Neif is an Android native app aiming to provide rapid and accurate answers to all immigration related questions.

Background

Following the inauguration of Trump administration, we have observed signs of concern among immigrant New Yorkers. Their solution to their immense feel of fear has been to confine themselves in the safer networks of their neighborhoods and social media. We decided to team up to assist immigrant New Yorkers and alleviate their stress and minimize their detachment from the cosmopolitan and diverse character of NYC.

My Role

I have led all aspects of research, wireframing, protoyping, and moderated usability tests. The Initial research phase of the design process has primarily involved ethnographic interviews in 3 select sites in NYC (one dominantly immigrant neighborhood and two church organizations). I have collaborated with the full-stack developer using Java and CSS coding languages. 

Team

Alfredo Derete, Felipe Jimenez

Approach

Due to sensitive conditions of our target users, undocumented immigrants, we have followed an intensively research-ridden approach at every stage of ideation, discovery, and even wire-framing. Thus Neif has emerged from multiple moments of failures, rediscoveries, and re-prototyping, hence a layered iterative process.

Challange

Following the current US federal government's inaugration, there has been an observable amount of stress and concern among immigrant New Yorkers. We know that NYC as a sanctuary city guarantees the civil rights of its residents regardless of their legal status, but immigrant New Yorkers still feel unsafe and threaten, mostly because of rumors and lack of Information. Then we have asked:

- Why couldn't our target user benefit from the information and resources the city government provides for them?

- How can we alleviate our users’ feelings of fear and insecurity?

- How can we help them with a channel through which they can ask their immigration related questions and get credible answers?

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Research And Discovery

Ethnographic Interviews

We have conducted 20+ interviews in dominantly immigrant neighborhoods in Queens, New York. We have asked 10+ questions to our participants in their work places, coffee shops, and even laundromats. We have discovered a major pain point:

Stress and lack of time delimits target users' ability to find life-saving information on the web.

 

Insight

Discovering our major pain point has helped us gain insights regarding the solutions useful for our target users. 

We have learned that they rely on social media for solutions, but cannot get accurate answers for their questions, and thus their feelings of stress further intensify. 

After our first phase of research we have developed the key persona representing our target user:

 

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Competitors

We have located competing products that provide various legal support and the access . Below are some key product features by key competitors:

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Key Takeaway: Neif is the only product that delivers the sought factual information to its users within the content they create.

Design Development

For design development we have followed a research-ridden approach by taking each wireframe and prototype back to our target users to test and re-iterate. Each round of user tests has helped us conceptualize the key feature of the design: Question Engine. Below are some key screens from the low fidelity wireframes to high fidelity prototype, accompanying interaction notes:

The Process

One of the biggest challenges of the design process was to integrate two features of the design that are both appreciated by our users during the tests. How could we ephasize the Question Engine as the key feature, while positioning the Question Feed as the secondary component? Reframing the user flow based on the insights we have gained during the user tests (even at the wireframing stages) has helped us to re-arrange the design hierarchy of the application.  

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The Product

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Usability Tests

We have conducted 3 rounds of usability tests, first with the 2 iterations of the hi-fi wireframes and finally with the prototype. 

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Takeaways

There are 3 learning outcomes we have gained from Neif's design journey:

  • Question-answer is still the most reliable and socially accepted method for accessing to information.

  • Life-saving information could be available for the public, but in the case of undocumented immigrants the information needs to accurate and be delivered directly to them.

  • Design Solutions for sensitive cases such as immigration should prioritize products and services building a relationship of trust with their target users.