Meals-On-Wheels Volunteering Made Easier
TOSS THE PAPER AND EMBRACE THE DIGITAL
Meals-On-Wheels (MOW) is a nation-wide non-profit program based in the United States whose primary focus is delivering meals to seniors who are homebound. Another focus is a well-being check (& some socialization!). Regardless of the focus, their use of paper was bogging down the volunteer force.
Our team partnered with a MOW branch in New Jersey to build their online volunteer portal which offered increased customization options and reduced unnecessary calls to the staff. Paper-Less is the way to go!
Who
Three UX designers
I led the UX research and presentation design
One 2-week sprint
UX Methods
Business and User research
Synthesis
Ideation
Sketching
Wireframing
Prototyping
Usability Testing
Iterations
Deliverables
Enhance the existing online User flow
There was NO digital portal for volunteers
Deep-dive into User requirements led to a fantastic new User experience
New deliverable: Conceptual project turned client project
WOULD YOU WANT TO BE A MOW VOLUNTEER?
Sage Meals-on-Wheels volunteers worked off paper – in 2021!
They needed a way to access up-to-date and accurate delivery information for clients, so that they could efficiently care for their clients.
IF SO, WHAT WILL MAKE THE JOB EASIER?
See the changes made by HQ
Provide a customizable map to all clients’ homes
Allow quick and easy changes to the route
Show the front of the clients house to verify the right place
Give details about the client, so deliveries and checks on their well-being can be made efficiently
Make the User Interface appealing, clear, simple
WE KNEW WE WERE ON TO SOMETHING WHEN…
Volunteers’ calls to the office are limited to wellbeing concerns
Calls for delivery instructions are eliminated
Our design was on-point with not only MOW NJ, but also with the largest MOW in the country - San Francisco
COULD WE POSITIVELY IMPACT THE MOW VOLUNTEERS EXPERIENCE?
We knew the current blue path (below) was making the MOW volunteers blue.
So we set out to add a sun-shiney yellow happy path to their volunteer journeys…
PERSEVERANCE PAYS OFF – 1, 2, 3!
1) Do your homework!
Research was a huge challenge. But we persevered …
Strike one: There was NO portal for MOW volunteers. They had to look all over the site to find what they were looking for. And even then, it wasn’t sufficient information. So we could not conduct a heuristic evaluation.
Strike two: We first sent out a User survey to the MOW office which did not send forward to their volunteer cohort. We then sent the survey to a number of MOW social media sites. Still no responses! Our last attempt was to send the survey to our General Assembly community. Still. No. Responses.
Strike three: Because of these roadblocks, we were unable to conduct User interviews, card sorting, and affinity mapping.
2) Be Undaunted!
We needed more data for our design direction, So we persevered…
My colleague visited MOW and conducted onsite interviews. He also went on a ride-along with volunteers and conducted contextual inquiries.
Behind the scenes, two primary personas emerged which were validated by my comparative analysis discussions - Generational personas of an older, seasoned weekly volunteer and a younger, tech-savvy, intermittent volunteer.
And through competitive analysis, we learned that online support for both personas of volunteers was much needed.
3) If at first you don’t succeed..
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Cant forget about the color!
The volunteer portal is an extension of the site. We wanted to make sure the transition for the volunteers was seamless – like one continuous, inviting flow. Here is the board we referred to:
I am on a life journey and
excited about the next turn …
Born and raised in New York, started a family in Michigan, and next stop was California – who could have predicted that!
I started my career track in Marketing (publicist to be exact), pivot to insurance, pivot again to security in the legal org of an energy company, recent pivot to fintech! Whew!
This is where my interest began in focusing on a user-centric experience. (You thought I would tell you I am a UX designer first! :) So I followed my creative heart to a UX Design Immersive Course at General Assembly and will add these skills to my toolbox to continue serving customers in the tech space.
I enjoy solving complex problems, leading a design-passionate team, and working cross-functionally with engineers, legal, product, and of course all the other teams that make a product successful. Looking to make a meaningful impact on the world – my goal is pride of team, company, family, and self!