VolunJOY - IXDA Indy
Experience Design for food insecurity in United States
Date | Sept. - Nov. 2018 (12 weeks)
My Role | User Experience (UX) Designer, Facilitator
Collaborators | Lisa Butler, Yi Wang, Shijing Zhang
Outcome
A Web-based Volunteer Management System allowing organizations to easily keep track of their volunteers.
Volunteers get a streamlined experience which gives them a view into the impact their work has on the community.
Research Methods
Artifact Exemplar; Literature Review; Non-participant Observation; Interview; Diary Study; Long-term Participant Observation; Affinity Diagram; Need-based Analysis; Story Mapping;
Design Methods
User Scenario; Design Frame; Low-fi Wireframes; User Testing
THE PROCESS
Product Features
01 Volunteer Registration
- performed by volunteers on their own, or at a participating organization on their first shift.
02 Volunteer Sign-in / Sign-out
- automatically records the hours
03 Volunteer Impact Preview
- When a volunteer clocks in， they are briefly shown their dashboard.
04 Volunteer Impact Preview
- When a volunteer signs in they are shown their impact dashboard.
05 Organization Dashboard
- Organizations can track volunteer data, send out thank you notes, upload multimedia content from the dashboard.
06 Multimedia Gallery
- Organizations share images, videos, or documented anecdotes or quotes with their volunteers.
07 Automatic Email Updates (customizable)
- Thank you notes.
- Certificates of hours worked.
THE PRODUCT FLOW
THE REFLECTION
About Research and Design Methods
1/ designing with ambiguity.
Food insecurity is such a wicked problem. I need to get myself comfortable walking into a problem without know if there is going to be an answer. Most of the time, what we need to do is to know what we know and what we don't know, and carry on with uncertainties, and test and iterate to consolidate the design solution.
2/ practice and embrace new methods
There are hundreds of methods and worth learning, the process of reading, practicing and reflection on the research methods. On the practical part, I see how different research methods fit in different circumstances, and some require a much more extended period of preparation(for example, diary study requires more participants' commitment, therefore we should schedule ahead of time and try our best to reduce extra work/hassle for the participants). Therefore, familiarize me with all different kinds of methods and knowing their pros and cons are very helpful for me as a better designer. On the other side, it is still the methods serve the purpose of research/design. Having a focus beforehand is very important. Also, the process of analysis and insights is what carries out the value of methods. I think as a designer, I'll need to know 1) what I need to know, and 2) possible directions for the things I don't know I don't know before I practice a method. Then get hands dirty with an open-mind for surprises.
About Group Work
Our slack channel was created on 09/11/2018. We all can’t believe to have worked together for this long. We’ve had ups and downs in these three months, all those panic attacks when the Thanksgiving is near, and remote meetings on the road, etc. However, I sincerely appreciate working with such a great team dynamics for this extended project. All of us are very caring, responsive, supportive and ready to take the initiatives when others are experiencing not so good moments. Throughout this journey of long night meetings, complex assignments, and new challenges, we are always together and carry each other forward. I enjoy the process, and the takeaways are that since we support each other, we help each other to grow and realize the things/points that we miss and we collectively figure out the things that didn’t make sense in the beginning, and for sure, the positivity in heart works.
Complete Documentation
HAVING QUESTIONS OR WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE DECISIONS?
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