Design Thinking Meetings framed in the development of the RNAVVD Management platform

In July 2021, AmbiSig, an entity specialized in computer engineering and software development, was selected to develop the digital platform supporting the ViViDo team. AmbiSig's work methodology includes a Design Thinking workshop. This started in October, after regular meetings of the ViViDo team in order to prepare the orientation of the work with AmbiSig, and thus began another phase in the development of the Management platform for the Support Network for Victims of Domestic Violence . Following the Design Thinking methodology (developed by Stanford University) proposed by AmbiSig, the ViViDo team and CIG were in consecutive meetings, identifying critical factors and clarifying formal and functional aspects of the future platform.

As cinco etapas do processo de Design Thinking (Institute of Design at Stanford)

The process was developed over 5 steps:

Step 1: Empathize

Creating empathy involves 'observing' (seeing the user and their behavior in the context of their lives and activities); 'involve' (through interviews/conversations); 'seeing and listening' (a combination of observation and engagement, delving into key themes). In this context, a series of interviews were conducted with the ViViDo team and the CIG in order to have a better characterization of the platform's usage profile; where experiences, opinions and suggestions that emerged from the entities in the process of interviews carried out by the ViViDo project team at the beginning of the year were reported.

Step 2: Define

At this stage, an attempt was made to bring clarity and focus to the design space, while developing an understanding of the type of user you are designing for. The objective was to make sense of the information obtained and to explicitly define the problem/challenge in a meaningful and operational way, that is, to reach a Point of View (POV - Point of View). The POV articulates the three elements – user, needs and insights – and thus emerges from a process of information synthesis and identification of patterns and connections between the results registered in the empathy phase.

Based on the reports from stage 1, the teams structured sets of post-its with key elements in a framework designed for the occasion. This definition phase served as a structural foundation for the following steps.

Screenshot da 2ª sessão: whiteboard com post-it dos 3 grupos de trabalho

Step 3: Ideate

At this stage of the design process, we moved from identifying problems to generating concepts and creating solutions for users. It was a process of "amplification" in terms of concepts and results. Starting from a wide range of ideas, it is possible not yet to find the best solution – this will be discovered later, through tests and user feedback – but rather to explore several possible alternatives.

At this stage, a table was filled in that served as a means of interpreting the dimensions previously assessed and thinking of concrete ideas for implementation in the platform's interface.

Step 4 and 5: Prototyping and Testing (low fidelity)

Prototyping is the iterative generation of artifacts designed to respond to initial problems/challenges. At first, low-resolution prototypes (interface sketches) were created in order to get feedback.

In this Design Thinking process, the test stage, even though it is still low-fidelity, allows us to foresee fundamental issues in the user experience and in the platform interface.

Screenshot da 4ª sessão: processo de definição de conteúdos e funcionalidades

This process continues to be developed by AmbiSig in partnership with the ViViDo project team and CIG. Basically, the needs, concerns, suggestions and ideas that arose in the process of interviews with the RNAVVD structures carried out by the ViViDo project at the beginning of the year were conveyed. The work developed in partnership with AmbiSig over four sessions allowed the definition of a first draft of the platform's layouts, contents and functionalities, in which simplicity, usability and accessibility were privileged, so that this is an effectively useful work tool and simplifying processes and communication.

During the month of November, Phase 1 of the platform's development will be concluded, the referred to “Design Thinking”, and Phase 2 will begin, which will be based on the “Architecture of technical specifications”. After the design phase, RNAVVD structures will be invited to participate in the testing phase – beginning of the second quarter of 2022 -, in order to optimize the platform's functionality and the experience of its use.