Gratia Digital focus on work which supports people with:
- “Disabilities”
- Cognitive impairments
- Neurological differences (Neurodiversity)
Our purpose is to build technology which puts everyone on an equal footing, so that everyone can thrive and no person is left behind.
Participatory Design
If we could condense nearly a decade of experience into a single sentence it’d be this: You’ll never fully understand what it’s like to live with a condition until you do, so the users are the real experts.
We believe it’s absolutely crucial that everyone with a stake in the project is involved in the design process. Our job is to build these bridges so that the user’s needs can be heard, regardless of any difficulties they may have with, for example, communication.
That’s why we embrace listening, and we strive to make sure the right questions are being asked. Our design process is based around:
- Discussion – having conversations to find out the needs of our users, whether they are clinicians or people with disabilities
- Understanding – transforming the output of our conversations into actionable design principles for each project
- Continual Improvement – validating our understanding by building prototypes and iteratively improving them through further discussion with our users
Modern Practices
Software development can be challenging. Only about 30% of IT projects arrive on time, on budget, and within the customer’s expectations. This is bad.
Our experience tells us that there are good ways to build good software – projects delivered using an agile methodology are around 3 times more likely to succeed.
So, we like to focus on the following principles:
- Value the User – embrace the user’s vital role in the team in many stages of the project through workshops and conversation
- Release Early and Often – build a small version first, then improve in increments with regular feedback from stakeholders
- Respond Quickly – expect understanding and priorities to change often, be prepared to switch direction without slowing down
