Web Platform
ajutorspitale.ro
PROJECT OVERVIEW
working fast in a time of crisis
As a part of a volunteer team, I worked on this project, wanting to help doctors during the pandemic. The Project contained a website linked to a platform where the Medical staff would submit the needs they have (hygiene products, medicine, food, etc...) and companies could see the needs of each hospital and make product donations.
I worked on the Website and we managed to make the design and implementation in 4 days and we tweaked it after we received feedback directly from the users.
I Designed the UX, UI and Illustrations (because we didn't have a dedicated graphic designer at the time :) )
Process
Working in a team of volunteers has a lot of challenges. One of them is to have a coherent project because the volunteers come and go all the time. So this is another reason to work fast during this time of pandemic.
The first prototype was launched "quick and dirty" by the Front-end team, and based on the feedback received we concluded that a more user friendly website was needed for both doctors and companies. The current version was also bringing with it some trust issues.
First Prototype
We started with the website architecture and Site Map, after that User Flows and then jumped directly into Wire-framing and Prototyping.
The Mockups were ready for implementation the 2nd Day and I had a few days to catch my breath until the user feedback would start coming.
So many changes were made since the platform was first online (logo, branding colors ) that we had to keep the initial illustration on the home page so people would recognize something of the company image.
To create more trust we decided to underline that the organization has already fulfilled a lot of the hospital's needs. They delivered sanitizers, soap, gloves, medical equipment, bottles of water and so on. We decided to have a gallery of pictures and Testimonials from doctors and volunteers. The Testimonials would also bring hope to the people that seek help on the platform and prove that others who asked for help, received it.
From remote moderated user interviews we concluded that the Map was an important section of the platform that needed to be included because most of the local businesses would want to help in the area they were located, to know that in case they get sick, the local hospital has everything it needs in order to function well.
After having the second iteration online the feedback we received was much better but we still needed to make some final touches and compress and reorganize the content.
For now the Website is still online but the Donation platform is put on hold since the Hospital requests have been fulfilled :).
What I Learned from this Project
1. Volunteers Rock!
Everyone is very dedicated and goes beyond their professional training to get the job done.
2. Working fast doesn't mean no UX Design!
On the contrary! Working fast for us meant launching the product quickly, receiving user feedback very fast, and implementing the changes on the go while the product was already working.
3. Volunteering Rocks even more!
I won't pretend I only volunteered because I have a big heart (which I do, but... :)). I did it also to test myself and learn new skills, to meet new people (great ones) and feel like I also did something constructive, after panicking in front of the news.