And now what?!
Accompanying a group of psychologists and educators along the creation of a new digital platform: this is the challenge that they presented to me at the beginning of the Sillb-APP project.
Me?
Really?
Wow!
A mixture of fear, uncertainty and happiness! A delicate task that went beyond my technical skills acquired at the Polytechnic of Turin but that basically teased me a lot...and that today I am happy to have accepted!
The platform in mind had to be simple: allow kids to access the new tool, carry out the tasks set by the center and automatically send the results.
A state-of-the-art centre 🏆
Sillaba has always been concerned with learning in children with disabilities and autism and works to study, apply and innovate the strategies shared within the world of communication. For this reason, operators are constantly asking:
How to make our work more effective?
It has been reflected on how the lockdown period for the recent pandemic and distance learning have revealed how multimedia interaction can become a learning strategy in children with intellectual disabilities.
In direct contact with children
The approach that Sillaba takes to assess children progress is fascinating. Universally known by the term ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) this method allows the objective evaluation of periodic activities carried out by children.
The centre allows children to perform multiple activities and keeps track of the results obtained to evaluate the progress achieved and to modify future activities.
Analysing the method used, it was noted that:
🏫 Children can only carry out activities on site as the material and educators are not available at home.
🙅🏽♂️ The process of saving the results carried out by the operators is a complex and prolonged procedure.
💸 The cost to families is directly proportional with the number of hours spent in the center.
A new approach🗽
The Sillab-APP project was created to provide a solution to the difficulties identified through the development of a centralized digital platform.
The new architecture had to allow the development of selected activities directly at the home of the children being able to send the results obtained to the reference operators.
After this clear introduction the realization of the platform was my responsibility!
Given the magnitude of the work required it was necessary to combine multiple experiences of past years to approach the task!
Build the team 🙌
A multidisciplinary approach was needed to approach the project presented, a team of people who shared a clear goal and wanted to have a positive impact on the children' lives.
In my dual role as Project Manager and User Experience Designer, I orchestrated the collaboration between the different stakeholders represented by the educators of Sillaba, the development team and the families involved and directed the design of the required platform focusing on scalability and intuitiveness.
The tip of the iceberg 🥶
The first challenge was to make the educators of the Sillaba center aware that in reality the platform required was much more complex!
To do this, we worked closely with the educators, drawing the flow they had imagined and then presenting a set of questions that had arisen during their presentation.
The questions started a phase of research and exploration with the aim of understanding the expected features at 360º.
It took time and resources but in the end we managed to list the different themes, group them in clusters and organize specific workshops to deepen the points detected.
It seemed to have thought of everything but in reality something was missing!
The platform's users double.
The workshops made Sillaba aware that the original flow they imagined was only a part of the entire platform they had in mind and that as a result...
The educators themselves had to be part of the platform!
The platform in fact have to allow educators to create new accounts for educators, young people and be able to set up related activities according to specific needs.
In this way, the platform allows the complete management of educators, children, specific activities and the necessary materials 🎉🔝
The functionality required for children and operators seemed initially very different, different applications for the two categories of users could be created.
This would allow a greater freedom in updating the individual branches of the platform but the thought changes when they realized that the platform actually could have much wider use than those initially supposed!
Not only at home! 🏡
Initially designed for children at home, the platform is actually an extremely useful tool even in the center itself integrating it in activities in presence or in schools where children are often accompanied.
Separate applications denied direct interaction between different users!
It was therefore decided to create a single platform that would allow access both as an operator and as a child using single, different and unique licenses.
A single application, a simple experience!
Having defined the requirements of the platform, it was possible to start making wireframe and a prototype of the application focusing on UX/UI taking into consideration the type of young people and educators present in the center.
Sillab-APP starts with 60 children! 🔝
The center starts to put the platform on the field during the meetings in the presence and the first feedback is amazing!
Both children and educators are very satisfied with the platform and the results that were observed in the months following use!
The app is now distributed directly to family devices to carry out activities from home as imagined!
A look back
After some time, I’m really happy to have accepted that great challenge!
Directing the design of Sillab-APP has required many previous skills but at the same time has taught me a lot!
Now we are considering new strategies to expand the number of children who benefit from this tool by reaching schools and other learning centers, I am curious to see the next chapters of this journey that although the great results is only at the beginning!
Performed 7 years of service within groups of entertaining children and teenagers.
Participated and directed multiple school camps dedicated to the education of new entertainers of children focusing on the recognition of the different needs of children and young people.
Attended computer science in the Polytechnic of Turin, in which I had the opportunity to participate in multiple multidisciplinary university projects that have allowed to learn new skills, create networks, love teambuilding and much more!
In collaboration with EssilorLuxottica and the Polytechnic of Milan, I had the opportunity to participate in an exciting project that aimed to analyze and improve the customer journey of Sunglasshut.com. The only engineer surrounded by designers has allowed me to get closer to the world of creative research, communication and user experience.
An internship within the e-commerce team of the world’s leading company in the eyewear and eyecare industry has allowed me to directly assist multiple PMs in their daily activities dedicated to the integration of new business tools carried out to improve site performances followed.
What happened next?
Find out what happened after this great project! Keep following the stories to learn about the latest developments and upcoming adventures.
