Backpack: using research to support product development
There is a lack of understanding and support for practitioners when it comes to dealing with online risks and harms. This has emerged through wider research and listening to Barnardo’s and Parent Zone practitioners. Challenges include traditional social work training not always reflecting the rapidly evolving nature of digital environments.
Since spring 2022, our team has been exploring what support could look like. The journey has taken us to design Backpack, a digital guide to emerging online harms and risks.
Exploring assumptions and understanding how Backpack could be used has been important throughout the project. Key assumptions include:
- giving up-to-date information on new risks helps practitioners support young people
- our information will help practitioners be proactive, even if they search for online issues later
- we are not going to duplicate or create ‘another resource’
Exploring user needs
We shared the idea with practitioners and found out about challenges faced. We wanted to find answers to an overarching research question:
How can we help adults and young people talk about harm, risk, and resilience better?
Using interviews, a survey and workshops we found that practitioners:
- are confident, but still need to learn about new and emerging online trends
- are time poor and often don’t know where to go for support that is practical, helpful and up to date
- would be interested to use a product to learn about online risks and how to support young people
Designing Backpack
We wanted to make sure that the voice of young people was at the core of initial product development.
We held workshops with young people to understand the problem from their perspective. We also wanted to know what support they needed.
Young people emphasised the significance of social communication and connection in engaging with online spaces. We also heard about some of the risks of being online, for example being bullied or scammed.
Young people said it’s important for practitioners to build strong relationships with them when being supported. This creates a trustworthy environment that can encourage conversations about online risks and harms. Some felt that if a practitioner was concerned about activity, simply telling a young person to stop wouldn’t work. This might be confusing, upsetting and a more balanced response is needed.
Testing our prototype
During the next research phase, we had a few key goals. We wanted to see if users understood our first prototype’s purpose and test different parts of the product. Throughout our work, we have prioritised the wider product purpose and user needs, alongside testing specific features.
We had gathered enough evidence to create something that looked and felt “real”. Research was split into two: smokescreen testing carried out by a partner, and prototype testing carried out by the Barnardo’s team.
Smokescreen testing helped us to understand if people would use Backpack. Through user interviews, a survey, and a Facebook campaign targeting the intended users, we found that Backpack:
- is something that the audience would integrate into day to day work
- delivers content in a way that is different to other resources and more proactive
- needs to be co-created with young people for maximum impact
Alongside this workstream, researchers from Barnardo’s began the first round of prototype testing. We organised calls with over 20 colleagues working in a range of roles at Barnardo’s across the UK.
What did we hear from users?
Getting our prototype into the hands of users through figma was a big step in project development. Although the product felt logical and trustworthy, users needed more help understanding the specific purpose.
Key areas for development included a way to browse content in general and a need to refine some of the language used. Specific content testing helped to show which words or phrases might be hard for users to engage with, especially when short of time. Practitioners also stressed the need to consider different situations and outcomes when supporting young people. No two young people are the same.
We asked participants about how they might engage with Backpack. Being able to contribute ideas and leave feedback is a core function of the product. Some were keen to contribute but others worried about this being open to abuse. This helped us to think more about our editorial content journey.
“…the internet changes so fast that you can never actually keep up with it, but having the most up to date information is probably your best bet in reducing harm…”
Whilst the design team got to work making changes, researchers took some specific questions to two Barnardo’s services in person. Over two days we carried out content testing, including:
- the Backpack tagline
- content explaining the partnership between Barnardo’s, Parent Zone and Nominet
- versions of a content/trigger warning
- tree testing a selection of the information structure
Taking changes back to users
We shared our first prototype with a relatively large number of users. However, due to the potential impact of Backpack and emerging nature of content, we wanted to double check our changes.
In May-June 2023 we shared an updated prototype. Some participants had already seen the first version and others were new . We also carried out calls with users who have identified accessibility support needs.
Feedback was positive, with room for improvement. Having up to date information on online risks and harms emerged as a key selling point of Backpack. However, participants highlighted the difficulty of this in practice. If Backpack is to be as useful as possible it needs to be able to quickly adapt.
Backpack’s general navigation was simple although some terminology required further explanation. For example, phrases like blockchain technology and content subscription service.
Once again some were confused by how contributions would be used. It wasn’t clear that these would help our content team update articles. Work was needed to make the contribution process clear.
Alongside calls we also sent out activities using Maze. This enabled users to complete scenarios by themselves and added further detail to our ever growing collection of insights.
Following a further round of ideation and design, we had one final prototype ready to share before build. We shared this version of Backpack with participants who had not been previously involved in research to make sure our view was unbiased.
It was reassuring to hear that new users felt Backpack was an exciting tool that they could use in day to day practice. These calls also presented several key changes to make. In particular, some of the language associated with filtering search results needed clarification.
Lessons learnt & next steps
The research journey supporting Backpack has adapted depending on the needs of the team and development of the idea. Research will continue to support development as we move into the Beta phase of Backpack. The product will be piloted across a number of Barnardo’s services.
Key learnings related to research methodology have included:
- making sure a wide range of end users are involved from the start
- keeping a focus on how the product will be used in practice and not becoming too focused with small changes related to functionality
- the importance of building on excitement created by users and sharing this with the product team
We will keep you up to date on Backpack developments moving forwards. If you’re interested in finding out more about Backpack, contact us.
