RESEARCH-LED ADVICE
ORIA supports organisations to close the gap between how services are designed and how they work in practice
WHAT WE DO
Diagnose service and system performance
We analyse how programmes, services, and platforms function in practice, including how people engage with them and where breakdowns occur.
Translate evidence into design direction
We turn research insights into clear, practical recommendations teams can act on.
Advise on strategy and governance
We work directly with decision-makers to ensure evidence informs how programmes, policies, and services are designed and governed.
There is often a gap between how a service or system was designed and how it is experienced by those expected to use or deliver it.
Design decisions are often based on assumptions that have not been tested in real conditions. When those assumptions are wrong, the service fails to do what it was designed to do.
That gap is what ORIA exists to close.WHO WE WORK WITH
We work with organisations responsible for designing, funding, or delivering programmes and services, whether building something new or improving something that is not yet working as intended
Federal & State Government Ministries
Policy and programme performance · Inter-agency coordination challenges · Service delivery reform · Research and evidence capability
Development Partners & NGOs
Programme evaluation · Delivery risk and performance gaps · Evidence for funding and accountability
Fintech & Financial Services
Product performance and inclusion · Customer engagement and retention · Growth in underserved markets
SELECTED WORK
Mobile Banking Usability for Low-Literate Users
Problem: Nigerian mobile banking apps were designed without testing how low-literate users actually use them.
What we did: Three-year study with 80+ users in Nigeria. Observed, tested, and co-designed with real users across multiple rounds. Result: 40% improvement in task success · 50% reduction in errors.Onboarding Drop-off Diagnosis
Problem: Users were abandoning the onboarding process. The data showed where, but not why.
What we did: Interviews and usability testing. Identified the specific points of confusion driving drop-off. Result: 25% reduction in support calls · 18% improvement in task success.Digital Transformation Workshops with Google Cloud
Context: A professional development programme using Google Cloud tools and a user-centred design approach.
What we did: Designed and led 12 service redesign workshops with 100+ participants. Result: 100+ participants trained · 15 progressed to Accenture hiring process.FOUNDER
Dr Khadijah D Mohammed ..
… is a human–computer interaction researcher and adviser working at the intersection of digital inclusion and governance. Her work has been funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office through the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, conducted across Nigeria and the UK, published by ACM and Springer, and presented at national legislative forums, including the 6th Legislative Summit on Health in Abuja.
Most importantly, her work has led to measurable improvements in live services, including reductions in errors, drop-off, and support burden for groups routinely overlooked in design and implementation.
She founded ORIA after repeatedly seeing organisations invest in systems that struggle in practice and respond with further intervention before fully understanding what is going wrong. This often creates a cycle of repeated fixes without addressing the root cause.
ORIA exists to use real-world evidence to support organisations in understanding what is actually happening and what needs to change.
RESEARCH FUNDING
SPEAKING & POLICY
Centre for Information Resilience, London
FIELD RESEARCH
QUALIFICATION
Associate Fellow, HEA, UK
COMMUNITY
User Experience Consultant, Soundscape App (Scottish Tech Army)
UPDATES
APRIL 2026 · SPEAKING
Invited to present at UNU-EGOV Webinar Series on ICEGOV paper: "Inclusion by Design or by Assumption? What Mobile Banking Reveals About Digital Policy".
MARCH 2026 · RECOGNITION
Co-authored paper: "From Periphery to Presence" receives Honourable Mention at ACM CHI 2026, the leading international conference on human-computer interaction.