The document describes task flow diagrams created to analyze how social workers currently find social services for homeless clients and how the process could be improved. The diagrams show the current lengthy process of searching various sites for each service's details and transportation options. New design diagrams incorporate filters to narrow agencies by clients' criteria upfront, keyword search, map visualization of locations and bus routes, and icons summarizing key agency information to streamline the referral process.

1. Resources Map Task Flow DiagramsThese task flow diagrams were used in the requirement gatheringand design phase to illustrate the detailed work flow of how the social workers at local information call center and community services currentlyfindsocial service informationfor their homeless clients and how they will find more effectively find better information in the future with our design. DasenHu | FeixingTuang

2. The Problem StatementThere are many social services in Bloomington, IN working on helping the people that are homeless to meet their basic needs. Different social services have different requirements, orientations and operating hours. They are also situated in different locations of the town. To recommend a suitable social service, social workers at the service referral agencies have to read information about each of the related social services and check bus routes and schedules to find the right match for their clients. The process is inefficient because information is written in paragraph and the social workers have to check external sites for bus routes and schedules.

3. The purpose of the Task Flow DiagramsThese task flow diagrams helped us to identify which parts of the current interface and the social workers’ work flow we should improve on to make the referral process easier and more informative for better services to the people that are homeless.

4. Answer callCurrent Task FlowGather basic information/needsSearchBy programBy keywordsBy agencyGet returned resultsFamiliar?YesNoRead detailed description of each resultsCheck bus route and mapAnalyze results based on client’s needs and eligibilityProvide information/referralsData loggingEnd

5. InsightsFrom the interviews with the social workers, we learned that in most calls that the social workers receive,they would have to go through the descriptions of each social services to learn the details of these services in order to find the right match for the clients. We also learnt that there is a list of common criteria that the people that are homeless most concern about. These criteria include public transportation to the service center, hours (in related to work/ school schedule), eligibility requirements etc.If the social workers can filter the social services easily according to the clients’ criteria before reading the detailed descriptions of the social services, they will not have to read the detailed descriptions of every related social services.

6. Answer callGather basic information/needsYesGot referrals in mind?Module 1:Criteria FilterNoModule 4: Keyword SearchSearch by keywordsFilter based on client’s requirement and eligibilityModule 2:Map VisualizationGet returned results with bus route and mapModule 3:Criteria (Side bar) VisualizationAnalyze results with the visualizations based on client’s needs and eligibilityNarrow down to several referralsNew DesignRead detailed descriptionProvide information/referralsData loggingEnd

7. DesignWith the task flow diagrams, we identified four modules to focus on in the next step:(1) The criteria filter filters the social service agencies based on clients’ preferences and basic information (4) The keyword search engine. (2) The map visualization shows agency locations and bus routes (3) The icons at the side bar show the most important information of the agencies