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Play 01: Understand what people need
Early in the project, spend time with current and prospective users of the service
Given the limited scope of this prototype we enlisted IBM Subject Matter Experts in the Social Services realm to act as current and prospective users. We involved them, as we will your users, from Day 1 to help develop the use case and build user personas/stories. Please see:
Use a range of qualitative and quantitative research methods to determine people’s goals, needs, and behaviors; be thoughtful about the time spent
Given the limited scope of this prototype effort, we used the IBM SME's expertise and knowledge to define users goals, needs and behaviors in developing user stories and our empathy map.
Test prototypes of solutions with real people, in the field if possible
We iteratively tested the prototype with the IBM SMEs acting as our users. Please see:
Document the findings about user goals, needs, behaviors, and preferences
We documented our findings about our users in an empathy map using the Mural Tool.
Share findings with the team and agency leadership
Representatives from the technical/development team conducted daily reviews with the IBM GBS RFI response team, which acted in the agency leadership role for the purposes of creating this prototype.
Create a prioritized list of tasks the user is trying to accomplish, also known as "user stories"
As noted above, we developed user stories and an empathy map based on our use case and used the Mural tool to document them.
As the digital service is being built, regularly test it with potential users to ensure it meets people’s needs
Once we developed the user interfaces and had some running code, we iteratively tested it with our users (IBM SMEs) to ensure we were on the right track.
Who are your primary users?
Rachel, the single mother of Molly who has learning challenges and Francis, the caseworker covering Rachel and Molly.
What user needs will this service address?
This service will help Rachel locate nearby agencies, contact information, special skills and current openings that will care for her daugther, Molly, in a timely manner.
Why does the user want or need this service?
Rachel is a very busy single mother who wants to provide the best care for Molly possible.
Which people will have the most difficulty with the service?
People with restricted or no access to mobile devices or personal computers and people with no or limited English language skills.
Which research methods were used?
We used interviewed IBM SMEs with extensive knowledge and experience working with numerous social service agencies. We were able to build on their experience when we built our empathy map and user stories.
What were the key findings?
Rachel was having challenges finding and obtaining appropriate nearby services for Molly in a timely manner as well as getting approvals to use those services.
How were the findings documented? Where can future team members access the documentation?
We documented our findings in a use case and in the Mural tool (empathy maps and user stories).
How often are you testing with real people?
We tested our app with real people at least once daily and usually more often during the prototype development period.