Initiatives

Age UK Oxfordshire | Create an online booking system for exercise classes, supported by an integrated database, using off-the-shelf tools.

INT-584-901

About

Why the work is being done

This challenge seeks to create a highly accessible and easy to navigate platform that enables older users to register, book and participate in online activities organised and delivered by Age UK Oxfordshire and their (remote) delivery partners.

This project is part of the Catalyst and The National Lottery Community Fund COVID-19 Digital Response funding initiative; a partnership between The National Lottery Community Fund and CAST, supported by the Catalyst network.

Problem to solve

We’ve moved rapidly from face-to-face to online delivery of our activities. Limited by existing digital systems, clumsy add-ons have enabled us to move online but they’re now impacting both our older clients (users) and delivery staff (internal users).

Our users are having a poor experience accessing information and activities online which has resulted in a significant decrease in engagement and participation plus unnecessary digital exclusion.

Internal users are increasingly frustrated by the lack of integration between different systems, generating extra work to deliver the service and so limiting time available to support clients.

Who are the users and what do they need to do

Our external older users need to be able to find information, register and book online and receive reminder prompts.
 
As an older user I need..
  • to find up-to-date information online with details on how to make an enquiry so that I know what to expect 
  • a prompt response to my enquiry so that I don’t change my mind to be able to provide all registration details at same time so there’s no delays
  • to be reminded to book my next activity so that I don’t forget
  • a reminder just before the activity so that the Zoom link is to hand
 
Our Internal users are activity facilitators, service administrators and manager. They need a system where tasks are only completed once, data isn’t held in silos, enquiry and registration data can be received online, participant data is available during the activity and data can be evaluated to gain insights into the service.
 
As an activity facilitator I need..
  • to know who has booked in advance so I can plan my session
  • immediate access to participant information during the activity so that I can call them if they have issues
  • to be able to record attendance and tech issues during the activity so that insights can be gained about the activity
 
As an administrator I need..
  • to be able to access or record manually a new client enquiry and then registration data so they can then proceed to book
  • one central database so that I’m not having to repeat tasks
 
As a manager I need..
  • to be able to produce regular reports to be able to gain insights and measure outcomes and impact 
Key outcomes/ outputs/ deliverables

  • Older user usability to reduce digital exclusion
  • Increased (older) user engagement with the website and increased booking onto online classes
  • Increased productivity of internal users, releasing time for more direct client support
Engagement within our network with UX digital design and the developed reusable tool 

Key project resources

Handover Presentation
DEV are committed to making the code base available and will update the document with links to this once the final amends have been made.