Technology & education
research in Singapore
Technology companies build products based on what engineers think users need. Education providers design programmes based on what administrators assume learners want. The gap between those assumptions and actual user behaviour is where expensive failures live. We conduct research with IT decision-makers, platform merchants, app users, employers, job seekers, and education stakeholders to close that gap before it costs money.
Assembled has delivered technology and education research spanning UX and product documentation audits for digital payment platforms, employer brand perception studies with dual-cohort employee and job seeker designs, B2B vendor research in specialised technology markets, mixed-methods retail UX testing across multiple store formats, and education programme evaluation with teachers, parents, and students.
Every project description below follows our standard confidentiality practice. Client names are withheld unless publicly agreed. Participant identities in all photography are obscured or replaced in accordance with Singapore's Personal Data Protection Act.
Product experience and UX research
For a leading ride-sharing and digital commerce platform, we conducted a UX and documentation audit for a merchant payment integration feature. The research went beyond user surveys to evaluate the actual product experience merchants would encounter, examining app documentation for clarity, FAQ completeness, payment flow logic, and whether instructions were accessible to merchants with varying technical sophistication. Edge cases like refund handling, disputed transactions, and international payments were mapped against what the documentation actually covered.
For a major Asia-Pacific retail conglomerate, we ran Zoom-based UX testing of an online grocery platform with expat communities, targeting Japanese, Korean, and other international shoppers using screen-sharing and think-aloud protocols. Participants navigated the platform while verbalising their hesitations, confusions, and search strategies. The research found that international customers searched for products using keywords from their native languages, a behaviour the search engine could not handle. That single finding, invisible in satisfaction surveys, explained a significant share of cart abandonment among a high-value customer segment.
Employer brand and talent research
For a global technology company, we designed an in-depth interview programme with dual cohorts. Job seekers actively evaluating employment options discussed workplace culture perception, company selection criteria, diversity and inclusion expectations, and what information sources shaped their impression of the employer. Current employees across different tenure stages and functional areas reflected on lived experience, covering management effectiveness, career progression, benefits adequacy, and the gap between what recruitment promised and what daily work delivered.
The dual-cohort comparison produced the most strategically valuable output. Where external perception and internal reality aligned, the employer brand was credible. Where they diverged, the research identified specific risks. One example was a significant gap between how job seekers perceived the company's innovation culture and how employees with three or more years of tenure described their actual experience of internal decision-making. That discrepancy, left unaddressed, generates early-career disengagement and reputation damage that is expensive to reverse.
B2B vendor and IT decision-maker research
For a technology services provider, we conducted early-phase exploratory research with audio-visual installation companies, understanding how these specialist firms evaluate vendors, manage integration challenges, and make technology procurement decisions. AV installers are a distinct audience from enterprise IT departments. They integrate multiple vendor solutions into comprehensive installations, serve end-users with varied technical sophistication, and operate within project-based business models. Research designed for enterprise buyers misses the workflow realities that shape installer purchasing behaviour.
The exploratory methodology was deliberately calibrated to the early stage of market assessment. Before committing to a full-scale research programme, the provider needed to understand whether the opportunity justified the investment. The research mapped technology infrastructure, integration pain points, vendor evaluation criteria, budget cycles, and switching behaviour. The output clarified whether larger-scale research was warranted and sharpened the commercial strategy enough to reduce the risk of the next phase significantly.
Education programme and stakeholder research
Education research requires speaking to multiple stakeholders who experience the same programme differently. For a local attractions operator developing educational components, we ran mixed-methods research with segmented participant groups including primary school teachers, secondary school teachers, parents of school-age children, and secondary school students. Each group received tailored discussion guides because teachers evaluate educational alignment and curriculum fit, parents assess family suitability and value for money, and students respond to engagement and entertainment quality.
The multi-stakeholder design revealed misalignment that single-audience research would have missed. Teachers prioritised curriculum integration and learning outcomes documentation. Parents prioritised practical logistics and perceived educational value. Students wanted the experience to feel less like school, not more. The programme that satisfied all three audiences required design compromises visible only through cross-stakeholder comparison. A programme optimised for teacher satisfaction alone would have been the wrong product for the people actually buying tickets.
Why technology research
matters in this market
Singapore functions as the APAC technology hub where products are tested, talent is recruited, and regional strategies are set.
Most global technology companies base their Asia-Pacific operations in Singapore. Employer brand research, talent strategy studies, and organisational culture assessments conducted here inform regional hiring across multiple markets. The concentration of technology employers also means that talent competition is intense and employer brand perception carries direct recruitment cost implications.
Singapore has among the highest smartphone penetration and digital payment adoption rates globally. Consumers are sophisticated platform users with high expectations for UX quality. Products that succeed here face a demanding audience, making Singapore an effective stress test for digital products before wider regional rollout.
Users switch between English, Mandarin, Malay, and Tamil across digital interactions. Search behaviour, in-app language preferences, and content consumption patterns vary by language context. UX research in Singapore needs to account for multilingual navigation and the code-switching behaviour that affects how consumers interact with technology products.
Singapore's education system is globally recognised, and the government actively invests in edtech and experiential learning. Education research here benefits from engaged stakeholders including teachers, parents, and policymakers who are accustomed to evidence-based programme evaluation. Findings from Singapore carry credibility with education buyers across the region.
For methodology details including focus groups, in-depth interviews, ethnography, and quantitative surveys, see our practical guide. For other industry specialisations, see our healthcare, financial services, skincare & beauty, food & beverage, and luxury goods research pages. For our IDI methodology, see in-depth interviews.
Talk to us about
technology & education research
Tell us what you need to understand about your users, your platform, or your market. We will design the right study.
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