Rapid prototyping
COMPANY
ROLE
EXPERTISE
YEAR
Team
1 executive stakeholder, 1 researcher, 1 full stack developer, 1 product manager + me (1 UI/UX designer)
Timeline
5 weeks from explorations to prototype presentation in
Background
How do you know the person you are hiring has the skillsets that you really need, or if it was Gary, his high-school classmate, who verified those skillsets on LinkedIn?
This solution, hosted on the blockchain, sought to give both employers and workers greater validation of their professional portfolios. One that could empower people to carry their verified skills and contributions with them across jobs, platforms, and stages of life.
At the heart of the brief was a belief: opportunity should follow people, not platforms.
Research & Planning
Research was conducted by the The Institute for The Future for user validation
Design & Prototyping
This prototype included a dashboard where users could view, manage, and export reputation credentials; a verification layer for authenticity; and privacy settings that put control back in the hands of the individual.
Implementation
Contributions to projects (e.g. Javascript, UX, etc) are verified by project team members. You can search for folks with the experience you need through the contributors you trust and the contributors they trust.
Work.nation uses decentralized identity (uPort), decentralized storage of reputation data (IPFS), and blockchain claim notarization (Ethereum). The technical overview and open source code are on github.
Role of Blockchain
Blockchain's decentralized nature freed workers from having a single source own their data.
The Currency of Reputation
Centralized reputation profiles are like arcade tokens usable in a single arcade. Both users and platforms can increase the value of their reputation currency by adopting portable reputation protocols.
While this particular prototype did not turn out to be LinkedIn’s greatest competitor, it inspired innovative thinking among the team, fostering collaboration and creating lasting memories. And while I reflect on this time fondly to guide where I want to go next in my career, I am reminded that the best way to predict the future isn’t to talk about it — it’s to show it.
Prototypes are alignment machines.
Prototypes are momentum accelerators. Most of all, prototypes are trust builders.
What matters isn’t fidelity — it’s that you do it together, with a clear goal and a bounded timeframe. It’s a box that invites focus and creativity, without overthinking. Dive in.