The Red Cross
Intake app for disaster responders
Overview
Make it easier for volunteers to process client information and better connect them to community resources.
Stakeholders
User interviews and discovery activities to better identify volunteer goals.
Pain points and problem statements to summarize research
Comparative analysis and a site map to plan solution
Prototypes that show design outline
Key activities
Charlotte chapter volunteer manager and team provided guidance for the redesign
Intended users (volunteers)
The results
A mobile app for volunteers to use enter and track client information.
Tools
Figma
Microsoft Word
My role
UX design
Research
Brand design
Understand the problem
Amid natural disasters, the Red Cross Disaster Action Team for the Mecklenburg Chapter deploys volunteers into the community to gather client info and gauge resource eligibility. I volunteered with them during COVID and saw the results of a poor user experience on many levels.
The problem
During this time, the Red Cross was transitioning from a manual paper version of the intake to a digital processing app. I identified several contributing factors to the problem including
Poor vendor reliability
Inability to edit info and track form progress
This posed a significant challenge, causing frustration among the majority of volunteers, primarily aged 65 and above. It resulted in overall confusion and disorganization among the volunteers, high burnout rates, and low intake accuracy.
The original client web based intake form
Research and empathize
Over the next month, I gathered observations via secondary research and interviews. Then, I distilled them into pain points that I analyzed later.
Takeaways: Training lacks relevance, and if overhauled, may reduce the need for reactive help in the field.
If the intake is not completed correctly the first time, it delays follow up and the funds a client needs.
A follow up call a day later doesn’t help if they aren’t able to access funds at that time.
Goal: Viewing other processes helped me better understand the systems already in place that affect the user journey as a whole.
Method: I began my research by dictating what I already knew. I listed out the sections users fill out in the current intake form.
The role of the intake
User interviews
Goal: Better understand the user experience from a new volunteer’s perspective and why they dislike the app so much.
Method: I conducted six interviews over video with the local volunteer leadership team. I was not able to formally interview volunteers, but I did gain a sense of understanding about the major pitfalls they encounter during my personal field work.
Takeaways: I identified 4 common occurring themes within the interviews.
Inability to edit information-led to long wait times, and constant need for managerial assistance.
User environment- constant distractions resulted in having to login several times, wasting time.
Outdated training modules-Training modules were not related to the actual app.
Inflexible processes- rigid protocols for the 3rd party vendors resulted in do-overs and wrong answers on the intake form.
Synthesize and define
I analyzed my research findings and connected them to my stakeholders and users. How I conveyed my learnings were just as important as the knowledge itself.
Identifying influencer values and goals
Goal: To better understand my stakeholders’ and users’ goals, and how they relate to each other.
Method: I included the intended stakeholder’s values and goals as a way to directly compare everyone’s needs and priorities. I also integrated user goals, motivations, and frustrations to gain insights into their actions and decision-making.
Takeaways: The newly released app was less efficient than the manual process, highlighting the need to align with user and stakeholder values for a meaningful impact.
Ideate
I ideated and prioritized potential features based on the themes from user research; independence, reliability, and knowledge. These would empower users to predict and adapt to their changing environment without sacrificing the quality of client care.
Site map & user flow
Goal: Organize the current features in the intake app.
Method: I created a site map with the current features, organized using different sub-categories, guided by a navigation bar and progress bar.
Takeaways:
The site map streamlined the data input process, and prioritized the following user jobs.
Independently making and viewing edits in the system.
An intuitive process that allowed the user to know where they were at all times, and answer questions out of order without getting lost.
Site map
User flow
Prototype
I incorporated my design decisions and recommended features into a prototype and UI kit.
Low-fidelity prototype
Goal: I visually mapped out the restructuring of existing features, allowing me to make informed design and usability decisions.
Method: I used Figma to create these low-fidelity prototypes.
Takeaways:
Recognizing the impact of time-sensitive situations on short-term memory, I introduced a review section on each questionnaire page as well as at the end of the entire form.
I included a clear progress bar so users could easily track their position and remaining tasks.
Test
Two rounds of usability testing revealed that users struggled to divide their attention between several small tasks which led to a high rate of mistakes.
Usability testing
Goal: Perform testing to reveal any usability problems that existed with the current design.
Method: I conducted these tests with the volunteer leadership team (6 people). All users completed the same task: "complete an intake flow for a client”
Takeaways: Terms such as “primary” and “secondary clients” confused users because it implied hierarchal value. Users were unsure what to do with the receipt, and with the follow up details.
Final design
A simplified structure and clear visual feedback to user's actions created a more efficient experience. Users needed the ability to make informed decisions, and obtain feedback from their results.
Next steps
I would tackle the vendor related problems, and integrate it into the larger product roadmap. I would start by...
Assessing buy-in from the product owner, design team, engineers, and stakeholders regarding the vendors, and in-house work
Understanding what existing work has been done, if any, to improve this process
Understand why each vendor was chosen, what works, what doesn't work, budget constraints, and how it fits into the product roadmap
