PORTFOLIO 2021-2023

Kseniia Hladkikh
MA, Sociology
UX Researcher

hladkikk@gmail.com
kseniiahladkikh
01 ABOUT ME
A short work history
CASE STUDY 2

RESEARCH METHODS
04 Redefining immigrant services:
Temporary Foreign Worker

02
Journey
& TOOLS
An overview of my mixed
methods research
05 CONTACT INFORMATION

03 CASE STUDY 1
Website Design for Ukrainians
Seeking Refuge in Canada

Hi there!
I am a skilled mixed-methods UX
researcher with 5 years research
experience.
I am passionate about
understanding people's
behaviours across diverse
settings. I enjoy building rapport
with each person I engage and
delving deeper into their
experiences.
In every project, I strive to push
the boundaries of UX research,
combining methodologies and
designing unique and impactful
solutions.
Work Experience
Research Analyst, Pivotal Research Inc
(2021-2023)
During my 2 years at Pivotal Research Inc., I
contributed to over 40 projects, leading 10 of them. I
excel in designing research studies from scratch and
interacting with clients.
I take pride in facilitating 70+ online sessions with
200+ participants with high client and participant
satisfaction.
.
Education
Master's in Sociology, McMaster University
(2019-2021)
During my Master's I completed classes on Race &
Ethnicity, Gender & Sexuality, Social Psychology,
which provided me with in-depth understanding of
human behaviour and sparked my profound interest
in research.
RESEARCH METHODS
My toolbox consists of a spectrum of UX research methods. I choose my method based
on stakeholder input, constraints (budget + timeline) and the research questions we
intend to answer.

Journey Maps 1:1 interview Persona Focus Groups Process Maps

(remote / in-person) creation

Co-Design Surveys Diary Studies / Mobile A / B Testing Qualitative Data

Workshops Ethnography Analysis
 DIGITAL RESEARCH & DESIGN TOOLS
I am also well-versed in using digital tools for
UX Research & Design.

Some of my favourites include:

Miro - for remote collaboration, interactive

workshops, and journey maps
NVIVO - for data coding
Indeemo - for mobile ethnography (diary)
studies, qualitative data collection
Recollective - for online panels (qualitative
data collection)
Figma - for wireframing, prototyping
Qualtics, VoxCo - Survey creation, online
quantitative data collection
Visio - for process mapping
 MY JOURNEY TO UX RESEARCH

Master's in Sociology,
Sep 2019-June 2019
research assistant,
multiple research
projects, thesis (30
interviews)

Parliament of

Canada
Research Analyst, Member's
Program Assistant, Assistant
Sep 2021 - present
National Democratic May-July 2022 UX Design Certifcation
40+ market & UX
Institute website

July - August 2023

research projects
Feb-Aug 2019 improvements,

development of first social media,

public consultation surveys

instrument in Ukraine

 While I've been working as a research analyst for a consulting agency since 2021, I've
recently started improving my UX Design skills by taking a Brainstation course. I'm
constantly working on diversifying and strengthening my UX Research/Design portfolio.

me

Toronto, July 2023

Case study # 1
 Website for
01 Ukrainian refugees
in Canada
I created the website design, collected and
organized website content from scratch, in
consultation with non-profits and in
collaboration with web developer in a
span of 4 weeks.

.
 PROJECT SCOPE

ukrainiansinalberta.com

Client
Non-profits based in Alberta - the Alberta Association of
Immigrant Serving Agencies (AAISA) and Catholic Social Services
(CSS) requested website design & development for Ukrainian
newcomers to Alberta impacted by Russian aggression.

My Role: UX Researcher / Designer / Writer / Content Creator.

Key skills: background research, persona creation, creation of

low-fidelity wireframe and information architecture.

Team: I collaborated with a web developer.

Timeline: April-May 2022.
Notes: Pro bono project.
Context: Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Canadian government
has provided a response in the policy change that allowed more
Ukrainians to come to Canada. Canadian visa offices have seen a
massive influx of applications. As newcomers arrive to Alberta, they
are looking for resources to support their journey.

Problem: while Alberta’s resettlement sector provides a vast array of

services to newcomers, they may be hard to navigate to those
unfamiliar with the non-profit landscape in Canada.

Solution: easy-to-navigate one-stop-shop website that effectively

organizes variety of available resources to multiple groups - resettled
Ukrainians as well as those assisting in their resettlement in Alberta.

Limitations: as the circumstances required immediate response, the

quick turnaround of the project (the sooner the better), was
necessary.
 Persona #1: Ukrainian Seeking Refuge
Iryna
Employment: accountant, lost her job
Income: < $30 000 Age: 38 y.o.
Languages spoken:
Ukrainian, Russian gets overwhelmed by
English level: beginner to intermediate
Status: married, her husband couldn't leave
due to military conscription
Children: travelling with 5-year old son
Location: in Warsaw, about to get on an
evacuation plane chartered by Canadian
government to fly to Edmonton, Alberta
As the first step, I created 3 personas to better understand the future
users of the website and communicate them to stakeholders.
Emotions/Feelings: stressed due to
lack of sleep and tiredness, scared
of the unknown, concerned about
finding resources upon arrival
Devices: phone.
Iryna took her phone with her as
laptop was too heavy to carry.
Frustrations:
information provided online
doesn't know what organizations
she can trust
doen't understand what
supports may be available for
her and her son in Alberta
Wants/Needs
doesn’t know the non-profit
lanscape in Canada, but is in
urgent need of resources and
first necessities, such as housing.
wants to understand what
organizations are in her area that
she can reach out to.
Notes:
Iryna's persona was compiled based
on my conversations with fellow
Ukrainians and browsing thematic
Facebook groups where Ukrainians
were trying to navigate resettlement
to Canada and asking for advice.
 Persona #2: Canadian Employer
Ivan
Employment: small business owner
Income: > $100 000
Age: 55 y.o.
despite his Ukrainian heritage,
Languages spoken: English, Ukrainian
(beginner)
Nationality: Canadian with Ukrainian
heritage
Status: married, has a family
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Emotions/Feelings: was devastated
to hear about the war, feels for
Ukrainians, especially due to his
heritage, concerned about
Ukrainians arriving without means.
Devides used: tablet, phone
Frustrations:
Ivan's persona was created in
doesn’t have connections in
Ukraine, doesn’t know how to
connect with Ukrainians that
need support in Canada.
doesn’t have time to research
the actions to take to support.
Wants/Needs
wants to set a good example
for other employers by hiring
Ukrainians
wants to provide cash
assistance to Ukrainians most
in need or set up a recurring
donation.
Notes:
consultation with non-profits who were
approached by employers wishing to
provide support to Ukrainians, and
informed by my previous research work
with Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC)
and other research projects about
Ukrainian diasporas in Canada.
 Persona #3: Canadian Volunteer

Emotions/Feelings: disheartened Wants/Needs

reading about the war in the news, upon realizing that she has
emotional, sad, confused. unrented basement units,
Devices: laptop. Hannah uses an Hannah wants to provide them
older model laptop to search for a to a Ukrainian family in need of

Hannah phone number to ask for help as

she doesn’t like to scroll through
accommodation. She wants to
find a support organization she
the website herself. to implement this idea.
Employment: retired
Income: < $65 000

properties that she
Owns several rental Frustrations: Notes:
occasionally rents. Hannah's persona was created
Age: 67 y.o. Hannah has low vision and is not based on facebook group content,
Languages spoken: English too comfortable using where people offered temporary
Nationality: Canadian technology as she gets easily accommodation (from few weeks to
Status: widowed, living alone. overwhelmed by the amount of 1-3 months) to Ukrainians arriving
Location: St. Albert, Alberta. information on modern websites. to Canada and through
Notes: Not digitally savvy consultations with nonprofits.
LANDING PAGE

I designed it to direct a type of person or

group to their required resource.

Ukrainian and Canadian flag animation

was used for a welcoming effect.

Page includes FAQ organized in

accordion, fitting a lot of information,
while allowing the user to filter for the
information most needed at the moment

of search.
PAGE FOR UKRAINIANS This page has to make users feel welcomed in Canada, which
is why the first thing user sees is “Welcome”. The page
RESETTLING IN ALBERTA provides information about the helpline and its time of
operation as first support resource.

Cultural context: link to Telegram channel. While Telegram

social media is not commonly used in North America, it is one
of the most popular social networks in Ukraine. The page
provides a link to the channel for easier monitoring of the
available resources and information in Ukrainian/Russian.

The page also links such important resources as Alberta

Health Services, information guide for Ukrainian developed by

Ukrainian Canadian Congress and provincial government
website.

The table of organizations providing services is also provided

for Calgary, Edmonton and other areas as an easy shortcut
for navigating settlement sector landscape in Alberta.

PAGE FOR VOLUNTEERS & EMPLOYERS

Since volunteers and employers may

have overlapping motivations (e.g.
employer and volunteer may both
want to provide accommodation), I
decided to create one page for these
users instead of two.

The page was named “I want to help”

instead of "Volunteers" or "Employers" to
make it more relatable and easier to
locate.

The page contains the following

sections with links: Cash Donations,

Corporate Donations, Housing and
Hosting, Employment Opportunities
(allowing employers to submit their
offers through Job Bank Portal),
Volunteer Opportunities (with a list of
non-profits in need of volunteers).
KEY WEBSITE FEATURES
Easily adjustable as needs of Ukrainians
and Canadian government policies can
change at any time
Multiple contact points to influence the
audience to act
Mobile optimization to cater to a variety
of users, including those on the move
Clear Call to Action buttons - multiple
buttons for faster navigation
Clean and simple design:
minimalistic components of web
design revolve around a finite
colour palette, the use of negative
space and using contrast to give
the website a fresh and modern
look. I ensured that these design
principles are embedded in the
final product.
Social media integration
I decided to add eye-catching social
media icons to entice the audience to
navigate to the social media platforms by
having sticky icons on the side of the
webpage.
To maintain the clean look of the website,
direct display of social media feeds is
avoided. It also increases the loading time
of the page due to the increase in content.
KEY DESIGN & CONTENT
DECISIONS People photos: as only women are allowed to travel
(men aged 18-65 cannot leave Ukraine due to military
conscription law), I decided to use photos of women
and children.

Importance of easy phone navigation: I assumed that

many Ukrainians would be in a hurry, searching for
information on their phones, not web.

Colours: due to AAISA’s and CSS’s request, and to

promote brand recognition among newcomers looking
for newcomer settlement services, it was decided to
use both AAISA and CSS colours in fusion according to
their brand guidelines.

Landscape photos: Ukrainian and Alberta landscapes

were chosen for a welcoming and calming effect.
Ukrainian flag is also showcased several times.


Project Uniqueness
First website to organize provincial resources for Ukrainians
CONCLUSION launched in spring 2022 - in time for Ukrainians arriving to Canada.

Outcomes: website is still live and continues to provide information.

it was presented during an event conducted by Ukrainian Canadian
Congress in 2022 and lead to a request to prepare the Employer
Toolkit for hiring Ukrainians.

What I would do differently:

Deeper dive into personas: If I were to do this project again, I

would interview end users (Ukrainians (family/single/different
ages), employers and volunteers to better understand their
needs and usage of the website to provide better customized
experience. However, due to limited time, I relied on background
research and known cultural context.
Accessibility: In addition, to accommodate for users with
different abilities, I would do more testing with such users. While
the initial version of the website included translation into 3
languages, simple design with contrasting colours with plenty of
white space for better attention focus, I believe the website
could be even more accessible.
Case study # 2
 Temporary Foreign
02 Workers Journey
to Canada
 PROJECT SCOPE

Redefining Immigrant Services: Foreign Worker Journey

Clients: Non-profits based in Alberta - the Alberta Association of

Immigrant Serving Agencies (AAISA) and Calgary Catholic
Immigration Society (CCIS).

My Role: Qualitative Research Lead.

Key skills: journey mapping, workshops/focus groups, ecosystem

mapping, background research, recommendation development.

Timeline: October - January 2021.

Team: I collaborated with a team of researchers and graphic
designer.
Constraints: tight timeline (3 months).

Context: A partnership of 14 immigrant-serving organizations in

Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan provide coordinated service
delivery approach to Temporary Foreign Workers meeting their urgent
needs while facing multiple policy, funding and service delivery
challenges.

Objectives: increase capacity of project partners to execute informed

advocacy, policy development, research to strengthen TFW-serving
ecosystem.

Approach

1)Conduct a review of research literature and identify research gaps

2)Analyze project data to identify emerging trends and needs
3)Visualize TFW journey to identify painpoints and opportunities
4)Develop recommendations to redesign service delivery to TFWs

Public report can be accessed: https://aaisa.ca/research/tfw-project/

 METHODOLOGY
1) Literature review scan
2) Legislative analysis
3) Project data analysis (monthly narrative reports) & Stakeholder engagement
(2 workshops with non profit leaders)

Why these methods were chosen:

To provide the partnership with feasible recommendations (considering multitude of

constraints organizations face), it was necessary to understand the program from all
angles: TFW program requirements, provincial legislation, activities of non-profits and
bring all components together for recommendations.

Additionally, I undertook extensive literature review to better understand the program,

keep up-to-date with what has already been found and identify gaps to inform the
research.
 LITERATURE REVIEW

Literature review was the first step to inform the further research stages. It provided
understanding of the issues surrounding TFW program in Canada, as most studies interviewed
TFWs.

Main insights from literature:

TFWs can be easily abused by employers/recruiters and often are.
The main reason TFWs are vulnerable to be exploited is lack of knowledge that extends not only
to life in Canada, but workers' rights, TFWP requirements, TFW protections and resources
available.

Quality Assurance: In addition to the literature review, I contacted and interviewed leaders of two
research networks on immigrants and foreign workers in Prairie provinces specifically, who
confirmed that the literature is scarce and validated the main insights.
PROJECT DATA ANALYSIS Since narrative reports by non-profit staff provided a
detailed picture of TFW experiences and included
their quotes, they served as good depiction of
workers journey in Canada.

I looked for common themes and patterns and used

colour-coding and affinity diagrams to organize the
data.

I sought to understand the challenges and needs of

both TFWs and partners and other organizations
involved.

I also deep dived on certain sections to understand

the varying roles of service provider and umbrella
organizations.
 STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
SPOs were engaged in two stakeholder workshops to better understand their experience serving
TFWs and to validate findings.

I used Miro in breakout rooms to allow all non-profit leaders to provide feedback as well as
visualize and record it in real time.

 This is one of the first sketches

JOURNEY MAPPING I created for Foreign Worker Journey.

This map was informed by meticulous analysis

and review of literature (37 references),
provincial policy and legislation as well as
narrative reports.

I broke down the journey into three phases: 1)

Home Country, 2) In Canada (During Program),
and 3) After Program, each of which has unique
challenges. I also showcased touchpoints with
all actors: recruiters, immigration consultants,
employers, government and SPOs.

Due to complexity of the journey and various

components, we later decided to rework the
layout with graphic designer, making the flow
vertical, instead of horizontal.
JOURNEY MAPPING This is the final visual for the
Current TFW Journey. The red
signs with exclamation points
clearly showcase the painpoints
(where TFWs lack crucial
knowledge) and provide
understanding at what stage
intervention is necessary to
prevent unwanted
circumstances.

The third stage (Post-Program)

is complex as it depicts all the
possibilities of TFWs' future
after the program:
staying in Canada legally,
returning home, overstaying
their visa and possible
consequences (deportation).
JOURNEY MAPPING This is the final visual for the Ideal
TFW Journey.

The cleaner layout shows a

more smooth journey of TFWs.

To fill in the knowledge gaps, it

is suggested to create
mechanisms, institutions and
partnerships that would
prevent lack of knowledge and
vulnerability of TFWs.

As a result, negative
consequences (such as
deportation and abuse
by employers) are no longer on
the map.

 ECOSYSTEM MAPPING

Non-profit leaders were actively involved in the design of the ecosystem maps: they discussed the
linkages between all stakeholders and offered their suggestions for improving the status quo in
sticky notes.

After the workshops, I made sense of the notes from 3 breakout rooms and came up with a
reimagined ecosystem model.

PROJECT MODEL MAPPING This was one of the first sketches I made
for the current project model map.

Due to its complexity, I had to glue

together 4 US Letter pieces of paper to fit
all the details.

What I like the most about it is how all

organizations were creatively arranged in
a circle, with each umbrella (coordinator)
organization "hugging" service provider
organizations. The linkages between
service providers and grassroots were also
depicted. I used different colours to
differentiate organization types.

I also used different lines (broken and

solid) to depict the strength of the
relationships (where its strong or non-
existent, which is a gap to be addressed)
 PROJECT MODEL MAPPING
This is the final visual of the project model map. It showcases all organizations as well as the differences in provincial legislation.

During the first workshop, nonprofit leaders were presented with this map and asked to add their suggestions for improvement
as sticky notes directly on top of it. I organized and themed these insights by activity and by actor for the Ideal Ecosystem
Model.

ECOSYSTEM MAPPING

These are some of sketches I made for the

ideal ecosystem map.

It took me multiple tries to organize all

components and actors and showcase all
linkages between them in the ideal state.

ECOSYSTEM MAPPING The biggest differences between the

current project model map and the ideal
ecosystem map are the following:

the ideal map centers TFW

it showcases strong relationships
between non-profits and employers
(relationships that need to be built
for successful functioning of the
program and better TFW experience);
and
it pinpoints where provincial
legislation needs to be patched up to
be consistent between all three
provinces to offer the best protection
for foreign workers.

Additionally, it suggests the creation of a

robust network (at the bottom), involving
not only immigrant organizations, but
public schools, embassies,
municipalities and churches to better
support TFWs.
 Pre-arrival & orientation services
RECOMMENDATIONS
Out of comprehensive recommendations package developed, the
following focused more specifically on TFW experience:·

Pre-arrival information delivered through web & phone in TFW’s first

language while in home country

Due to lack of knowledge being one of the most acute challenges, I

recommended to address it even before TFWs arrive to Canada -
reaching them through targeted advertising.

·Coordinated arrival services reinforce pre-arrival information, with

in-person interaction and written collateral in multiple languages

While comprehensive pre-arrival provision is important to alleviate

information gaps, it is necessary to account for those TFWs who are
not digitally savvy or do not use internet. Establishing a relationship
with them in the airport is important to prevent them from slipping
through the cracks as they leave to work in remote locations.
 Reimagined partnership model
RECOMMENDATIONS
Revolutionized non-profit partnership model would include:

Innovative service delivery through mobile units (to reach those

in remote locations), co-location of services and digital
engagement

Employer- and industry-engagement. In the lack of trust

between employers and SPOs, TFWs are missing out on
supports. Working together with employers is important and is
beneficial to all parties (alleviating the burden of TFWs support
for employers, better informing TFWs of supports available and
increasing capacity for SPOs)

Clearer distinction between organizational roles. Umbrella

organizations could focus on addressing research gaps and
expanding and diversifying outreach and partnership while SPOs
are focused on serving TFW
CONCLUSION

Project Outcomes

This project revealed multiple research gaps which were addressed in

two follow-up projects which I led as well that were completed in
2022-2023. One of the projects went further in-depth on TFW
experience with recent policy changes.

Project findings were presented at international Metropolis

Conferences 2022 & 2023.

IRCC implemented one of the recommendations - Open work permit

for vulnerable workers.


Project Uniqueness

CONCLUSION The project stands out for its unprecedented scope and remarkably
quick completion (similar studies from the literature take 6+ months).
It integrated diverse components, forming a cohesive representation
of the TFW program.

The project exhibited a deep understanding of the motivations,

challenges, and opportunities faced by each stakeholder.
The recommendations offered innovative approach to service
delivery, completely reimagining the provision of services for TFWs
while addressing their unique challenges.

What I would do differently:

If I were to do this project again, I would engage TFWs in interviews or

focus groups. While narrative reports of service providers were full of
great information, it’s always good to speak directly with those
experiencing the program firsthand. Due to time and budget
constraints, TFW engagement was not included in the project.
In the follow-up project that was recently completed (June 2023) I
engaged 26 TFWs in both focus groups and interviews.
 THANK YOU!

Do you have any questions?

hladkikk@gmail.com