Social care

User research synthesis

March 2021

About the research

Six social workers from adults and children

Asked about experience with the new app

Looked at production together

All

participants agreed that this would make their job much easier

Key findings

A few minor UX issues with the record history panel

Missing and mislabelled information on the case note detail screen

UX issues regarding search and person view more generally

List screen

I need to filter by text in note, case note type and creator

I need to see both the case note type and a snippet of content

I need to be able to move through results more predictably, using pages

Detail screen

I need to know when the note was written as well as when the event happened

I need to know what will happen when I click this. Will I be taken to another page?

I need to quickly move between the previous and next note

I need to clearly see what the case note type/form is, versus what the social worker wrote

I need to see the time as well as the date

Other findings

I need to search by name even if I’m not sure of the exact spelling

I need to search by address as well as postcode

I need to be able to manage uploaded attachments and document scans

I need to see the status of a case (eg. dormant, on waiting list, assigned to team)

I need to be sure that the same information is visible here as in Qlik

I need case notes I add to be visible immediately

What’s the next most useful thing?

See “significant events” right away

Information from NHS Spine by NHS number

Details of care package (eg. list of providers contracted)

Manage documents

More information about a person (eg. ethnicity, communication needs)

Edit a person

Family relationships

See risks (eg. violent) straight away

Status of a case

Now

Next

Later

Things to take inspiration from

Beacon

FamilyStory

Hackney Housing

Filters by record type such as OT, safeguarding (2)

Filter by person

Email attachments

Search functionality

Next button and back button

Amending personal details (2)

Search via address not postcode

Historic data - beneficial

Access to HIE e.g. frequency of visits, admissions (2)

Visibility of relationship e.g. family members (3)

More fields such as ethnicity, communication requirements in education, out education, in prison

Including field of care agency (most important request)

More robust name search (2)

Status for dormant or allocation to waiting list

Consistency with the forms/information on the case management system

Chronology of care episodes/timeline of events (3)

Time added to ‘date’ in case view (2)

Making ‘record type’ not uniform text

Form name should be be altered so encourages individuals to write ‘case note type’ in clearer way (3)