Estelle van Ravestyn
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Side project 01 · PARTICIPANT PAL ·

PARTICIPANT PAL

SIDE PROJECT · SELF-DEVELOPED PRODUCT

Founder (side project)

Almost ten years as a user researcher, and in most of those roles I built the research practice from scratch, playbooks and workflows that always ended in tab-switching. That's why I founded Participant Pal, a Research Ops tool that connects your warehouse, calendar, interview tool and incentive system instead of replacing them: selecting, inviting, booking, interviewing and reimbursing in one workspace.

Role
Concept, Design & Development by Estelle van Ravestyn
Built with
Lovable
Status
Early prototype
Timeline
Participant Pal interface showing the Select, Invite, Book, Interview, Export and Reimburse workflow across multiple screens.
Participant Pal prototype — one workspace for the full participant workflow.
01
Business goals & context

The idea came from a pain point I have experienced throughout my career as a UX researcher. Recruiting participants often means jumping between analytics tools, user databases, email, calendars, scheduling platforms, spreadsheets, and note-taking tools. A lot of the work is manual, fragmented, and difficult to keep track of.

I wanted to explore what a single workflow could look like if these steps were brought together into one place without constantly switching between tools.

What could one recruitment workflow look like, without constantly switching between tools?

StatusEarly prototype
Built withLovable
ScopeParticipant recruitment workflow
DataNot yet connected to real user data
02
The problem

TODO — add copy: the business + user problem, and what you got wrong.

03
My role

TODO — add copy: your scope, influence and what you initiated.

04
Direction

TODO — add copy: the decision you took, before the solution.

05
Impact
0
Tool types the current workflow spans
Analytics, user databases, email, calendars, scheduling platforms, spreadsheets and note-taking.
0
Workflow, in one place
What the prototype is exploring.
0
Early prototype, live
Built solo, on my own time.
06
Approach & rationale

This is still an early prototype, but building it in Lovable was also an opportunity to explore how AI can speed up workflows that researchers spend a surprising amount of time on.

LovableSelf-initiatedEarly prototypeAI-assisted build
Figure 10
What recruitment currently spans — and what the prototype collapses
01
Analytics tools
Who to talk to
→
02
User databases
Who they are
→
03
Email
Reaching out
→
04
Calendars
When people are free
→
05
Scheduling platforms
Booking the session
→
06
Spreadsheets
Tracking who is where
→
07
Note-taking tools
What was said
A lot of the work is manual, fragmented, and difficult to keep track of. ParticipantPal explores bringing these steps into one place.
07
Final solution

A working prototype, live and clickable.

Open ParticipantPal

01
One workflow, not seven tools
Analytics, user databases, email, calendars, scheduling, spreadsheets and notes brought together into one place.
02
Built in Lovable
An opportunity to explore how AI can speed up workflows that researchers spend a surprising amount of time on.
03
Live prototype
participantpal.lovable.app — early, and open to walk through.
08
Outcomes

My next step would be connecting it to real user data and validating the workflow with researchers to understand where it creates the most value.

Connect it to real user data. The immediate next step for the prototype.
Validate the workflow with researchers. To understand where it creates the most value.
Explore where AI actually saves time. Specifically in the workflows researchers spend a surprising amount of time on.
[add text] Anything you learned building it. Worth a line if the conversation turns to how you work with AI tools.
09
Reflection

TODO — add copy: what you would do differently.