OVERVIEW

The Brief

This project began just as restrictions due to Covid-19 came into effect, and managing the uncertainty surrounding those restrictions challenged us to design services that may not have been necessary just two weeks previous. We were also still getting used to our civic responsibility to social distance. The first hurdle was conducting ethnographic research without being physically present.

ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH

Designing In A Time Of Crisis

I began by observing how community organizers responded to the ‘lockdown’ (for want of a better word), and conducted semi-structured online interviews with organizers who were navigating the new normal, and an elderly person who was ‘cocooning’.

Volunteer Outreach Coordinator

◦“There was all this lively solidarity online, but maybe it was missing the mark because it wasn’t reaching the people who needed it the most.”

◦“Written communication is something the elderly are comfortable with.

Events Organizer

◦“It gives me an enormous sense of purpose. So when it’s taken away unexpectedly, that’s what I’m grieving, the sense of purpose.”

◦“It’s for people like us, to have permission to be silly, to sing in a group without having to worry about sounding good or looking cool.”

Cocooning Elderly Person

◦”I couldn’t visit my granddaughter on her birthday, but I am thankful that we are all well and healthy.”

◦”A lady who calls to help me every few weeks now is not able to visit.”

RESEARCH INSIGHTS

Questions Moving Forward

PERSONAS

Understanding The Users

THE SOLUTION

Offering Assistance To Neighbours

At the time, the 2 km travel rule had just come into effect, and I had noticed an online effort to lift spirits. Good Neighbour harnesses the altruism that people were expressing digitally, and extends it to the people who need it most; those who aren’t online, while adhering to hygiene and distancing guidelines.

TESTING

Lo-Fi Prototypes

FEEDBACK

Refining The Fidelity

The second iteration was made in Adobe XD, but again, with minimal detail to keep users focused on the flow. It became apparent through testing that if Good Neighbour is suggesting people visit places near them, it should show them where those places are.

PROTOTYPE

Hi-Fi Screen Flow

PROGRAMMING

Building The Site

Due to restrictions, it was difficult to test an XD prototype on people outside my household, and online form builders were too constrained to represent the service accurately. I built the site using HTML, CSS and JavaScript, and hosted it through Github Pages. This allowed users to test the site without needing to download any prototyping software first. I could then finally get feedback from a variety of users, and I continued improving the site long after the project brief was over.

USABILITY

Remote User Testing

Finally, I could send the site to users outside my household to be tested. I asked them to record themselves using the site, and encouraged them to say whatever came to mind. The videos allowed me to see even minor hesitations that the users might not consider mentioning had they only taken photos. Four distinct problems arose in almost every test.

1. The instruction text looked too much like a button. By removing this top bar, I could keep the description near the call to action.

2. The geolocation was not working on first load, so I sought the help of a Javascript developer to debug the code with me.

3. The fonts weren’t loading for most people. This was an easily fixed error.

4. The print button was in different places for different people. I had misused flexbox but could not notice it on my monitor.

GOODNEIGHBOUR.IE

The Redesigned Site