Engineering innovation with Janice Turner

Her latest endeavour, Kiki, is an automation-driven app that is designed to lighten the load for parents, epitomising how engineering can be an incredibly creative and impactful discipline.

Turner’s journey began in hardware engineering. After completing her doctorate in electromagnetic propagation, she worked on electronic sensors and antennas, applying her skills across various companies. “I started out in hardware engineering, focusing on sensors and antennas, which then evolved into a fascination with solving problems for startups,” she said.

Her career path took her through roles at various companies and eventually into consulting for early-stage startups. She spent 18 months as a Fractional Chief Product Officer at Small Robot Company, an AI-focused company that developed tools for monitoring crops. While impactful, these roles left her wanting more continuity in her contributions, and her desire see long-term impact she had lingered. “I’d get products and teams in place, but I’d leave before seeing the full impact. It always felt unfinished.”

That sense of incompletion is what would become the catalyst for her to leap into the world of entrepreneurship.

The inspiration behind Kiki

The idea for Kiki emerged from a personal experience. One day, Turner’s youngest daughter asked why she hadn’t attended a reading event at school. “I hadn’t even known about the event because the email invite was buried in my inbox,” she recalled. It was in that moment Turner realised there was potentially a widespread problem: the overwhelming volume of fragmented communications parents receive.

Drawing on her background in automation, Turner envisioned a tool to help parents manage these communications. “I thought, worst case, I make something that improves my life. But I suspected it would help many others too,” she said.

After gathering feedback from other parents, Turner teamed up with a spinout from Brunel University to apply for grants and begin developing Kiki.

With support from students and partners, she secured funding to create a proof of concept. “We wanted to go beyond what existing tools offered, focusing on automation to deliver relevant information to parents before they even knew they needed it,” she explained.

How Kiki works

Kiki is not marketed as an AI-driven app, though it uses AI tools behind the scenes. Turner and her team prefer to frame it as “automation,” a term she feels resonates better with users. “Yes, it’s AI, but many people find the term intimidating. Automation feels friendlier and more accessible, it’s also much more than just AI” she noted.

The app extracts and processes information from various formats, such as school emails and newsletters, and organises it into a family calendar and bite-sized snippets in a feed. Turner’s team also prioritises accessibility, aiming to incorporate features like text-to-speech and translation. “A recent analysis I did looked at the average reading age of the UK, which is between 11–14 years old. In deprived areas the age is nine–11 years old. School communications often have a higher reading age, which can exclude some parents. We’re working to make this information universally accessible,” she said.

Unlike traditional apps that require frequent user interactions, Kiki offers what Turner calls “invisible assistance.” Parents can check in weekly to see an overview of events, information and tasks, with notifications highlighting urgent updates. “The idea is to reduce the mental load, not add to it,” Turner explained.

Designing for simplicity and impact

Turner’s experience as a board game designer also influences her approach to Kiki. Having designed and published three board games, she learned to prioritise intuitive user experiences. “Designing games taught me to think about how people interact with a product without guidance. It’s about making things intuitive,” she shared.

Her engineering background further informs Turner’s focus on efficiency and optimisation. “Hardware engineering taught me to think about risks upfront, while game design showed me how to make complex systems feel simple. Both perspectives are key in creating something like Kiki,” she said.

Challenges and next steps

While the development of Kiki has been promising, developing any product is not without its challenges. Funding is an ongoing concern, and the rapid evolution of AI tools requires the team to stay flexible. “The advancements in large language models (LLMs) are so rapid that some of our early work became redundant. We’ve had to adapt quickly,” Turner said.

Despite these hurdles, Kiki has already resonated with parents. Early user research highlighted how overwhelmed many parents feel, with 93% admitting to accidentally missing important school events. Turner is determined to address these challenges through thoughtful design and iterative testing. “Reputation is key, so we’re taking a slow and steady approach to ensure we get it right.”

Delivering value, not only in terms of accessibility but also in terms of cost, is also high on Turner’s agenda. “We’re deliberately using AI only where necessary, to keep costs low and the app affordable. The aim is to be economical without sacrificing functionality,” she said.

Alpha testing is planned for early 2025, with features focused on consolidating school communications and syncing with existing calendars. AI integrations will follow later, depending on funding and user feedback. “Our goal is to provide real value to families, making their lives a little easier,” Turner said.

A broader perspective on engineering

Turner’s career showcases how engineering can be a springboard for creativity and innovation. From her work in hardware and product design to her ventures in board games and automation, she has consistently applied her skills to improve lives. “Engineering is about problem-solving and understanding users. Those skills translate into any creative endeavour.”

And her dedication has not gone unnoticed. Already the recipient of numerous honours and awards, in 2024 she was nominated as a finalist for the Tech Innovator Award at the 2024 everywoman Entrepreneur Awards. “Being nominated has been a great motivator. It’s pushed me to share my vision and step out from behind my computer and share my vision with others,” she said.

As Turner prepares to launch Kiki, she remains driven by her ultimate goal: helping parents. “If we can save families time and reduce their mental load, then we’ve succeeded,” she concluded.

Turner’s story is a great example of how engineering and creativity can work in harmony to meaningfully change the lives of people. With a focus on user-centred design and a clear mission, Turner is transforming how parents navigate the challenges of modern family life.