The Challenge
How can Henry Street use technology to connect their partners and provide better opportunities for youth involved in their programs?
Henry Street is an organization that has been in operation for over 100 years positively impacts the community of the Lower East Side of Manhattan. They provide services to residents of all ages. This year they have joined an initiative called the Hub which ties together services from neighboring non-profits. To spread their reach it is important to gain more interest from young people in the community.
Discovery
Having three leaders from Henry street we conducted stakeholders interviews. Questions centered around exploring the problem of engaging the youths. How are the community is currently interacting with Henry Street? And which staff members are involved in the planning and how interactivity is being tracked.
We learned about the history of Henry Street , why it’s a staple in the community and how many people they have helped. During this conversation our team decided to create a tool for both young adults and the Hub Staff.
Problem Exploration
The Henry Street staff polled identified the following Pain Points:
● 112 Young people were seen but only have 40 active cases
● Difficulty in identifying trends and areas of interest
● Challenges in getting youths interested and retaining interest in Henry Street and partner events and activities
● Reaching out to disengaged youth
● Building lasting relationships and managing return visits
● Need to improve communication across non-profit partners
● Would like better visibility on client related data
● Needed an out of office tool to manage attendance
Our Process
Discovery and problem exploration gave us a great understanding of the user’s needs. To better design for the user personas were created. Ron the young adult persona is 17 years old, has identified interests, and is an active social media user. Chelsea the social worker persona is 36, has a team of employees that report into her, actively plans events for her clients and currently does not have a software solution to manage her work flow.
In order to provide a solution we started with a MOSCOW exercise to list the must have features for each persona. Next was a white board design sprint exercise to ideate screens. For the challenge we would design a responsive web app dashboard for Chelsea and a Native iOS app for Ron.
The Ecosystem
During the research phase we wanted to map out the eco system in which users would participate with the solution. Using a service design method we mapped out touch points involved with each persona attending an event
Design Phase
The visual design strategy began with using existing marketing materials the team had on hand. I choose the color palette and typography for next steps in the design. The largest design inspiration from the honeycomb shape which was used through out the design
UI Strategy
The UI strategy involved harmonious colors, interesting visuals, clean typography, and light icons. Keeping the design modern will help the youth to not feel a stigma for opening the app around others as there is a stigma behind needing social work services
Wireframes
Following the design pattern of grid based event apps, the youth user would be most engaged if this app felt like a fun way to communicate instead of like an assignment from their case worker. The screens that were most important to the goal completion entail attending events, finding events, monitoring goals and communicating with friends and Hub staff
Designing the Admin Dashboard
Creating the admin dashboard with components pulling from the youth app. Following the design conventions. Creating a way to visually bridge the same communication. Allowing for the user to check her calendar, create events, communicate with her team and check-in clients with the QR code scanner
Designing The Hub App
Based on what we heard from Stake holders the top concerns were communication, finding events, updated notifications. Taking these insights into the main screen design and navigation of the Hub.
Clickable Prototype
Experience The Hub app
Scenario: Ron our community youth is an existing user of the hub app. As he has already set up his preferences and made a schedule . He logs in to check for upcoming events and to find his ticket for the basketball game he is attending that evening
Business Impact
- The modernized app enables wider outreach to young adults
- One system for engaging with the target audience
- Holistic application that can be used for tracking attendance, RSVP, and attendance statistics
- Easy to understand data visualization will help analyze cost benefits for funding future events
User Impact
Ron (Young Adult Persona)
- More access to community resources and awareness of events
- Creating a positive experience and increased repeat visits to Henry Street
- Support for personal development and goal setting
- Platform to offer more incentives around events and activities
Chelsea (Admin Persona)
- Holistic workflow application for attendance, RSVP, and analytics
- Measured impact on the individual, the community and cost benefits analysis
- Less time spent in the office allows for more time in field engagements
- Platform to offer more incentives around events and activities
Takeaways
The Ultimate Youth Hub Application is the cornerstone of this pilot project. We are creating a unified system and platform that connects and facilitates the interests of the disengaged youth, Henry Street Settlement and its partnering organizations.
