What we did We ran a Steering Group meeting with our charity partners to update them on the progress of the product (the app). We had some interesting discussions together about how we might improve our data and buy-in and where we might go next. We caught up with Lambeth Council, who offered to introduce us to their Young Advisors programme. We had an internal scoping session where we thought about the next steps for the app and how we might work on our business plan. What we’re thinking about This past week has been focused on discussions of how… Read more “Weeknote w/c 1st March 2021”

The team has been hard at work developing our progressive web app and we are so pleased to say we now have the start of our app! As with all new pieces of tech there bugs (Not the creepy crawly kind, but small errors or mistakes in the software which mean it doesn’t do want we wanted it to do!)  Some are really obvious such a janky layout or a button not appearing on certain pages and some are harder to find, such as a specific option within a filter that doesn’t appear to work. So how do you find… Read more “User-led bug testing works!”

We’ve started our Alpha sprint, and the app’s development is coming along nicely! Alongside this, we’re continuing with data entry, finding information about services for young people in Lambeth and recording it in a spreadsheet ready to be transferred into our app. This blog will share some of the challenges we’ve experienced. Categorising support and activities There are currently twelve categories that we use to describe the services on the app, with each service coming under one or two categories: Money School and college Sex and relationships Mental health Keeping safe Job stuff Where I’m living Friends Family Drink and… Read more “Data entry: The successes, the challenges, and why we’re doing My Best Life”

We at NPC are thinking about ways to promote the My Best Life app, via the platforms on which charities are already listed (such as the Lambeth Council website), or through schools, or by investment in marketing or promotion. As our recent weeknotes have explained, we want to better understand how to introduce the app and how young people might get started with it. That’s included considering the role of ‘gatekeepers’ (such as youth workers) that young people might already know. How will young people learn about the app? Finding the app is crucial to young people having access to… Read more “What is the role of gatekeepers in My Best Life?”

What we did We continued the process of data entry, amending our spreadsheet with more categories to cover a wider range of services. We had a great check-in with Lambeth Council. They connected us to another database (mapping youth organisations in the borough) that might be able to help us. They also said they would talk to three local groups of young people to see if they’d be willing to help us with user testing. We ran a Young Person Steering Group and received great feedback on the look and feel of the app, such as the colours and fonts.… Read more “Weeknote w/c 18th January 2021”

Here is a really quick walkthrough of our prototype so far! We will be doing three rounds of development over February to May, so it will look quite different as make changes based on young people’s feedback.… Read more “Sneak peek at our new prototype so far”

In November 2020 we ran a series of usability tests with young people. We wanted to explore two different routes to onboarding of our app. We were interested in testing which of two different options young people preferred to get to know young people’s needs. Our aims: To understand how we can help young people find the support and opportunities that they need. To understand how we can present these to young people. The prototypes we have tested: Quiz style: an interactive quiz that gets to know young people’s needs and interests (like Pinterest or Headspace). The questions include ‘what’s… Read more “Usability testing – onboarding for our app”

As the New Year progresses, we’re pushing ahead and planning for the Alpha development of the My Best Life app, which means developing our data model. It’s an exciting time for us! The app is beginning to be brought to life, and now we can start to see if the theoretical benefits we’d anticipated play out in practice. Last week, we had a couple of online sessions with our digital partner Neon Tribe, where we explored data modelling and defined the fields for data entry. We discussed the information we thought young people would need, and then we prioritised the… Read more “Data entry: How it’s going so far”

2020 has certainly been an ‘interesting’ year. So much of our life has moved online. We’re seeing increased mental health concerns, a difficult jobs market, and recreational activities opening and closing as lockdowns come and go. In this ever-changing and sometimes anxiety-inducing landscape, having access to accurate information about the services and opportunities near you has never been more important. There is still a need for My Best Life, and we’ve been working hard on it this year. As 2020 draws to a close, we’ve got three key updates to share. We have a Comms schedule for next year, ready… Read more “Looking back on 2020 – and looking forward to 2021”