Research – Kevan D'Agostino

Developing a personalised in-store experience

Kevan — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 16:35:55 +0000

Understanding savings behaviours in a loyalty scheme

Kevan — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 16:28:52 +0000

Supporting small and medium-sized businesses to reach net zero

Kevan — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 21:14:37 +0000

Government

Improving children’s social care through technology

How might we improve the tools and requirements social workers need when recording visits with families?

The Challenge

Social workers are a lifeline to young families and children in the UK, but can be held back by the systems and technology they work with, spending as much as 80% of their time on administration tasks.

The Department for Education (DfE) recognised a need to free up this time, allowing for more direct work with children and families in need. The DfE holds a unique role in the world of children’s’ social care, and hopes to improve outcomes for children by creating more functional environments and tools for social workers. Building on DfE’s strategic approach, the ‘Whole System Look’ of holistic understanding of the digital and technology landscape in children’s social care, DfE invited FutureGov to undertake a discovery into how we might optimise digital and technology for social workers and enable better information sharing between partner agencies.

The Approach

Our discovery began with a rapid literature review, and a research approach that drew on years of experience, from both DfE and FutureGov, within children’s social care settings with system leaders, managers, social workers, multi-agency partners and families. We also engaged with DfE policy and digital colleagues to understand the wider policy landscape.

This existing work allowed us to narrow our brief, develop a set of hypotheses around existing problems and a research plan that helped us not only test some core assumptions but also learn about the vast challenges within children’s social care. We spoke with front door staff, social workers, team managers, health visitors and police officers at councils across the country. We valso varied our research locations to reach a wide range of council types in different geographic regions with varied OFSTED ratings to develop the fullest picture possible.

The Result

We found that social workers’ current tools are not enabling good practice and result in time spent on less valuable activities, namely interacting with families and children. Facing complex caseloads and ineffective technology, it can be hard to prioritise tasks, record content and complete all visits and assessments.

We identified an opportunity to enable more effective recording for social workers to help with prioritisation of time, recording on-the-go and recording for different audiences, all through a trusted system. We also found that front door staff often need to make crucial decisions quickly. To do so, they need basic information but do not have access to verified databases that contain a more complete understanding of a child’s experience.
In total there were six opportunities for technology to help improve children’s social care outcomes for families, practitioners and local authorities: Gathering information at the front door, Timely sharing of information with partners, Improving information sharing, Enabling more effective recording for social workers, Enabling stronger relationships around the family and child, Aligning leaders and social workers on best practice recording

Improving children’s social care through technology

Kevan — Sat, 30 Jan 2021 23:10:29 +0000

Government

Improving children’s social care through technology

How might we improve the tools and requirements social workers need when recording visits with families?

The Challenge

The Approach

The Result

Reimagining the future of returns for a large grocery retailer

Kevan — Sat, 30 Jan 2021 22:45:07 +0000

Healthcare

Connecting Alzheimer’s residents and their families

How might we foster more connection between Alzheimer’s residents and their families during
times of visits?

The Challenge

In collaboration with Czorny Alzheimer’s Centre, this project looked at building connections between Alzheimer’s residents and their families to facilitate a more meaningful connection while visiting

A lack of engagement plays a critical role in the day of a resident who often suffers from depression, loneliness and boredom, and current tools meant to bring joy and engagement to residents living with Alzheimer’s Disease can be ineffective. These physical tools can be childish, unengaging and do not adapt well to different stages of the Disease. In the same respect, when family members visit residents who are affected by Alzheimer’s Disease, they are apprehensive to engage with them, which means a lot of the time no engagement actually happens. Instead, both parties can come out confused, frustrated and discouraged. This un-constructive experience plays a critical role in the day of the residents and can result in depression, mood changes and apathy.

Play

The Approach

The research centred around understanding the challenges families had with engaging their loved-ones who suffer from Alzheimer’s Disease during times of visit.

I conducted ten in-depth interviews with individuals whose loved ones have been affected by Alzheimer’s Disease. Additionally, I ran co-creation sessions with family members and staff, who worked at Czorny Alzheimer’s centre, to better understand the challenges that exist with the disease, and how to adapt activities during times of visits. Lastly, after initial ideation, with permission from families, we engaged residents with activities on the Ipads, to better understand the ability and interest levels of the residents. A literature review was also conducted and looked at well-known methods of Alzheimer’s care including play therapy and reminiscence therapy.

Play

The Result

Together is an award-winning interactive concept that brings light, laughter and positivity to a time that can be uncertain and overwhelming.

By combining two well-known methods of Alzheimer’s care, play therapy and reminiscence therapy, Together combines curated photographs and media to create personalized and meaningful activities for families and residents to engage in together.

Improving how staff report and manage violent incidents

Kevan — Sat, 30 Jan 2021 22:29:46 +0000

City Services

Improving how staff report and manage violent incidents

How might we improve how staff report and manage violent incidents?

The Challenge

To help incorporate a human-centred perspective to guide the design and implementation of a new incident management platform

This Major City Service was attempting to implement a new customer relationship management software that would be used by thousands of employees daily to report incidents happening across their locations.

The Approach

We gained an understanding of the specific pain points existing within the current incident management reporting process to develop a future state that incorporated user needs.

We conducted in-depth ethnographic studies with 16 internal staff members, which lasted 90 minutes and consisted of interviews and observational shadowing. The protocol focused on first understanding the current state of reporting, the pain points that existed within it, and finally how their specific role connected to the larger ecosystem of the staff who were affected. Because each staff member had varying roles in the process, we recruited at all five levels of staff, from front-line workers to senior managers, and adjacent staff members including HR and Facilities.

The Result

The insight from this work helped guide the development of the new incident reporting management software and influenced a human-centred approach for other services by this client

The project resulted in the creation of a current state user-experience journey map with a set of specific pain points mapped to it; a set of overarching insights that covered behavioural and systemic context; and a set of design principles that helped the implementation team directly create solutions based on the extent of the technology.

Redesigning a student services experience

Kevan — Sat, 30 Jan 2021 22:20:10 +0000

Education

Redesigning a student services experience

How can we create a student services experience that supports the needs of students throughout all stages of their enrolment?

The Challenge

To challenge was to map out the current student services experience, and based on insight, suggest opportunities and initial concepts that would influence the development of a future-state student experience

This client was looking to understand the current challenges that existed within their current student services experience. This included all touchpoints that existed from applying to university to the moment they were attending their first day of class. This client also proudly had a student body made up of 25% international students, so it was important to ensure this was not an oversight.

The Approach

The research included staff and students but centred around understanding the journeys students took from application to attendance and the touchpoints they encountered

In total we interviewed 16 people within the university ecosystem: 6 in-depth ethnographic interviews with staff, working within student services and financial aid; and 10 students, who were both international and domestic and in various years. Besides semi-structured questions, during the interviews, we used design activities to help them visualize the journeys they took. We also gained valuable insight by shadowing students engaging with student service touchpoints, and feedback from intercepting students on university ground with initial stimuli and low-fidelity prototypes.

The Result

This result was a set of actionable insights and ideas that would be used to improve their student services experience, as well as a guide for the architects designing a new student services building

The outcome included a current state and future state journey with a list of key insights and opportunities, alongside a set of speculative concepts that would inspire change across the experience. Additionally, a set of design principles would guide the making of a new one-stop student services building.

Defining what the big shop means for Canadian families

Kevan — Sat, 30 Jan 2021 17:49:44 +0000

Grocery Retail

Defining what the big shop means for Canadian families

How might we help a grocery retailer better understand the nuances and complexities of what the “big shop” means to Canadian families?

The Challenge

This National grocery retailer wanted to understand what made Canadian families choose specific grocery stores for their big shopping trips “big shops”

As more Canadian families look to both online and offline retailers as a one-stop shop experience, there is a need to understand what types of behaviours drive this. This National grocery retailer wanted to take these learnings and translate them into a brand strategy to develop a new way forward that would resonate with Canadian families, and help this grocery retailer attract customers into their stores.

The Approach

Because families were at the heart of this proposal, we recruited only couples to our workshops so we could get a better understanding of the dynamics, roles and responsibilities during big shopping trips.

We first hosted generative workshops in four cities across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) to better understand the shopping habits of Canadian families, and what their experiences were when making big shopping trips. This workshop included activities that mapped out current-state shopping trip journeys as well as encouraged participants to ideate towards a better future. With our new findings from the GTA, we were asked to validate our results across the country through evaluative workshops, which brought us to Calgary, Vancouver and Montreal.

The Result

This research helped define their overall strategy and position their brand to be more aligned with attracting families looking to make big shopping trips in-store and online.

The result was a set of behavioural archetypes that helped define the roles of individuals within the shopping experience, a defined brand strategy that aligned with how they would win over Canadian families, and a set of provocative ideas that would get them started.

Developing an ethnography of students away from home

Kevan — Sat, 30 Jan 2021 17:01:52 +0000

City Services

Developing an ethnography of students away from home

How might we showcase the intricacies of living abroad through personal photographs and stories?

The Challenge

Away from our family and friends, things we are accustomed to, routines and familiar sights. I wanted to create an artifact that captured the thoughts, feelings and possessions that students from around the world held onto to feel at-home.

The Approach

I approached this piece of work by asking students inside my student building to contribute by photo-documenting four different reflections: 1) An object that they couldn’t leave home without 2) A photo or message from a loved one they miss daily 3) Their favourite part of the day and lastly, 4) Something they are afraid of or uncomfortable within the city of Zurich.

The Result

The final output was an unbounded book, which was meant to take apart, to highlighted the personal observations and overlapping similarities between 30 students living in Zurich, Switzerland.

Promoting well-being within a retirement community

Kevan — Sat, 30 Jan 2021 16:16:07 +0000

Healthcare

Promoting well-being within a community for Dementia patients

How might we provide a healthy, comfortable and positive space for dementia residents, using low-cost and easily implementable solutions?

The Challenge

To develop low-cost and easy implementable solutions for Menno Place Dementia that increase happiness and well-being

A dementia patient’s environment can make a critical impact on general happiness and quality of life, however, these solutions can sometimes be expensive. Menno Place, a residential care facility, and the Health Design Lab at Emily Carr University of Art & Design collaborated to study how to provide a healthy, comfortable and positive space for Menno Place’s residents, using low-cost and easily implementable solutions.

The Approach

The research centred around both staff and families, and used co-creation to build perspective for improvements to the facility.

Through in-depth interviews, observational studies and co-creation activities we conducted this research with staff and families to better understand the ways that Menno Place could promote well-being and feel more like home.

The Result

With low-cost and easy implementable solutions in mind we designed and proposed 10 short-term and long-term solutions that would provide a more comfortable and inviting space for Menno Place’s residents and staff.