Yalla

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

At Chiltern we can provide Music Therapy, Neurologic Music Therapy and Community Music services both digitally and in person across England. I am Neurologic Music Therapist, Supervisor and Music Technology Lead.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Yalla, and what were your goals?

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital platforms for the delivery of music therapy services both in the UK and across the world. Identifying a need for more robust, systematic evaluation of these digital services and to assess the effectiveness of different types of music therapy provision, a comparative, qualitative study aimed to compare and explore the effects of remote digital music therapy, in-person therapy and multimodal combined music therapy delivery.

Findings from this study demonstrated that although introduced as a temporary response to an emergency situation, digital music therapy could provide added therapeutic value (namely greater accessibility, consistency and flexibility) and provide a robust future basis for complementing in-person services.

Moreover, participants suggested strength could lie in a “multimodal approach” and the second phase of the research consequently focused on developing a conceptual digital portal prototype that incorporates both remote digital, online pre-recorded content and in-person session delivery. Yalla helped us conceptualize and develop this platform for the delivery of clinical music therapy that was later named Duet Portal.

SOLUTION

How did you select Yalla and what were the deciding factors?

Yalla seemed to have both the experience, the human connection and the motivation to guide us through this very new experience for our organisation. After completing the first half of the project funded by CAST, we were able to secure further funding to continue the work and development and we invited Yalla to participate in the project again due to the great work we had done together until then.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

This projects was aimed at organisations whose work has been affected by COVID-19 and who need emergency funding to continue to deliver essential services. It will support them to develop the digital, data and design capabilities that allow them to address urgent issues and serve the most vulnerable.

Project outputs included: Validated user journeys Mobile prototypes Questions set to help someone understand their digital skill level Prioritised backlog ALPHA web app – ready to deploy Live testing of the ALPHA product with real users Independent PEN security testing of the product User Needs statements.

Music therapy beneficiaries in isolation As a music therapy beneficiary unable to attend sessions in person I need user-friendly, digital access to online therapy services and personalised therapeutic content so that I can continue my therapy plan, in a way that is consistent, flexible and accessible by beneficiary and therapist. 

Music therapy beneficiaries gradually returning to in-person services As a music therapy beneficiary greatly affected by shortage of care services due to their slow return to normal availability, I need enhanced digital support in between in-person sessions to work towards therapeutic outcomes more effectively, according to my own timetable, using whatever web-enabled devices I have.

Music Therapists As a Music Therapist providing support services in-person and remotely/digitally, I need a secure, easy to use, cost-effective way to upload clients’ personalised content and arrange their personalised therapeutic space and tasks according to their therapeutic plan and be confident of their attaining the full benefit of the therapy programme. 

As a Music Therapist new to providing support services digitally, I might need some initial help to get confident and comfortable with this new way of working, so that I can reach optimal confidence, efficiency and effectiveness quickly.  Wider Music Practitioners and Therapists As a practitioner I need to understand and learn about risks associated with online digital therapy delivery.

How I can protect vulnerable people I work with, using well-researched and robustly secure platforms, storage and data-sharing. Features completed Three user types: THERAPISTS Sign up, Log in (authentication) Welcome / onboarding screens Dashboard Add, invite clients (incl. therapy plan) View / edit clients Add programmes i.e. a series of content for things the client can work on that week at home Add, share video content Add, and share audio content Add. S

hare written content Library to add and organise content (video / audio / written) they want to use regularly Receive email notifications of client activity Edit account CLIENTS Sign up, log in (authentication) Welcome / onboarding screens Dashboard View programmes View / listen to video / audio Send message updates to their therapist Share video / audio / written documents with their therapist Provide feedback to programmes Edit account Delete account ADMIN Log in (authentication).

View all content on the platform Filter based on type, therapist, categories ALPHA product created Full launch of the portal for Chiltern Music Therapy and third parties. Set up maintenance agreement to cover the larger roll out planned Tech overview include: Frontend >> main technology is ReactJS Backend >> main technology is NodeJS Database >> main technology is PostgresSQL Media storage >> AWS Deployment Platform >> Heroku Other techs used include: Notion, Git Hub, etc.

How many people from the Yala team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Scrum & Developer Jem, Lead Designer Ramy, Development (Lead) Fadi,  Development (Frontend) Simon, Development

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The project objectives included: - To host secure, GDPR compliant and consented digital interactions between music therapists and their beneficiaries via a tailor made digital platform, including personalised content and therapeutic resources, information about their clinical goals and feedback. 

To implement the prototype platform within the current CMT staff team and beneficiaries across a variety of settings and populations. To evaluate the effectiveness, accessibility and appropriateness of the platform with focus groups, digital statistics and user case studies. To evaluate the effectiveness of the platform in the domains of elderly care, education and community use.

To amend, adapt and enhance the prototype service in the light of wider user-experience and feedback. To assess the readiness to launch the service to the wider music therapy and community music sector. To deliver training and dissemination events internally and with other music therapy providers, associations and educational institutions in the UK. To ensure usability, accessibility and security with the relevant feature enhancements. -

To enhance accessibility by allowing multiple points of access, aiming to target non-digital users as well as elderly and other vulnerable people. Duet has proven to be a transformative resource of great impact for Chiltern Music Therapy’s therapists and beneficiaries, and it is expected that this will have a broader impact soon when launched to the wider music therapy and music education communities.

The transformation of Duet as a invaluable resource for music therapy practice has been achieved via a combination of the outputs and outcomes of this project, including: - Accessibility One of the core areas of the work in the phase of the project has been to enhance theaccessibility features of the portal.

For that purpose, the design of Duet followed AXE standards of accessibility which focus on providing users access to the same experience and information, regardless of the impairments they may have. During this project we improved the accessibility rating of Duet from AA to AAA, by including optional font-size increase, as well as fine-tuning other design aspects like colour contrast, font style, page layout, screen readers functionality, buttons and text-to-speech guidance, among others.

When commenting on their experience navigating the portal one participant mentioned: “I think it looks great, the flow, the layout is great, it's pretty intuitive.” An accessibility statement was also included in the portal home page, stating information about the standards of compliance, as well as guidance on how to operate the different accessibility features from different browsers/devices.

Analogue integration Another added feature for Duet has been the integration of Twilio, a text messaging system that sends text alerts to beneficiaries phones. Beneficiaries can opt in or out of this feature, and select to which phone they would like to have the messages sent. Text messaging lets beneficiaries know about news and updates, such as when their therapist has sent a new home programme, message or other therapeutic resource, without the need to log into their Duet account or checking their emails.

This analogue integration aims to support those beneficiaries who are less likely to use digital means to connect with their therapy programs. Often, vulnerable and elderly members of the community lack immediate access to smart devices or internet connection. As a way to resolve this problem, analogue text messaging allows therapists to keep their elderly beneficiaries informed via methods more accessible to them. 

Non-digital user Duet was created to resemble the therapeutic space between a Music Therapist and their beneficiaries in a digital manner. In this space, therapists and clients are able to log in and access a private and secure repository, where they can find the therapy plan, personalised therapeutic resources, feedback and communications.

In order to make this portal more widely accessible for people who are less likely to use digital means, such as the elderly population, it was paramount that further development focused on new ways of accessing Duet from a non-digital user point of view.

Further to analogue integration, another very important element of development on Duet during this project has been the creation of an easier (although equally secure to safeguard personal data) access point, in which beneficiaries do not need to create an account and remember logins and passwords.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

The Yalla Team was always accessible through a variety of platforms and information was shared within them, including Slack, Notion, Git Hub, Jara, among others. In the initial stages there were twice weekly debriefs and almost daily communications. In later stages, weekly debriefs and regular meetings were sufficient.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Yalla is unique and highly commendable on various areas, from their amazing knowledge and expertise on the subject, to their patience in guiding their clients effectively via new terrains, as well as the amazing human element. It was delightful to work with the Yalla team.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Yalla is all round an amazing vendor and would not hesitate to recommend or continue working with them in future projects.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Shannon Trust, an organization that educates people in prison and those leaving prison. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Yalla?

We needed website design, development, and mobile app development services. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve worked on two projects with Yalla. They’ve redesigned and rebuilt our company’s website. At present, they serve as our digital partner as we design and develop the mobile app version of our learning materials. 

The mobile app will be available for both iOS and Android devices. The design and development process is focused heavily on user research and testing. That’s because our learners have many barriers to engaging in education. We want to ensure that end users can use everything we build. 

How did you come to work with Yalla?

I found Yalla through a referral and worked with them at another organization. For this project, we also ran a tender, and the team was successful in bidding for it. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around £60,000 (approximately $70,000 USD) of our own money. We’ve also won a competition, which allowed us to get some funds from the UK government. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Yalla in May 2021, and the engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

The website has gotten highly positive feedback from end users. It’s much more engaging now and much easier to navigate. From a content management perspective, it’s easier to update. In other words, we’ve got a better product that more people use more effectively. 

Meanwhile, we’re still developing the mobile app. However, Yalla has been an excellent organization. They’re responsive and provide great value for our money. 

How did Yalla perform from a project management standpoint?

We have clear deadlines for design and development sprints. Our staff and their team collaborate to meet these deadlines. We have regular standups and receive regular written reports. To communicate, we use Teams, Notion, and emails.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

We enjoy working with Yalla — it’s almost like having our own team. We have a close working relationship with them, and they put a lot of effort into it. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a clear brief of what you want. This is challenging when you have digital development projects since you don’t always know where you want to end up. 

With that in mind, give Yalla the space to deploy their expertise, and listen to what they’re telling you. Enter into the engagement in that spirit. Let the team explore your problems and test prototypes and solutions. This allows them to meet your business challenges instead of just imposing a fixed idea of what you want. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are an online historical research and education resource, run by a collective, and I am member of the collective who was lead on the development of the app.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Yalla, and what were your goals?

We had a private spreadsheet containing all of our historical stories, which was only accessible to members of our collective. We wanted to use the data to build a powerful, interactive web app which could be viewed by everyone, and which would take public submissions.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We looked for vendors online, and were impressed by Yalla's collective structure and positive social mission. We contacted them, got a quote which was within our budget and so decided to proceed with them.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We held a kick-off meeting to discuss goals and objectives for the app. Yalla then came back with wireframe mockups with multiple design options. We narrowed in on one design, and they proceeded to set up the database which would hold all of the data, and the web app which would display it to users. They then uploaded a test set of data for testing. We then tested it in detail, identified some bugs and small changes to request. Yalla then made all of these changes, and uploaded the complete dataset to the final database/web app. The database was set up in baserow, and the web app code is in github.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Three people worked with us: two developers and one designer. One developer worked as our main point of contact, who supported us throughout the entire process.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

While the web app has been completed, at the moment we have not publicly launched it as we are doing promotional work on it behind the scenes. However, everyone we have shown it to so far has been very impressed. We are extremely excited about the app, and anticipate it getting a large amount of traffic once we have done our public launch.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We used Notion and Github to communicate, as well as email. Our key point of contact was constantly available for us to check in with, and kept us regularly informed. We held regular video catch ups as well.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their collective nature and social mission was what first caught our attention. But we were also extremely impressed with their excellent design skills, delivering us a very professional -looking final product with loads of unique, customised design elements. We were grateful that they consistently went above and beyond in terms of making tweaks and changes when requested. These includes some things which we had not considered when initially explaining what we wanted from the app.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

To be honest I can't think of anything which could have gone better.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the National Officer - Technology at Communication Workers Union of United Tech and Allied Workers (UTAW)

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

A trade union for tech workers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Yalla to accomplish?

• Building a new fresh website with an easy to use content management system
• A website that nice and reflect the values that UTAW wanted to show

SOLUTION

How did you find Yalla?

Referral

Why did you select Yalla over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Yalla were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

• Design
• Testing
• Build 
• Launch of new CMS for UTAW.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Succesful user testing
• Improved conversion rates
• Higher organic SEO rating

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Very open, great communications and at no point were my expectations unmet. Also at no point were there any 'nasty surprises' nor unexpected delays.

What was your primary form of communication with Yalla?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

To say 'the culture' underestimates the professionalism of Yalla - they've a strong worker-led culture and every team member I met is an expert in their field. I've worked on dozens of CMS projects, and this was the painless and best value-for-money project I can recall.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Yalla could have done differently?

None.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Regional MECC and Connect 5 Lead of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

NHS

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Yalla to accomplish?

• To create a training app to make it easier to manage data and information

SOLUTION

How did you find Yalla?

• Online Search
• Other

Why did you select Yalla over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Yalla were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

To create a training app to support the workforce to access health inequalities and health promotion information.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The completion of the training app and ongoing support. The continual development of the platform to grow.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Yes they have delivered on time and very proficient on responding.

What was your primary form of communication with Yalla?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their way of working has led to positive outcomes for both organizations.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Yalla could have done differently?

It is great to learn as we go, but as we have done this on reflection having a log book from the start would have been useful and something they could introduce - however when creating something from scratch this would be a lesson learned.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Website Build of Break the Class Ceiling

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Provides a reading and mentoring service to promote social mobility for TV comedy writers

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Yalla to accomplish?

• Build the website

SOLUTION

How did you find Yalla?

Referral

Why did you select Yalla over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Yalla were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

To develop a rough existing blueprint into a fully functioning well designed, interactive website. We wanted it to be eye catching and easy to use. It now has many pages, in about 7 different sections, each of which contains text and graphics. There are also "master classes" - ie filmed interviews with experts in the field. And the ability to submit scripts

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

1. A functioning website, which we now have. However, due to delays with funding, and no fault of Yalla, we have not launched this yet, so we cannot comment on it's success yet

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Yalla was great. They were clear about job delineation and each of them contributed their part well. They delivered on time and were good at listening to what I wanted.

What was your primary form of communication with Yalla?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

I do like their links with Gaza and the ethos of their company

Are there any areas for improvement or something Yalla could have done differently?

I was expecting a few more design ideas to be offered as we went along, but I am pleased with where we got to in the end.