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Intress
Develop trauma-informed research with psychological support, ensuring safe participation for vulnerable users, while designing accessible solutions that meet the needs of diverse users, including children in foster care, survivors of abuse, ex-convicts, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities.
Challenge
PROCESS HIGHLIGHTSProject Overview
Team
UX / UI Consultant at RocaSalvatella
Team consisting of: 1 project manager, 10 psychologists, 5 developers.
Timeline
May 2023 - February 2024
Combining it with 3/4 projects at time
Skills
Research · Focus groups and interviews · Stakeholder collaboration · Documentation· user Journey · benchmarking · user personas
Tools
Figma and Figjam
Problem & Context
Intress, a well-known social services company in Spain, reached out to the company to explore the implementation of disruptive technological solutions aimed at providing significant value to its users and workers. These users encompass a diverse range, including children in foster care, survivors of abuse, ex-convicts, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities.
Goal
The main objectives for this project were:
To find out the needs of users and workers through qualitative and quantitative research to see where we can implement these technologies.
To know what technologies we can use and what technologies have already been implemented in social services or medical services.
To collaborate with relevant stakeholders, including social workers, healthcare professionals, and potential users, to gather insights and ensure a holistic understanding of the ecosystem.
“What are the needs of each user?”
“What methods can we use for such diverse users?”
“What technologies exist that can be applied in social services?”
Challenge
Process
Develop trauma-informed research with psychological support, ensuring safe participation for vulnerable users, while designing accessible solutions that meet the needs of diverse users, including children in foster care, survivors of abuse, ex-convicts, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities.
Research Tools
In this project, it was vital to focused on understanding key stakeholders: including the company, its employees, and the users essential to Intress. To gain insights, we visited over five centers across the country, immersing ourselves in Intress's diverse operations.
Our methodology involved working with psychologists to adapt various techniques for each user group, addressing the distinct verticals in which Intress operates: Children and Family, Equality and Gender, Mental Health, Older People, and Justice and Community.
INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED14
With workers
6
With user
During the research we had to design and adapt different techniques together with the educators and psychologists for the diversity of users we faced. For example, with children or younger participants, we created an empathy map activity where they imagined themselves in the role of a superhero. This approach helped them engage by encouraging them to think creatively and explore emotions and perspectives beyond their own.
WORKSHOPS AND FOCUS GROUPS CONDUCTED 7
With workers
10-15 people in each session
6
With user
10-15 people in each session
Gathering extensive information and directly engaging with users, the obtained insights were artfully transformed into rich user personas. This conversion enabled a more nuanced and user-centered understanding of the audience.
On the other hand, in parallel to all the research conducted in the centers, I conducted a study, a benchmark, of companies and organizations that had been innovating with individuals similar to our users. From this benchmark, we derived a wealth of technologies and insights that served as valuable resources for our own innovation endeavors.
In the benchmark factsheets, we outlined the purpose, implementation methods, benefits, challenges, and ultimately identified the potential opportunities for Intress. This comprehensive documentation provided a clear understanding of how each technology was utilized, its advantages, and the areas where improvements or innovations could be strategically pursued.
In order to understand what kind of technology could interact better with each user we did several workshops presenting different types of technology: consoles, VR, AR, screens, laptops... In case it was possible we brought together users from different generations to see how they could interact with each other.
Insights into opportunities
Results
95% of users
They are not aware of what is in their IEP (Individual Education Plan).
75% of users
Feel lonely at some point during their journey.
Digital gap
Given that the users are of different ages and abilities, we have found a large digital divide in the project: 58% of the users have difficulties to use technological devices autonomously.
These were the three main problems we found to be present in all areas. In addition, there were also others, such as the habitation issue and the incorporation processes, which were long and tedious due to the legal documentation that must be provided to the users.
To make the most of the insights from our research, I led an internal brainstorming workshop. During the session, the team contributed diverse perspectives to generate concepts and solutions. We began by categorizing the problems users had encountered. By utilizing user profiles and analyzing the identified pain points, the workshop encouraged cross-functional collaboration and sparked ideas for design improvements and new features.
Problems grouped into themes
Sample of the documentation provided, which presents the problem, the affected areas (shown in the user created), the criticality of the problem, houses, risks and possible opportunities to improve this problem.
In this project, I led a comprehensive research phase that ultimately paved the way for the development of a new idea, which is currently under NDA. Although I cannot disclose the specifics of the final concept, I can share the process and the valuable insights gained along the way.
The research and documentation created established a solid foundation for the project to continue moving forward, with the possibility of optimizing processes and improving the user experience in the long term.
Sample of the documentation proposed to continue the project. One of the discarded solutions