Project Discovery & Design

Our team follows a well-defined iterative model of Discovery, Design (UX and UI), Development, Testing, Release and Post-Release Maintenance. 

The project discovery phase paves the way for the success of the entire project. It is essential to ensure timelines are set and requirements are outlined clearly. This initial period is also critical to uncover user needs so that we can build the right solution, the first time. To promote communication on project requirements before diving into development, our team met with Foundry Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) regularly. We set expectations and ensured alignment on the vision and goals of the work.

At FreshWorks, we place design thinking principles at the forefront of every decision. We recognize that well-designed applications are based on understanding user behaviours, thoughts, and emotions. Once the initial scope of the project had been established, our team conducted brainstorming sessions and technical interviews with stakeholders to develop a solid understanding of the business and user requirements.

Effective user research helps uncover features that truly matter and deliver an effective user experience, the first time. For example, through a number of co-design sessions with youth, it became apparent that users did not want to be asked about their story every time they met with a new counselor or service provider. To solve this pain point, our team created and integrated a My Story section into the Foundry BC application. This is a place where youth can add text and a photo to tell their unique story. This will be read by the counselor prior to every meeting, so that youth do not need to reiterate their story when meeting a service provider for the first time. 

To provide a picture of the project specifications and acceptance criteria, we created detailed user stories and use cases. Our team also facilitated activities designed to understand what the future state of the application should look and feel like. This included in-depth discussions around features, integrations, user personas, and non-functional requirements.

With a focus on rigorous documentation and transparency, we reviewed our findings with the Foundry team and presented the product roadmap, priorities, and vision. 

Finally, our team took the insights from project discovery and transformed them into a functional, intuitive, and modern application.

It was important to take special care of the collection and treatment of youths’ personal health information for the Foundry BC app. To ensure the application would keep user data safe and provide the best user experience, we ran privacy impact assessments and security risk assessments.

The Foundry BC application contains many features that optimize privacy and data security, including 2-factor authentication, recovery codes, password reset, and account deletion. 

The Clinician Web App 

The web application is used by two different types of users – service providers and system administrators. They both login to the same portal, but have different privileges.

Authentication

Upon registration, administrators and supervisors will be requested to set up 2 factor authentication. This allows users to securely access the web portal and ensure personal data is safe. Once the user has authenticated themselves for the first time, they’ll be given recovery codes to store in a safe place in case they lose their phone.

Registration 

When registering, service providers can fill out their bio and add a profile picture. This will be viewable by youth so they can learn a little bit about the person who will be helping them. This also allows youth to select a counsellor or peer that they think is the best fit for them.

Queue Triggering & Triage Level

The walk-in queue has triage levels to assist counsellors in helping young people in a priority manner. Coloured tags are used as a visual cue for what level of triage has been determined. The triage levels can only be managed by a supervisor, however a timer allows the service providers to see how long a youth has been waiting in line. Youth within the same triage level will be prioritized based on their time in the queue.

Appointment Scheduling

Administrators and supervisors are able to see any appointments they have booked or a young person has booked with them. Users can schedule multiple types of meetings and add recurrence to those meetings at either weekly or monthly intervals. They can also add multiple facilitators and multiple participants to meetings.

User Management

Accessible by administrators and supervisors for functions such as resetting passwords, resending invitations, or setting up business hours for specific service providers. Setting up scheduled times will define when each service provider is able to join calls or be bookable for appointments. The interface makes it fast and easy to set up custom weekly schedules which can be changed at any time.

  iOS & Android Mobile App

My Story

The My Story section was not originally meant to be part of the virtual healthcare app. Through a number of co-design sessions with youth, it became apparent that users did not want to be asked about their story every time they met a new counselor or service provider. My Story is a place for youth to write a story in their own words and share it with service providers so they only have to tell their story once. This is important because telling someone’s story can be triggering and difficult.

Sign up and Demographic Survey

Every user is encouraged to fill out a demographic survey in their sign up process. The survey includes non mandatory questions to help understand the youth better and provide targeted support in the future.

Drop-in Virtual Appointments

Youth are able to talk to the right person when they need to via messaging, audio, or video sessions by joining the drop-in queue.

Scheduled Virtual Health Clinic App Appointments

Book appointments up to two weeks in advance, at a time that works best for the user. Gives youth the option to read the service providers’ bios and choose someone they connect with. Specialized appointment settings help users keep track of their missed appointments with notification options such as calling or emailing.

Group Sessions

Youth can sign up for groups to get support and connect with other young people or caregivers.

Urgent Help Tab

If a youth needs urgent help, they are able to immediately contact crisis support or people they have entered as trusted support resources. To ensure the tab is easily accessible, this section does not require a login or an account to access. 

Resource Packed Home Page

Curated content for youth including stories, articles, information, and tools surrounding a wide range of topics that youth may need guidance on: body image, anxiety, alcohol, depression, mindfulness, money, online safety, sleep, stress, and more. 

Find Foundry Centres in Person

Users can search and find Foundry centres near them. 

Offline Mode

Youth in rural and remote communities often have poor access to WiFi and the 4g network. Offline mode allows users to download articles when they have service and access them when their network is unavailable.