The person, the pitch and the joker
My challenges last week and this have been trying to summarise our findings in a way that provides sufficient detail, but not too much. Our research findings will be valuable going forward but are as varied as the needs of the individuals we support and work with.
I think the challenge will not be to design something to meet the general need of our users and organisation (and those external organisations like ourselves) but to enable it to be sufficiently individualised to meet our users needs.
An unexpected win last week was being brave and approaching an app/tech stand at a careers fair I was also exhibiting at. I thought I would see if they ever got involved in supporting community organisations who were trying to develop tech. My pitch was dire, but, I had a “joker” to play. Play it I did, although at the time I didn’t know it.
You see, all the way through the whole Discovery Fund process, it is the person and my new found phrase “Human Connection” that is key.
Whether trying to extract research information, thoughts and views from Users, build relationships with external organisations and participants in this Discovery Fund programme or seeking help from experts it is always about the person. In fact, judging by what has been said in our research interviews, it is the people, and the time they give, that really make the difference to our Users.
It is not lost on me that this human connection/ communication is one or the real challenges our users have.
So back to my dire pitch and my “joker”.
The conversation was slightly stilted as I feel I am still out of my depth in this world of technology. The man at the app/ tech stand highlighted that it was key to get the first phases right and was pleased we had done some real research. At the end of our conversation, when he had very generously offered to give some of his time to chat over our research and next stage, he let slip what my joker had been.
Sometimes it can be a family member with autism or ADHD, sometimes they work with someone or are themselves autistic. In this case however, it was none of those. In one of my other lines of work I had taught him to climb on a rock face in the Peak District. The single pitches we had climbed (for that is what they are referred to in the climbing world) had apparently been good ones- and I imagine significantly better than the pitch I had just delivered at his stand).
Even though there are lots of advantages to using tech, it is important to remember it is a tool, part of an answer. The human connection is the real key.
