Our team was aware of the abundance of insightful data already out there discussing the homeless crisis in Seattle. We knew by reviewing this information, it would help us gain general background knowledge and how the current homelessness situation is in Seattle, fairly quickly. We looked into:
- The main factors causing homelessness
- What are the available resources
- What are the challenges that are preventing people from getting out of being unhoused
- What resources are most requested
- What are and aren't widely accessible resources
My secondary research only involved external sources from the internet and academic databases. I focused on sources that contained firsthand accounts from unhoused individuals to grasp that context of their situation. When doing so, I also looked for the needs and wants of the unhoused individuals concerning resource accessibility. To prevent myself from researching other issues that were outside the bounds of our problem question, I had a clear research topic (in this case, research accessibility and exposure).
This narrowed down what information was vital to us, which ultimately helped our approach towards the next phase of the research process. This also helped us in knowing how to direct a conversation when interviewing our stakeholders.
A part of the research strategy was to look into current and available products with a similar mission as ours. With the products we found, we determined what these products offered and lacked through spreadsheet analysis. The first spreadsheet iteration focused on general product information, media display, advantages, disadvantages.
After analyzing the overview of the products, we made a second spreadsheet to focus on the available features of the products. Reviewing the second spreadsheet provided a manageable look at what features were omitted or lacking to see how it reflected on the products. From this, we determined if those lacking features are something we need to invest time looking into.
Our group interviewed 7 stakeholders who had directly or indirectly worked with unhoused individuals. I initially emailed some of the stakeholders to see if they wanted to partake in an informational interview so we could gain further insight into the homeless crisis.
I interviewed a reverend volunteering at a homeless shelter, a volunteer engagement coordinator, and a professor with their teacher's assistant who teaches social work.
After the initial interview, I would email them a follow up about our progress and receive feedback.
Conducting research remotely
The research phase happened from the end of 2020 to the beginning of 2021, essentially during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The quick shift in the work environment needed adapting, causing us to reorganize our research approach. The elimination of in-person interviews——where we could observe and directly connect with the unhoused and social workers——became an obstacle to our research. It was hard to find what research methods could solely be done on the computer, especially when not all unhoused individuals have computer access. I knew that alternative research methods had to be used, even if it meant connecting with our audience indirectly. We ended up interviewing our stakeholders much more than planned. They became our middleman in reaching our target users and getting necessary input.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no opportunity to meet with our target users face-to-face. To still get first-hand user insight and information, a survey was prepared and sent to our stakeholders to distribute to the unhoused individuals they assisted. I worked on creating the questions and formatting for the survey, making them easily understandable to the users.
Questions we majorly focused on were about the most desired resources and the most common types of display mediums they utilized, allowing for a clear direction for the content displayed in the design.
Once our app got into the prototype stage, I asked some of the stakeholders if they would like to participate in the usability testing.
Using Figma, I made revisions by testing the main desired functionalities via a simple wireframe layout. Our usability testing setup consisted of the participants (our stakeholders) having access to the Figma link and Zoom.
I led 3 usability testing sessions and was the main note-taker for the remaining sessions.
User Phrase Understanding
There is a lot of terminology and jargon that is used when discussing housing stability that isn't widely known. So if a user is utilizing the app to find a housing agent, they might not know what "Coordinated Entry for All" means. The plethora of new terms could hinder their progress in getting help because it would bring about a sense of shame.
Lost Track of Time
Those in unstable living conditions tend to lose track of time and get frustrated by how much longer everything seems to take. One task can last an entire day to complete with having to walk around everywhere, especially when certain places are far from one another. Things like waiting in an extremely long line for a sandwich at a food bank or walking to a shelter for clothes, only to find out that it closed early for the day are just some instances of how unhoused individuals can lose so much time.
Self-Worth
The more time a person spends living on the street, the more self-respect they lose. Not only is there the physical aspect of homelessness (e.g. losing shelter, materials, clothes, etc.), but there is also mental aspect (e.g. deteriorating mental health). Taking the first steps to become housed can be mentally taxing when people won't give you a chance because of your situation. Rebuilding your self-worth and taking back control of your life cannot be done with constant rejection, judgement, and belittlement.
Techonology understanding and access
While technological access in this situation is possible, it is unstable. Additionally, the digital world is constantly changing rapidly, leaving designs, displays, and software to become quickly outdated. For unhoused individuals, it is not easy to keep up. We learned that many of the unhoused feel like digital designs and interfaces can be confusing and difficult to navigate.
Because this was a capstone project, this application never went through the rest of the development process to launch it. Currently, we are redesigning our prototype with plans to recruit other individuals and possibly go the non-profit route.
Like it was mentioned earlier, COVID-19 forced me to quickly think of solutions and research alternatives for the obstacles we confronted. The plan to engage with our target audience was no longer feasible. It was an experience that put my adaptability skills to the test while I had to intuitively figure out what to do with the resources available to me. It taught me just how imperative it is to be adaptable in this field of work, especially when considering how much an unexpected situation can change different facets of one's research.
After learning about the problematic relationship between time constraints and unhoused individuals, we needed to know that the user could find their information on our application as fast as possible with a straightforward design. It was difficult figuring out the mechanisms and features of this application; we often found ourselves getting carried away with ideas, becoming grounded once more when thinking of the user. It became glaringly obvious just how integral the audience was to the entire design of the application. It served as another reminder that the thought and behavior of the user is the most important aspect of design.
