Improving Daycare Scheduling And Communication Between Caregivers and Parents

The Challenge

Caregivers struggle with managing drop-offs and pick-ups at the school due to overlapping schedules, unclear communication, safety concerns, and missed or delayed messages. As a result, parents who have to reschedule their drop-off and pick-up times are often not satisfied by their experience.

Role

Design Strategist and UX Designer

Duration

12 weeks

Project Brief

Little Munchkin, a Vancouver-based daycare with six branches in British Columbia, is dedicated to providing quality early childhood education. Due to rising demand for daycare services, improved communication tools are essential to connect caregivers and parents. Implementing a user-friendly mobile application tailored to their needs can significantly enhance the overall user experience and streamline operations for institutions like Little Munchkin Daycare. Addressing challenges and offering recommendations ensures more efficient, transparent, and satisfactory services to all stakeholders. 

In collaboration with a UX Researcher, Project Manager, and Product Designer, my team and I employed AGILE methods to create a solution for Little Munchkin. My focus was on aligning the design with the daycare's mission, vision, and goals through evidence-based insights.

I navigated through various design phases, from conception to completion.

Client’s Requirements

  1. Privacy protection
  2. Visually cohesive with their website
  3. Tight data security measures and privacy
  4. Easy to use
  5. Requires family profile
  6. Latest News & Updates for caregivers

My Design Process

Using the double-diamond approach, I segmented my design process into four phases for efficient project management.

 

Within the team,

  1. I analyzed business factors through a SWOT assessment.
  2. I refined the interview questions for parents and a daycare owner.
  3. I contributed to the journey map, user personas, and empathy maps.
  4. I generated user stories and composed the product requirement document for the mobile app.
  5. I worked on the wireframes and prototypes after finalizing the user flow.

Phase 1: Discover

To understand the problem and user needs, my team and I employed a mix of quantitative and qualitative research methods, gathering feedback, conducting structured in-person interviews, and analyzing competitor mobile apps.

 

Quantitative Research: Feedback Collection, User Interviews & Insights

Qualitative Research: App Comparative Analysis

Phase 2: Define

I contributed to shaping User Personas, Journey Map, and Empathy Map. Additionally, I identified and defined nine key features for the mobile app based on research insights. Using the impact-effort matrix, I collaborated with my team to prioritize tasks and enhance the efficiency of these core features, aligning them with business goals.

 

User Persona

Empathy Map

 

Feature Analysis

Phase 3 - Ideate

I assisted in devising the user flow to benefit all stakeholders at Little Munchkin, focusing on addressing communication pain points in real-time. I also contributed to creating a mood board for guidance in approaching the user interface design. Ensuring alignment, I then verified that the design style guide adhered to the core UX design principles applied in the wireframes and prototypes.

 

Task and User Flow

Mood Board

 

Phase 4 - Iterate

I played a role in crafting wireframes and prototypes, contributing to the testing phase to ensure alignment with stakeholder objectives for our solution.

Key Learnings

I learnt a few things while working on this project. They are:

  • Applying strategic goals in user research and the design process.
  • Proficient communication with stakeholders.
  • Effective time management throughout design phases.