Transition Toolkit
Empowering Impoverished Youth
Process:
User Interviews, Research, wireframing, prototyping, User testing and Iteration
Scope:
6 months - ongoing
Role:
Sole UIUX Designer collaborating with cross-functional team
As the UI/UX designer at Wannagonna, a non-profit organization (NPO). I I had an amazing opportunity to be volunteering for a project aimed at developing a tool to help youths transition into adulthood.
We met with the organizers of YouMeWe and IFCA, who closely engage with displaced youths. They believe that merely distributing booklets on fundamental adult responsibilities, such as paying bills, fails to maintain their interest.
Two problems:
Newly graduated youths are seeking to return to foster care due to difficulties in navigating life.
Caretakers are finding it difficult to set boundaries as their time is limited and they have to help other children
We had a meeting with newly graduated foster who are currently volunteering and helping the current youths.
Identifying pain points and opportunity
To determine why the current system was failing we came up with these questions to better understand their living situation and motivation. Because we didn’t want to narrow and direct answers I kept the questions very broad.
What motivates you in general?
Why did you stopped the program?
What are your daily lives like after fostercare?
Key Findings
1. Lack of adult role models
Some youths found it difficult to do tasks such as paying a phone bill because they have never seen an adult in their life doing these
2. Misplaced urgency:
Such as wanting to buy a newer phone as to buying utensils to cook or paying bills
3. Integration of the booklet:
The booklet is not an active part of their life.
4. Past trauma & loneliness:
Past trauma leading to difficulties in reaching out to strangers. Most youths realized that living by themselves is lonely, which encourages some of them to return to foster-care.
5. Short-term orientation:
Short term orientation is insufficient in helping them.
6. Clarity of instructions
7. The language inside the booklets is too difficult
8. Lack of motivation:
Doesn’t find any merit in pushing through the booklet.
We decided to focus on creating the first product for youths by developing an app.
After interviewing the graduated youths and the current youths in the foster-care, we came up with the solution to create the first MVP app for them. Since all of the youths have access to mobile phones compared to desktop. It will also be easier for current caretakers and PIC to keep them in touch.
Turning insights into motivation and concepts
How might we help youths reach out for help while encouraging independency ?
Incorporate mentorship features within the app, allowing caretakers to foresee progress within each youth's journey. In return, youths can reach them easily, but at the caretaker’s pace.
Kane
Progress
Yumi
Progress
How might we keep them motivated to use the app so that they are less likely to stop mid-way?
How might we help foster kids prioritize essential needs effectively, considering their tendency to prioritize wants like purchasing new phones over crucial tasks like paying bills?
Organize a roadmap so foster kids learn about the essentials first. Implement reminders and checklists so they can hold themselves accountable while also educating them on why understanding these essentials is important.
洗濯
料理・栄養
防犯・安全確認
User testing
Since we cannot directly communicate with the protected underage users and must go through their guardians, it adds a layer of complexity to our design process. As a UI/UX designer, my goal is to ensure that the app is not only usable but also highly motivating for users.
Guardian’s Dashboard
In this dashboard guardians are able to select each youth and check on their progress. Guardians are able to message each youths directly when they have a bump during the progress.
Turning essentials
into a bite-sized roadmap
Addressing the language difficulties and lack of motivation, we opted to gamify the learning progress. Each content would also have a dictionary list on the bottom making it easy for users to look up words.
Promote motivation and reward users for progressing
Users are given rewards every time they managed to complete an essential course. They can also exchange these rewards on real-life coupons.
Feedbacks and iterations
Weekly ranking, friend nudges, chatroom removal.
To make the app more social, I implemented a weekly ranking feature on the dashboard, allowing users to nudge their friends to enhance accountability. However, considering the users are minors, we removed the chatroom due to security concerns. I also added a to-do list for both guardians and youths so they can take notes of essential things they haven’t completed.
Instead of hiding points, use visible points to motivate users to explore further
Initially I though it would peaked the user interest if you have to unlock the courses one by one. But after receiving feedbacks, it is more motivating to know how much reward points you will receive if you continue the progress.
Users themselves initiate checklist completion instead of sending them to caretakers.
In the design, users take personal responsibility for completing checklists instead of relying on guardians. We've included informative details with each item to illustrate the importance of preparation. This approach empowers users to stay organized and ensures they have everything they need.