Illustrative experiment01
AI adoption
"Can AI actually help us?"
What you end up with
A clear understanding of where AI can help, what works and what it would take to implement it.
u.lab
An innovation and experimentation lab.
We help organizations, governments and entrepreneurs understand problems, test ideas and build practical solutions.
When the answer isn't obvious, we research the problem, explore the options and test what works.
Problem → Research → Experiment → Evidence → Decision
Why we exist
Some problems need more than advice.
A government department wants to improve a public service. A company wants to know whether AI can actually improve its operations. A founder has an idea but doesn't know whether customers will use it. An institution wants to digitise a process but doesn't know where to start.
These problems don't always need another report or presentation. Sometimes they need someone to investigate the problem, build something and test it.
That's where u.lab comes in.
Start a Conversation →What we do
Four capabilities, used in sequence
01
Research
We investigate markets, technologies, users, organizations and problems to understand what is really happening.
- Market research
- User research
- Technology research
- Competitive analysis
- Emerging technology intelligence
Strategy
We turn information into decisions. We help identify opportunities, evaluate options and determine what should happen next.
- Opportunity assessments
- Product strategy
- Technology strategy
- Business models
- Innovation strategy
Experimentation
We test ideas before organizations commit significant time and money. We design focused experiments, pilots and proofs of concept to answer specific questions.
- Prototypes
- Pilots
- Proofs of concept
- User testing
- Process experiments
- Technology trials
Building
When there is something worth building, we build it. Depending on the problem, that could be a digital product, AI application, internal tool, prototype, program or new venture.
- MVPs
- Digital products
- AI solutions
- Internal tools
- Prototypes
- Venture concepts
The work is the proof
The kinds of questions an experiment can answer
Every example below is written by u.lab to show the shape of our work. They are not client projects and contain no client results.
Illustrative experiment02
Founder validation
"Will people actually use this?"
What you end up with
Evidence to decide whether to build, change or stop.
Illustrative experiment03
Public-sector process
"This government service takes too long."
What you end up with
A tested improvement that can be measured and potentially scaled.
Illustrative experiment04
Emerging technology
"Can this technology work here?"
What you end up with
Evidence about whether the technology is worth pursuing.
Illustrative experiment05
New venture
"We want to launch something new."
What you end up with
Better information before a larger investment is made.
How we work
Understand → Explore → Test → Learn → Build
- 01
Understand
We start with the problem. What is happening? Who is affected? What do we know? What don't we know?
- 02
Explore
We research possible approaches, technologies, markets and solutions.
- 03
Test
We build the smallest useful experiment and put it into the real world.
- 04
Learn
We look at what happened. What worked? What didn't? What surprised us?
- 05
Build
We use what we learned to improve the solution, run another experiment or decide that the idea isn't worth pursuing.
"We don't need every experiment to succeed. We need every experiment to produce useful information."
Who we work with
Five kinds of collaborator
- 01Governments & Public InstitutionsFor public problems that need new approaches, better services or practical experimentation.→
- 02CompaniesFor organizations exploring technology, improving processes or developing something new.→
- 03EntrepreneursFor founders validating ideas, researching markets and building their first version.→
- 04Researchers & SpecialistsFor people with expertise who want to collaborate on interesting problems.→
- 05PartnersFor organizations that want to sponsor, fund or participate in experiments.→
Why u.lab
Five commitments we hold to
- 01
We start with the problem.
We don't force every problem into a predetermined solution.
- 02
We test before we scale.
Small experiments can prevent expensive mistakes.
- 03
We build when building makes sense.
Sometimes research is enough. Sometimes you need a prototype.
- 04
We work across disciplines.
Technology, research, business, design and strategy often need to come together.
- 05
We care about evidence.
A good idea is only a hypothesis until it meets reality.
Difficult questions
The questions we find interesting
We would map where time is actually lost, then test AI on one narrow task before anyone signs a platform contract.
We don't always know the answer. That's the point. We experiment.
BRING US THE
PROBLEM →
PROBLEM →
You don't need to have the solution. Start with the problem. Tell us what you're trying to figure out, and we'll help determine what needs to be researched, tested or built. Bring us the problem.