reconnect
fighting recidivism, incarceration, and addiction
Reconnect is a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) with the goal of fighting recidivism, incarceration and additiction through the creation of hardware and software.
OVERVIEW
When joining Reconnect in March 2020 I was brought on to help expand the product. Throughout my time with Reconnect I conducted interviews with Drug Courts and Probation Departments to get down to the route of the pain points within the industry. With that information in hand I collaborated with the Product Manager and VP of design to highlight the needs, create a timeline, execute the designs and work with the development team to launch.
By October, I worked on multiple projects where we added over 15 major features to the web app as well as re-designing the mobile app.
ROLE
Experience Designer
Interviews, competitive analysis, sketching, user testing, mid + high fidelity wire-framing prototyping, information architecture, graphic, print, icon and UI design.
TIMELINE
9 months
1
UNDERSTAND
THE CHALLENGE
Probation Departments and Drug Courts | Web App
Prior to COVID-19 Drug Courts and Probation Departments were in need for software that could help them manage their clients without creating more work. Once COVID-19 hit the United States the need grew. Probation departments were now having to monitor their clients remotely which brought a whole new challenge.
Clients in Probation Departments and Drug Courts | Responsive Mobile App
During interviews we found a handful of major challenges in regards to how users felt about our initial app. One of the largest challenges being that most participants were in a program they didn't want to be in, using an app they definitely didn't want to use. We needed ways to connect the participant and case managers seamlessly, provide the user with motivation, and help them manage their schedule in order to give them the best chance of successfully completing their program.
2
OBSERVE
USER INTERVIEWS
Throughout my time with Reconnect I conducted interviews with users in the industry, including but not limited to Case Managers, Probation Officers, Chief Probation officers and clients on probation.
Due to the nature of the software I am not at liberty to display interview information on here, however, I would be happy to discuss and answer any questions about this process.
3
POINT OF VIEW
When deciding which programs we were going to design for we put together personas to get a better understanding of which programs fit most closely with our current offerings and out plan for our future offerings.
USER PERSONAS
JOHN JACOB 43
New Hampshire
Male
Chief Probation Officer with a Masters in Criminal Justice. Professional, likable, passionate, organized.
ASHLEY JACKSON 35
San Diego, California
Female
Drug Court, Court Director with a bachelors. Empathic, resilient, logical, adaptable.
JEREMY THOMAS 46
Tampa, Florida
Male
Court Director at a Sobriety Court with a bachelors degree. Optimistic, honest, determined, intelligent.
4
PROTOTYPE
I created prototypes of each feature I worked on. We utilized these prototypes to interview clients in order to ensure we were creating the best product to solve their solutions. I also used these when working with the developers in order to explain flows and interactions.
5
PRESENT
Due to the nature of the software, I am not at liberty to use my designs directly on my portfolio. However, you can view some of the features I designed on Reconnect's website through the links below:
Note that we have a web app and two responsive phone apps - these screens show all three of those products.
We needed a way for Case Mangers to assign forms to multiple participants in their program, view a log and status of their form assignments and and have the ability to see specific response information.
Participants and Case Managers had the ability to message on a secure platform, what we did was expand that so the Case Manager could essentially send a bcc group message.
In order to run location verification we needed a set of baseline images that our software could use to confirm the validity of the check-in. I designed the web app screens to approve or deny participants photos as well as a way for the participant to be notified and prompted to take their baseline images.
*quick view of the Participant app can be seen here.
This feature worked similarly to the baseline images. The case manager can approve or deny the participants home location, whereas the participant could enter their address, confirm that the pin was on their address and submit it for case manager review.
Bulk Assignment of Curfew Checks
Just like the other bulk features our clients asked for a way to bulk assign curfew checks. Prior to adding this feature the case manager would have to set curfew checks separately for each participant. By adding this feature the case manager could now bulk assign curfew checks, view the assigned checks on an interactive calendar, and see the status of the checks.
ReconnectBand is one of Reconnect's hardware products that replaces the old school house arrest band. In order to connect a band to the user they had to pair it with their phone. Similar to an on boarding process, I designed an interactive way for the user to pair their band with their app.