A User Guide to Vocal Ministry: How might we design an app for that?

How do we know if and when to speak from the silence? And if we don’t know, how can we learn? Following a user experience (UX) design process, we’ll prototype a teaching tool — an app that maps our shared understanding of the vocal ministry discernment process. No technical background needed!

Workshop Description

On the surface, this workshop will teach you about the world of user experience (UX) design, and the role that empathy plays in creating online experiences for people. But at it’s core, this is a workshop that will bring you closer to your own mystical experience with vocal ministry. We will spend considerable time in the silence, with a close lens on what moves us to speak and how we explain that discernment process to others.

As we approach the creation of a new teaching tool, we will consider varied user experiences — those brand new to Quakerism, versus those Friends seeking to deepen their spiritual practice. Then, we will consider the diversity of individuals who might be included along that spectrum.

We’ll design and conduct user research, developing interview questions to understand preliminary needs and preferences. Throughout the workshop, some participants may choose to be research subjects, while others may prefer to act as researchers.

After establishing user personas that encompass the qualities of our target audiences, we will design a visual interface with language prompts and process maps — basically how the app will look, read and behave, depending on who uses it. Some of this will be done on computers, but there will be plenty of work to be done with Post It notes and index cards.

By the end of the week, we will design a prototype — or wireframe — for Friendly developers to later build from.

Leader Experience

Much of my volunteer experience as a Quaker has addressed the challenges of staying connected as an intergenerational meeting, when everyone has different preferences for how we should communicate — and then how this puzzle affects our ability to welcome newcomers. In my professional life, I develop marketing and communication strategies, and I am increasingly exploring a UX approach to content design.