Ameelio for Attorneys — Discovery Research
Ameelio is a technology nonprofit pushing for a more humane and rehabilitative corrections system. We do this by focusing on improving communication channels between incarcerated individuals and their support networks, understanding that such access plays a crucial role in lowering recidivism rates.
Background
In the summer of 2022, the business team determined that an entry point to partnering with correctional facilities was to build a communication service to digitally connect criminal defense attorneys with incarcerated populations. I was asked by the founding CTO to design and conduct a research plan to understand this opportunity from a user perspective; present findings and recommendations to business and engineering; and subsequently update designs for a more informed MVP.
Planning & Execution
I held a meeting with the CTO and Head of Engineering to ensure internal alignment of our objectives, listed in the section below. Then, I proposed and carried out a five-week research plan detailing participants, outreach, budget, methodology (one-on-one generative interviews), and deliverables (a shareable of the findings and insights from all four stakeholders and an evaluation of how our MVP addresses their needs compared to current solutions). I coordinated with Customer Service to reach out to participants.
Objectives
Objective 1: Understand the end-to-end journey of initiating and terminating an attorney-client relationship.
Objective 2: Discover the different tools/methods that participants use for communication and how they feel about each them
Findings
After speaking with four legal providers, four individuals currently or previously incarcerated, and two Department of Corrections (DOC) employees, I found that the differing communication systems of correctional facilities creates a learning curve for attorneys working with new institutions. The resulting professional friction between attorneys and DOC employees makes it more difficult for attorneys to meet with their incarcerated clients. I turned this into a production direction — improve the attorney-facility onboarding experience in order to reduce the time that attorneys and DOC employees spend interfacing, increasing access to necessary legal advising for incarcerated individuals.
Research Visualizations
Results
I presented a comprehensive document of Findings, Product Directions/Principles, and Next Steps to the CTO and Head of Engineering. I particularly stressed the importance of onboarding and was approved in prioritizing, designing, and testing a seamless onboarding experience for the Ameelio MVP for Attorneys. Designs can be found here.