Team Name
UX Wave
Elevator Pitch
In 3-4 sentences, provide a short description of the project.
<aside> ⚡ Pediatric Speech Language Pathology Therapy Progress tracking. By focusing on "small" talk, the app emphasizes the importance of recognizing and celebrating every little achievement along the way. Each small conversation, each new word spoken or understood, is a step forward in a child's language journey. We believe that every child should have the tools to express themselves, so we created a platform to connect SLPS / OTs , parents and a community in a modern seamless way.
</aside>
About the project In a paragraph for each section, write what inspired you, what your deliverable does, what you learned, how you built your project, the challenges you faced, and what’s next. Detailed bullet points are accepted.
<aside> 💡 Research:
*We researched what embodies Speech and Occupational Therapy. We found that it was important to focus on Parent Education, Teletherapy, Speech-Language evaluations as well as Social Language Groups. Another key component in this conversation if enhanced learning is Self-expression, encouragement, and progress as they are all essential elements behind the relationship between SLP’s and the custom therapy plans made alongside parents. When children are in a supportive environment, they can reach their greatest potential. All these components align with creating an enhanced learning environment that works for all learners - not just ONE way of learning. We also researched what current SLP’s struggles / paint points are so we could more easily solve and understand their needs as a user. Overall, the main pain point that came up was that their needs to be an emphasis or progress tracking not just in the SLP office but also at home. This research process strengthened our design process as well.
What it does:*
In our prototyped app, patients and parents have their own view. Patients (ages 2-17) are able to track their speech learning progress by completing learning outcomes/milestones. Once the patient logins in the app, it takes them to their profile page, which shows them their avatar and the different badges along with the different goals needed to accomplish the badges such as “Practice the ‘L’ Sounds Game.” Once they accomplish the milestone, the patient unlocks a new badge. The patient can view the mission progress map to view their progress and how much they improved until they have reached their final goal. The patient can also communicate with their speech-language pathologist through either message or video chat.
*Parents can view their children’s progress. They can also communicate with other parents as well as message the speech-language pathologist. There is a ‘Home Plan’ which outlines different ways the parents can practice their children’s goals outlined by their speech-language pathologist. There is also a tab for the parents to learn more about different resources to help their child. There is also a calendar where the parent can view upcoming appointments.
How we built it:*
*We first designed “Small Talk” by discussing all ideas that came to mind upon first reading the prompt about learning and modern needs promotion. When discussing ideas, we narrowed possible products by evaluating the pros and cons of each. Once we finalized we wanted to focus on an app to improve the learning for those with speech impairments, we started collectively brainstorming possible features. From there, we evaluated possible user flows. After acquiring a shared understanding of “Small Talk,” we divided the various screens (profile, connect, progress, calendar, etc.) of integration amongst each team member. Throughout the design process, we constantly checked with one another to gather peer feedback while ensuring each component would seamlessly integrate with one another when it came to prototyping.
Challenges we ran into:*
One of the largest challenges we encountered was feeling overwhelmed by our initial vision for “Small Talk” with many unique approaches in mind and stakeholders (patient, patient parent, SLP, etc.). To overcome feelings of overwhelment, we began by considering all possible features of integration for “Small Talk” from the lens of each stakeholder separately. After thoroughly brainstorming various features for each lens, we began grouping overlapping ideas. From there, we discussed possible user flows. Ultimately, we selected the user flows with the greatest ease each stakeholder.
What we learned:
*Upon first beginning the project, a few team members were fairly new to Figma. As a result of such, many of us were excited to gain exposure to the world of Figma yet worried that it would be a big undertaking in such a short period of time. By the end of the 5-hour sprint, we all confidently feel that we have a better understanding of what designing and prototyping entails.
Accomplishments that we're proud of:*
Before embarking on the project, we engaged in discussions and realized a significant increase in the percentage of individuals with disabilities over the years. According to statistics from the Pew Research Center, the number of students with disabilities served rose to 7.2 million in 2020-2021 from around 6.5 million in 2005-2006. This stark rise underscores the growing need for tailored solutions.
Furthermore, we identified a glaring gap: despite advancements in technology, there remains a lack of apps designed specifically for individuals with disabilities, particularly for their parents. Recognizing the challenges they face, we dedicated a 5-hour sprint to developing an app tailored to individuals aged 6 and above, while also supporting parents in monitoring their children's learning journey.
Our app offers a range of features to facilitate creative learning through games and direct messaging with Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs). For parents, it provides tools to track their children's progress and engage with other parents for support and knowledge sharing. In general, the app represents a significant accomplishment, one that we are really proud of.
The next steps:
The future steps would be to get feedback on our research and HI-FI designs. We would see where visual elements need to be edited as well as where our overall concept at a high level needs to be improved. We would also need to focus on ADA usability as one of the highest priorities, Adee is a compressive tool that will be used to ensure that the design is WCAG compliant. Colorblind simulator, visual contrast checkers, alternative test generator and touch size checker will be integral in achieving an inclusive product. Tools like Test Complete and Appium will be used to ensure overall functionality. Testing will be done against a script as well as alongside acceptance criteria. This being the only existing iteration of a SmallTalk application, the first release will only need to have 70% of the planned functions working to support a better understanding of how future iterations can be implemented. An end-user manual would be created for acceptance testing to bring so the surface missing functions.
</aside>
Built With What platforms, languages, or other technologies did you use? (i.e. Figma, Sketch, Adobe Illustrator)
<aside> ⚒️ Figma for design/prototyping, Adobe Photoshop for photo editing, and Google Docs for brainstorming
</aside>
🔗 "Try it out" links
Add links where people can view or try your project.