This past week we flushed out and revised our three emails given last week’s feedback and tested them with Maheen. We made sure to balance anecdotes and conveying the ethos of Arms Wide. We also made sure to be purposeful with the language. For example, we used “we” instead of “Arms Wide” in the second and third emails to make the email feel more personal. Overall, we are confident in moving forward with our email content.   We have received eight survey responses that Arms Wide had previously sent to parents who have completed the majority of the adoption process. … Continue reading Arms Wide: Build/Test

This week our team tackled Test. We worked on testing and getting feedback on our low fidelity prototype for our users. In building our solution, my team decided to focus on the follow-up aspect of our solution for our tests. We developed different email templates that could potentially be sent out to parents at different times. The email templates also had different sets of content and focuses. Some emails focused on supporting the parents via resources while others focused on reminding parents the steps necessary to start the adoption process. We also played around with developing different timelines for the … Continue reading Arms Wide: Test

This week the team worked on “build” — essentially building out the prototypes to our solution. Specifically, our team wrote three sample emails for the follow-up scheme we want to create for Arms Wide and potential content and interaction for the Facebook group. DFA emphasizes that the first steps of the build process should focus on concretely defining and creating content and building “lo-fidelity” prototypes. Essentially, lo-fidelity means as simple as possible, so without the frills and flourish of a final product. There are a couple reasons to keep the early prototypes at lo-fidelity. The first is that it becomes … Continue reading Arms Wide: Build

This past Saturday, Team Arms Wide Adoption Allies presented in front of our studio, community partner, and friends for Mid-Semester Review. Our presentation covered our work so far, the insights we have made, and our proposal for a solution. Overall, the team did really well and we are very pleased with the positive feedback we have received! The audience received our presentation really well. Our community partner, Melissa, also seemed really pleased with our presentation and solution. The excitement and support we’ve been given by Arms Wide has been great and a huge motivating factor. The solution we offered was … Continue reading Arms Wide – Mid-Semester Review

Who are we? My name is Neha Goel and I am a senior studying Civil Engineering. I am interested in learning about the adoption and foster care system as well as its benefits and misconceptions. I am excited to work on a project with a community partner in Houston and hopefully make an impact in our area! My name is Ramee Saleh and I am a senior studying Economics and Policy Studies. This is my first semester with DFA and I am really excited to learn more about and engage with the design process. I am looking forward to making an impact for Arms … Continue reading Arms Wide: Intro and Identify