Turning a library of printed manuals into a living global resource

Right to Play is a charity focused on using the power of play as an agent of change for children affected by poverty and violence. Despite reaching 2.3 million children operating in 15 countries worldwide, the organization faced historical challenges in standardizing their training and operational practices. With over 650 games and training activities housed in a series of printed manuals, Right to Play amassed a great amount of knowledge for their global network of coaches, trainers, staff, and youth leaders. This information was difficult to find and was infrequently updated.

As part of a Microsoft technology grant, The Pixel Shop was retained to help Right to Play envision a solution that would enable users to find games and manuals, contribute variations and notes that would help other team members, and form the basis of a global community of practice.

We started this project by conducting global stakeholder interviews via Skype to better understand the challenges faced by various roles in different locales, and to find opportunities to make improvements.

During research and design stages of this project we went deep to determine the needs of Right to Play coaches across the world.

Our recommendation was a global portal that would not only digitize Right to Play's games, but also allow users to create their own manuals and build on the information by offering commentary, suggestions, and tips.

The user experience process continued with segmentation and persona development, user journey mapping, and wireframe creation. Once the UX work was approved I worked closely to direct the graphic design of the project before collaborating with a software development team in Kenya, who built the final portal.

Portal to Play was instrumental in eliminating the need for printed manuals, saving Right to Play money and time, and ensuring that resources are always up to date.