A few weeks ago we started our engagement with the communities we had identified for the project.

Our process for engaging has used the following methodology:

  1. Identification of community group(s)
  2. Initial contact to gauge interest in participating in the project
  3. Interview with key contact in the group.
  4. Paperwork formalities (consent, etc)
  5. Pre-workshop mapping exercise
  6. Group workshop which explores the existing journey and approaches taken
  7. Sharing of workshop outputs

The interviews and workshops are all being conducted online which is a novel experience for all involved. So far the technology has worked most of the time and we have been able to capture valuable insights and data.

We expect this first phase to engage 6-8 groups which reflects the diverse background and geography of 400+ groups nationwide. Once complete, we will review the insights, knowledge and observations captured such that we can prepare design documents, user journeys and application wireframes. The intent is to share these with the communities to gather feedback and identify what features provide the greatest impact for communities.

On the research side, we are starting to discuss what variables we will measure and test through the platform.