Even the Best Tools Can Be Improved
Amplio’s Talking Books are loaded with hours of critical information to be shared with hard to reach communities. The Amplio Audio Content Manager (ACM) and Talking Book Loader (TB Loader) have been instrumental in assisting program managers upload, organize, and manage audio files, determining which content will be downloaded to specific sets of Talking Book devices. They have proved very effective in making the work of partners and Amplio staff efficient and organized.
The impact of these devices is evident in projects like the Liberia Landesa Land Rights project which saw a deployment of 400 Talking Books, reaching approximately 44,490 people to raise awareness about women's land rights in 14 communities. Similarly, in Senegal, a pilot project with Tostan deployed 34 Talking Books, reaching 7,000 people in 30 communities with Vroom Tips that supported positive early childhood development (ECD) practices, an impressive 91% of participants being women. These examples highlight the Talking Books' ability to disseminate crucial information to diverse communities.
However, even the best tools can be improved. That's why we were excited to collaborate with Develop for Good, an organization that brings together teams of talented, diverse college students and industry professionals to build tech products for nonprofits. The goal for Develop for Good was to streamline the process of uploading audio content to Talking Book devices, ultimately accelerating knowledge sharing and getting information out faster to communities.
"The Amplio Content Manager and Talking Book Loader applications needed to be updated to provide greater consideration of the overall user flow and experience. Our goal was to make onboarding of both new users and existing users of our Talking Books easier, and improve the ACM and TB loader user interface. We wanted a consistent user flow/interface (UI) that is easier for less tech-savvy users to navigate."
- Lawrence Ephrim, Amplio’s Senior Software Engineer
Key Improvements
The team of designers from Develop for Good - Justin Chu, Mia Inakage, Htet Aung Lin, Yuki Li, Shreya Sasmal, Bonnie Chen, Gurashima Kaur, Kylie Bach - took a user-centered approach to reimagining our tools. Through interviews, usability heuristics, and iterative design, they created new interfaces that address the pain points of both experienced and new users of our Talking Books.
Key Improvements in the Audio Content Manager (ACM):
Modernized Home Screen: A cleaner, more intuitive layout makes it easier to navigate the audio library.
Redesigned Assistants: Step-by-step guides now make it simpler to import content, create deployments, and manage playlists.
Enhanced Filtering and Customization: Users can now easily find and organize audio content with improved filters and customizable table columns.
Streamlined Deployment Management: A new deployment table allows for easy management of active, upcoming, and archived deployments.
Talking Book (TB Loader) Enhancements:
Multi-Page Flow: A step-by-step process reduces information overload and guides users through updating Talking Books.
Simplified Stat Collection: Users can now collect device statistics without going through the entire update process.
In-App Help: A new help section and information bubbles provide support throughout the application.
Progress Visualization: Users can now see the status of file downloads in real-time.
The Impact for Serving Communities with Talking Books
These improvements might seem technical, but their impact is profound. By making our tools more efficient and user-friendly, we're enabling our team and partners to:
Upload and manage audio content more quickly
Reduce errors in content deployment
Spend less time on technical processes and more time on creating impactful content
Onboard new team members more easily
These enhancements mean we can deliver vital information to communities faster and more reliably than ever before.
We believe that the new redesign of the ACM and TB Loader will streamline the process of uploading audio content, resulting in faster distribution of deployments to communities. One of our primary goals in this redesign was to make the platforms easy for new program managers to learn. We aim for the redesigned platforms to be highly intuitive, minimizing the need for program managers to contact Amplio staff for assistance.
Additionally, we anticipate that multiple deployments will soon be able to run concurrently, enhancing the efficiency of program operations. The ACM’s deployments tab now allows program managers to manage past, upcoming, and active deployments in a structured view, which should greatly improve organization and management of their programs.
- Mia Inakage, Project Design Manager, Develop for Good.
This redesign isn't just about fixing what was outdated – it's about setting the stage for the future of our work. With more intuitive, scalable platforms, we're better positioned to expand our reach and impact.
We're incredibly grateful to the Develop for Good design team who worked tirelessly on this project, and to our users who provided valuable insights throughout the process. As we roll out these changes, we're excited to see how they'll enhance our ability to serve communities around the world.
Read this case study by Develop for Good to learn more about the project.
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