The Ask
Villgro Africa, an impact investor supporting healthcare startups, needed a robust and user-friendly software evaluation tool. They were struggling to verify the integrity of software developed by health startups before investing. Villgro sought a comprehensive evaluation form and an analyst tool to assist their team in thoroughly assessing software solutions, focusing on capabilities, scalability, performance, and potential risks. This would streamline their evaluation process and provide actionable insights for decision-making.
The Observation
The existing evaluation process was inefficient, making it difficult for Villgro’s technical and non-technical teams to assess software solutions consistently. The lack of standardized metrics led to time-consuming assessments, inconsistencies, and unclear decision-making criteria, potentially affecting investment outcomes.The Process
- Stakeholder Engagement: Conducted meetings with Villgro analysts to understand their specific needs and expectations for the tool.
- Criteria Identification: Established essential evaluation criteria, including functionality, scalability, performance, security, user experience, and compliance.
- Tool Development:
- Designed a user-friendly software evaluation form for startups to fill out.
- Created an analyst tool using Google Sheets for easy data input, scoring, and analysis.
- Testing & Iteration: Piloted the tool with users, gathered feedback, and made necessary adjustments to enhance usability.
- Training & Deployment: Conducted training sessions to ensure the analysts were proficient in using the new evaluation tool effectively.
The Outcome
The collaboration resulted in a streamlined and intuitive software evaluation form and analyst tool tailored to Villgro Africa’s needs. The tool improved the efficiency of their evaluation process, provided clear insights into software quality, and enabled better investment decisions. The new system facilitated faster assessments, enhanced decision-making transparency, and ensured a consistent evaluation approach across different teams.