CASA volunteers with full-time jobs need a system to effectively take, organize, review, upload meeting notes and information, enabling them to provide the best recommendations and insights when writing court reports.
Our approach to this problem is broken into three milestones:
1. Develop a framework that communicates meaningful research findings and analysis about the existing process/problem space
2. Create a vision document that displays three solutions and analyzes how it addresses pain points of volunteers
3. Design a mid-fidelity functionality-based prototype that serves volunteers' needs
Process and Activities
Goals
Research Questions
By developing knowledge of a CASA’s tasks, responsibilities, and roles through background research and interviews, we were able to answer four research questions that helped complete our framework and understanding
1. What is the journey of representing a child as a CASA?
2. What stakeholders are involved in the CASA ecosystem? How do CASAs communicate with these stakeholders and how often?
3. What are the CASA’s main tasks and responsibilities?
4. What are a CASA volunteer’s primary needs? How does the current system provide for these needs?
Example of research insights (volunteer's role throughout a case)
A CoDesign workshop on Miro was conducted to find the most valuable and time-consuming tasks of a CASA volunteer and identify their top three needs.
1. Value vs. Time-Matrix
Participants were presented with a list of CASA tasks and responsibilities, then identified and categorized each task based on time and value it offers the CASA and child. Then they reflected on their experiences with these tasks and generated ideas as to how they could be improved
Simplified version of value vs. time-matrix
2. Top 3 Needs and Ideate
The participants top three needs were:
Overview
Our team developed a mobile and web ecosystem for CASAs to upload and organize their notes and information to help them prepare for court. Our work represents a comprehensive and innovative approach to empowering CASAs with needed solutions at their fingertips. By developing these solutions, we hope to increase efficiency and make CASA responsibilities more manageable for full-time employees interested in becoming CASAs
Mobile Experience
Review recently scanned and uploaded documents
Quickly scan and upload new meeting notes
Create new/AI generated tags, and organize documents
Upload notes to MIC's server and view tags
Add and store contacts with detailed information
Filter through contacts by case, role, and tags
Web Experience
The desktop experience has similar features to the mobile application. However, compared to the mobile experience, it is utilized for writing, reading, and reviewing reports. This allows for CASA volunteers to have an easier time preparing for court. The example of a desktop screen shown on the right has features that have the ability to view upcoming meetings, review and edit notes, and generate reports by integrating AI.
Example of a desktop screen
Personal Reflection
Throughout this project, I gained valuable lessons both as a designer and a teammate. I developed skills in managing and organizing team activities while contributing to the overall solution. Additionally, I took the lead in organizing and managing meeting agendas with our project sponsor, ensuring clear communication and alignment on objectives.As a facilitator, I delegated tasks effectively, which enhanced my ability to guide the team and keep our progress on track. This experience also allowed me to build and refine my leadership skills. Finally, I improved my visual design abilities this semester by focusing on sketching, creating mockups, and developing mid-fidelity designs in Figma.
