design process
CLIENT
A Rocha is a non-profit Christian organization based in Surrey that engages in environmental stewardship with local families and professionals through conservation, research and education initiatives.
ON-SITE OBSERVATION & IN-PERSON INTERVIEWS [SEE PDF]
On-Site Observation
The on-site observation allowed us to look at the working environment of A Rocha. Interestingly enough, although the farmland is in fact quite a vast place, with a small population, members of A Rocha prefer to have face-to-face interaction more than any other communication method.
In-Person Interviews
We sat down with a total of 4 members with each of them holding an essential role at A Rocha such as VP, administrator, and conservation science team leader. Each interview varied from 1 to 1.5 hours as thoroughly discussed their vision and belief of the organization as well as their role and challenges at work.
We’d deployed up to 5 cultural probes to understand better the work culture at A Rocha. We also wanted to learn more about the interaction method and occurrence between the staffs and the volunteers.
PARTICIPATORY WORKSHOP
We invited some of the staffs as well as volunteer to take parts in our workshop. The workshop mainly aimed to gain more information on individuals’ values that align with the organization’s values. Also, we also collaborated with the members to map out a brief stakeholder map on how volunteers are being coordinated and managed.
Photos showcasing the planning process and participatory workshop in progress.
We came up with three different personas based on the information we’d collected from the organization so far. Then we chose one as our designated target audience to design for - the administrator.
OPPORTUNITY AND DESIGN FOCUS
Through research and data analysis, our team was particularly interested in the fact that, despite A Rocha owning a clear vision in growing and spreading its impact across the world, the current data storing and tracking system does not allow them to become into its ideal position. Therefore, we decided to take this opportunity and try to design a system that could potentially enable A Rocha's growth as an organization.
PROPOSED SOLUTION
We believed data storage and tracking offers much beyond than its technical functionality. That said, while we tried to design a digital tool allowing candidates to register and sign up to volunteer in a convenient, and meaningful manner, we also aimed to improve the connections between individual members of the A Rocha's community; whether it's volunteer-to-volunteer, volunteer-to-staff, or staff-to-staff.
WEB FLOW
After deciding on the project concept, I began to map out some of the critical UI to showcase a primary user flow. I was also in charge of making the low-fidelity wireframes as well as transferring them into a high fidelity mockups.
Low Fidelity Wireframes with User Flow
execution
REGISTRATION
While retaining user's ability to sign up for one-time volunteer only, we wanted dedicated candidates to join A Rocha and become a permanent member of the community. Therefore, the extension was provided on A Rocha original website, which linked to our A Rocha Volunteer account tool. By having the users to sign up and select their field of interest and availability, it gives them a more convenient way to revisit and view more future opportunities that best accommodate their interests. Besides, the registration also empowers the internal staff to track volunteers' information in an organized structural manner.
Friction Point:
Initially, interested candidates would have to either fill up a form or email the administrator, then wait for the organization to reply to volunteer. This uncertain wait time may discourage these potential volunteers and eventually lose interest to further pursuing in completing the rest of the procedure. Our product is then aimed to give an immediate response to the users and continue their enthusiasm in volunteering.
Registration Page Preview
PRE-VERIFIED STAGE
From our research, we learned that some specific prerequisites are needed so that interested candidates can officially and legally begin their journey of volunteering. We leveraged this insight and implemented a pre-verified status for each volunteer so that volunteers would be notified and informed of the requirement.
Friction Point:
From A Rocha's original working system, no formal structure informs the volunteers of any prerequisite. Users would have to browse and explore different pages from A Rocha's main website to discover the information; this could potentially lead to legal issues as well as unsafe behaviour when people begin to participate in volunteering. Our team redesigned the experience to make it a more linear mandatory process for each interested candidates who want to become volunteers at A Rocha.
Pre-Verified Stage requires volunteers to go through mandatory sessions
BROWSING AND SIGNING UP FOR OPPORTUNITIES
At A Rocha, there is a wide range of opportunities for potential volunteers. We emphasize on this strength and focus on creating a platform providing various ways of browsing; allowing the users to find the best volunteer opportunity that caters to their interest.
Friction Point:
While the main A Rocha website does provide users detailed information for volunteering, too many noises were generated before the segment which takes away the attention from the users; making finding opportunity overloading and much time-consume. Thus, our product minimizes all the noises and creates a clear visual hierarchy that gives A Rocha volunteers a convenient way to find a platform to browse and sign up to volunteer.
Browsing and Signing up for volunteer opportunities
VIEWING AND UPDATING PROFIES
Keeping track of data and changes had become a significant issue to A Rocha as the organization struggles to coordinate each volunteer. And by giving users a way to update their personal information, availability, and field of interest, A Rocha is empowered with the ability to adapt to any new changes from the users quickly.
Friction Point:
Initially, A Rocha solely relies on volunteers themselves to notify the administrator and the other internal staffing for any particular changes through email, phone calls, or in person. While the method does serve its purpose, miscommunication would often occur; causing a situation that's both sophisticating and frustrating for the volunteers and the business. So without altering the current system, our team adds another a way that is easy and error-free to make any changes.
Viewing and Updating Volunteer Profiles
POST-VOLUNTEER - NOTES FEATURE
Our ultimate goal for the product is to continuously engage dedicated volunteers so that they would become a permanent member of the community. And understanding the act of volunteering is an activity that solely relies on individual's will, the note feature aims to create an engaging environment by allowing the volunteers and the staffs a way to convey their gratefulness and sending encouraging words to each other after the occurrence of the event or activity.
ADMIN’S PERSPECTIVE
Leveraging from the insight we gained from our research, we also incorporate the administrator's perspective to empower her/him with the ability to coordinate volunteers based on upcoming events or interests. Also, the administrator could also find ideal candidates that are best suited with the organization's need and can print off information of each which synchronizes with the working culture of A Rocha where most of the employees prefer to have a face-to-face meeting without minimal technology.
Viewing specific volunteer’s information from an event
Multi-selecting volunteers for printing
final thought
Our proposed solution aims to provide A Rocha with the potential of expanding into a global scaled organization while retaining its active engagement with its volunteers. We recognize that data and information are undoubtedly the crucial keys for an organization to become globally successful. And A Rocha Volunteers empowers the company's members precisely that to allow them to keep track of data in an organized and efficient fashion.
This project provided me with a unique opportunity and experience in design. The nature of the problem which requires a solution that accounts for two sides of stakeholders: the volunteers and the internal staffs. And this two-way system was challenging for me since I had to keep both parties in mind while designing the interfaces. Ultimately, I believe our product was able to carry out that aspect quite efficiently, and the project taught about the importance of taking consideration of any possible stakeholders.
