REBUILD activities are structured in 3 phases along the 36 months of the project: Phase 1 (1st year) focused on the definition of user requirements and technical specifications; Phase 2 (next 14 months), focused on system development and continuous testing/design with users; and Phase 3 (last 10 months), aiming at system consolidation and piloting of the application with a larger amount of users.
Therefore, the first year of the project completed the activities under Phase 1.
The research and design methodology integrates methods and techniques from a broad range of disciplines, from ethnography and psychology applied to social sciences, to User-centered and Participatory design. Field data, collected through focus groups, interviews and questionnaires involving 217 migrants and 77 LSPs, have been used as input for the definition of a set of scenarios addressing REBUILD service and user experience as come from the requirements for the three pilot countries. Scenario-based design was used to explore the boundaries of the design space proposing innovative and creative solutions; by continuously comparing the results of WP1 and re-tuning the process, WP2 have iteratively refined the scenarios to progressively incorporate the creativity, innovation, educational and technical requirements developed in the project.
Three CoCreation Workshops (CCW) were organized in October 2019, in Bologna, Thessaloniki and Barcelona, involving participants from both the main target groups. CCWs were based on a participatory and inclusive design approach, fostering mutual learning, with the aim of leading project partners to the elaboration of the workshops’ findings into the next step of interface and interaction design. Service design aspect took into consideration three different levels of “service integration/provision” foreseen in REBUILD application: smart support to access to existing digital services provided directly by REBUILD partners; integration of digital services useful for the target groups; digitization of currently “analogical” services perceived as a need by research participants.
Findings gathered through CCWs were then elaborated, and produced Design Themes and Values and Prototype Scenarios that will drive the development of REBUILD Digital Companion and participatory design activities in the second and third years of the project (WP6).
REBUILD started also the technical development of ICT components that will be integrated in the Digital Companion, such as: AI-based user profiling, skills and needs matching for users against available services in their area, use case scenarios for technical development, initial draft of conversation trees for REBUILD chatbot, a conversational agent able to communicate in natural language with migrants and refugees using the app (WP3, WP4, WP5).
Furthermore, in the 1st year REBUILD developed: ethical and legal framework and guidelines for research activities and for technical development (WP7 and WP11) of REBUILD digital companion; REBUILD project brand, website, social media channels and dissemination plan and activities (WP8); socio-economic impact assessment methodology and initial research (WP9); and its project management methodology (WP10).
