This design exercise puts my process into play on a small scale and demonstrates how I problem-solve through research and design. Though it wasn't an actual ask from Team Rubicon, I approached it as if it were for a realistic case study.
Research
I started with the Team Rubicon website. What was clear was that the work was meaningful and the connections deep. It was easy to see how culturally and functionally important it was for Field Ops Leaders to learn names quickly, especially in the context of a diverse group of people coming together from all over to work together on disaster relief.
I contacted Jonathan Chin, a Team Rubicon employee, via LinkedIn and invited him to be interviewed for this exercise. Not only did he share a wealth of information but I could tell Team Rubicon meant a lot to him.
I created an account as a volunteer.
I looked up Team Rubicon on the web, which gave me an idea of their reach, scope, collaborations, process, and the kind of technology that might be used, depending on the location.
Next, I sought to understand the specific skills and techniques required to learn names quickly and retain them in memory.
I interviewed two public school teachers that worked at schools with large student bodies and had many classes of students they taught. I read Moonwalking With Einstein by Joshua Foer, a book on memory, and I listened to a podcast on memory techniques.
The easiest way for Field Ops Leaders to learn the names of new volunteers before meeting them in person would be from their profile pics. However, the old-school way of looking at pics and names would not engender quick learning. It relied too much on rote memorization and self-motivation.
I researched face analyzing technology to see if it could assist in the learning process.
I also reflected on my own experience. When I taught the UXDI bootcamp at General Assembly, I had to learn the names of my instructional team, the other UXDI instructors, the instructors of other disciplines, non-instructional GA staff, and 30+ of my own students in a very short amount of time.
I organized the information from Jon and distilled it down to the most relevant points. I was most interested in understanding the current process for Field Ops Leaders and volunteers. A new way to learn names would be most successful if it slipped seamlessly into their current process, rather than creating a different one.
I organized the information from the teacher interviews, the memory book, and the memory podcast, and distilled it down to the most relevant points.
I keyed in on the capabilities of face detection technology that could be helpful in assisting in quick name learning.
I took everything I'd learned and created a solution concept that addressed the original ask and could seamlessly be integrated into their current process.
I designed screens based on the solution concept. Here, you see an overview of the app with the menu, the name learning screens, and then the rest of the app which contains the ability to create teams but could grow into more.
I thought thoroughly about each element - -its purpose, function, and content - and documented the specs. To encourage Field Ops Leaders to learn names it's presented in the app as a task with a progress indicator rather than a navigation item.
"Know Your TRibe" in the menu may not sufficiently communicate what the task is and why it's important. The first time a Field Ops Leader opens the task, a brief intro is shown that addresses those questions.
This is the first view of the learning section of the app. It shows the Field Ops Leader's view, explains how the learning works, and, most importantly, why it works. Each element's spec is also documented in detail.
At the core, the learning section mimics social media heavily to make an otherwise high-effort activity light and sticky. The face technology algorithm optimizes the order in which profiles are shown for efficient learning.
Based on the insight that the act of recall strengthens memory and learning, there is also spaced repetition testing in the app.
As a Field Ops Leader scrolls, viewing profiles, tests show at optimized intervals. These tests are short and simple but are timed. There are two types of tests: recalling the name from the photo and recalling the face from the name.
As the Field Ops Leader passes these tests, the app uses gamification to cement learning further by showing more similar-looking faces or names together, increasing the difficulty.