we had to zoom in on the real friction points to design something useful.
Practice beats passive learning
Users were watching tons of videos, reels and LinkedIn posts—but rarely putting tips into practice.
Netwise shifted this by offering interactive, repeatable practice—the missing piece in traditional learning.
Human-like timing matters
Latency isn’t just a tech metric—it’s a trust breaker. Delays over 1.5 seconds made conversations feel robotic and disconnected—people noticed even slight lags.
Deepgram’s real-time TTS and on-device processing brought latency down to ~200ms, creating fluid, natural exchanges.
Iterate like your UX depends on it
Usability testing at mid-fidelity saved us from building flawed flows into high-fidelity screens. Testing early and often helped us catch what wireframes couldn’t.
Tools like crazy 8s, journey mapping, and A/B testing helped us rapidly refine the product direction.
Meet the Dream Team 👏
Proud to have collaborated closely with cross-functional teams across design, development, and strategy to bring Netwise to life.
Here’s to the brilliant minds who turned vision into reality—designers, developers, and strategists who made Netwise come to life.
Some Questions Left Unanswered? Let’s Talk One-on-One!
You can either book a session or send me an email at akankush92@icloud.com for any additional questions or clarifications.
Looking forward to connecting and discussing further with you!
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User Research & User Interface // APR 2024
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