Yalla

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Co-founder / CTO of Food Data Collaboration

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

The Food Data Collaboration is a groundbreaking initiative designed to revolutionise agroecological food supply networks.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Build an open source Node js server which would communicate with Shopify via the Shopify API and Shopify Functions.
• Integrate Shopify Products and Orders with the DFC open standard for wider use.
• Authenticate & secure API endpoints using OIDC.
• Allow producers to choose which products they want to sell through the Food Data Collaboration, including mapping of wholesale to retail variants if desired.
• Make the app multi-user for producers and give it a Shopify-like look and feel and ease of use.
• Publish all code as open source.

SOLUTION

How did you find Yalla?

Referral

Why did you select Yalla over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Yalla were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

To build, test & deploy an application to interface with Shopify stores and allow store owners to interact with other DFC-enabled platforms within the Food Data Collaboration commons.

Including:

• Providing Enterprise, Product and Order JSON-LD endpoints complying with the DFC Standard
• Securing those endpoints with OIDC credentials
• Providing front end screens to allow users to interact & manage data sharing in appropriate ways
• Building a deployment pipeline for the app, initially to Heroku, then migrating to a Jelastic environment
• Ensuring the app complied with Shopify's requirements

The Yalla team worked closely with us over a number of iterations of the app design & build, incorporating changes to the DFC Standard and numerous improvements to UX & UI, based on user feedback.

We found the team committed to delivering a great product and highly technically capable.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The SHopify app had been deployed and we have our first paying customer!

The “Producer app” is stable, easy to install and to use for producers.

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

Yalla's delivery management was excellent. They were extremely responsive to our needs throughout the project, willing to be flexible on delivery dates and work items as requirements were iterated to more closely fit the users requirements.

All work undertaken was completed on budget.

Quality was generally excellent, we only experienced a couple of minor bugs in production that were immediately rectified. 

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?

Yalla's commitment to working in Palestine is unique. It brings genuine hope to the people of Palestine and shows that they can  provide valuable services to the world.

The professionalism shown by the team in continuing to deliver the project in the face of the atrocities happening in Palestine has been inspiring beyond words.

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

Nothing I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of Better Planet Education

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We inspire young people to look after our world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Rebrand the Young People Trust for the Environment to Better Planet Education
• Create a new logo, new brand guidelines and assets, including animations
• Perform an SEO content audit of the existing website
• Ensure a smooth SEO transition from the old to the new domain to limit impact on organic traffic
• Develop a new website for Better Planet Education that follows the new brand, and SEO recommendations, using Webflow as its CMS

SOLUTION

How did you find Yalla?

Invitation to tender

Why did you select Yalla over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Yalla were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

Yalla worked with us to create a new brand for Better Planet Education.  Then they created a new website, based around the brand guidelines they had developed.  The new site was based on our existing (and quite large) site, but with several modifications and improvements.

Yalla also worked to ensure that SEO was impacted as minimally as possible, which was especially important as we were changing the charity's name - and therefore our domain name - when the new site was launched.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website is easy to navigate.  We are now able to keep track of how many primary and secondary school students are visiting the site, how many teachers and how many members of the public.

The site has strong visual appeal and is receiving a lot of traffic.

Content is easy to find

Maintain high levels of organic traffic

Ensure the widest audience possible can use the platform by following AAA accessibility standards

Find out more about actual visitors' demographics

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

The team from Yalla were absolutely excellent!  We were very impressed with the standard of everything they delivered.  They were very easy to talk to and took the time to understand our needs really well before embarking upon the project.  They were also very responsive post-delivery, tidying up any issues really quickly.  Timing for the project was pretty much spot on.

What was your primary form of communication with Yalla?

Virtual Meeting

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

I liked their ethos.  They are a co-operative of experts, based across Europe and in Gaza.  Online meetings made it possible to easily get the team together for meetings, regardless of the fact that they were often separated by thousands of miles.  They really went the extra mile to ensure we got the end results we were looking for.

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

To be honest, I don't think there's anything that could have been done any better.  They were brilliant to work with throughout the process.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CTO of TeamKinetic

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Build SAAS products to help manage and promote volunteering

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Update and refresh existing mobile app
• Create a viable white label version of the app

SOLUTION

How did you find Yalla?

Referral

Why did you select Yalla over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• 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.

Redesign and refresh current native apps using React Native to provide a cross platform code base that we could use to creater Android and iOS version.

Develop a system to create a whitelabelled version of the base app in iOS and Android that has some additional features and customisations

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Successful release of native apps
• Speed of issue resolution
• Sprints

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

• We have a clear timeline and design document before the project started.
• The team were accessible and quick to respond
• Issues that could not be solved were escalated and more team members were brought in that might have insight.
• There was some timeline slip as there always is but this was also due to design changes and delays out of Yalla's control

What was your primary form of communication with Yalla?

Virtual Meeting

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

Mission and company goals, using global devlopers from underrepresented cultures or from troubled geo-political areas.

They have quality project management and organization.

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

More oversight of completed work to ensure consistent quality levels.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Marketing & Communications Officer of a nonprofit company.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are the UK's leading kidney patient support charity. We offer advice, support, and financial grants and assistance to kidney patients and their families across the UK every year.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Build a free-to-use step-by-step support guide for kidney patients who wish to claim Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

SOLUTION

How did you find Yalla?

Referral

Why did you select Yalla over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Referred to me

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.

The scope of this project was to build a free-to-use step-by-step support guide for kidney patients claiming PIP benefits. It was designed for those patients who need guidance to apply but don't require one-to-one support (which we offer separately). We already had a clear idea of how to structure the tool, so the initial discovery & design phase was mainly focused on getting the right content and creating a clickable prototype. 

We then performed user testing interviews to validate that the structure of the helper was easy to use and that the content was helpful to those patients testing it. The next step was development, followed by QA and deployment.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Uptake and reviews were the main initial outcomes used to measure success. Long term, successful applicants who benefitted from the tool will be indicative of its overall success and impact.

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

They responded quickly and were available when needed, in addition to scheduling several virtual meetings to guide us through key steps in the process, in addition to the provision of a full estimate timeframe.

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 was most impressed by their commitment to completing an online tool in a limited time to the high standard expected.

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

N/A

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Communications and Fundraising Manager of Shannon Trust

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a charity supporting people to learn to read and do basic numeracy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Develop a completely new website

SOLUTION

How did you find Yalla?

Referral

Why did you select Yalla over others?

• Great culture fit
• 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.

Shannon Trust wanted a brand new website, with a better user experience. We wanted the website to be easy to navigate, accessible, suitable for multiple audiences, and reflective of our re-brand. Yalla worked with us to develop an entire product from start to finish, including creating user personas, building pathways for user journeys, wireframes and training the team on how to use Webflow. 

We needed a website suitable for a number of different user types, and Yalla worked with us to ensure we created the best user experience for them all.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our website performs at least average, and usually above average, compared to sector averages across all key metrics. Metrics include bounce rates, time spent on the website, new and returning visitors, page views etc. Feedback from key audiences was positive.

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

We used Notion to track the project including timelines, progress updates and staff members assigned to various tasks so we had a real-time reflection of how things were progressing. We had regular catch ups with Yalla throughout the process. Yalla provided additional training on things like using Notion, Webflow etc and even recorded videos of them undertaking specific tasks so we could see how it was done. 

Nothing was ever too much to ask and they never made us feel silly for asking questions! We continue to work with Yalla to help maintain and develop our website. We have a dedicated account manager and use the tools we used in the development stage to the same effect.

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 personally love Yalla's values and the fact that their clients fit into their organisational values too. The team works across different countries effectively and all of them were friendly and knowledgeable. Despite having a vast amount of knowledge within the team, those of us less familiar with coding and web development never felt patronised or that we couldn't ask questions. 

Yalla even advised us on some accessibility features on our website - for example how colours affect readability - which is really important to our charity and helped us be even more accessible.

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

We were really pleased with the finished product and enjoy continuing to work with Yalla to this day

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Research Assistant of University of Manchester

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

The company is a public research institution recognised for its wide range of courses, exceptional teaching and facilities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• To create an effective online tool to measure volunteers' personal and professional development.

SOLUTION

How did you find Yalla?

Referral

Why did you select Yalla over others?

• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

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

The project aimed to develop an online tool for organisations to track their volunteers' personal and professional growth. We wanted the tool to benefit both the organisation and its volunteers. It needed to incorporate the pre-developed MOVE iT questionnaire, the validated Utrecht Work Engagement Survey, and the life satisfaction survey. 

We envisioned the tool generating customisable visual reports that could serve as a future reference for organisations and volunteers. One of the key features we wanted to incorporate was allowing users to compare their results with other organisations while maintaining data anonymity.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

To develop an effective online tool that the NHS can distribute to organisations to measure the personal and professional growth of volunteers. Key features we wanted from the tool: 

• create reports 
• store data 
• all participant's data remain anonymous 
• compare data.

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

We appreciated how informative and approachable Yalla was throughout the entire process. They were very organised, holding regular, engaging meetings during the development process. In these meetings, they guided us through each stage of development, showing us landscapes, data mapping, and wireframes. It felt like we were part of the whole process, with the opportunity to give input at any stage. 

Yalla was approachable throughout these meetings, always checking if we were satisfied and addressing any concerns we had. Working closely with Erica, Joe, and Simon was a very positive experience, they were always happy to help and offered great ideas that have now enhanced the tool with great features. 

It was great learning how to use the new platforms that Yalla introduced for easy communication and updates through Notion and Loop. Having never used these platforms before Yalla always ensured their Notion was user-friendly, visually appealing, and easy to follow. We particularly appreciated the final playbook that Yalla created for us on Notion. 

Having all the information about how the tool works, who can access which areas, and links to videos in one place will be extremely beneficial. This will help us in the future to educate organisations about the tool. We are delighted with the final online tool that has been developed. Yalla has optimised its functionality and enhanced important features like customisable reports and comparisons across data. 

The online tool is professional, user-friendly, and engaging and we believe, once launched to a wider population, that both organisations and volunteers will benefit from using it. Due to the Gaza-Israel conflict, later areas of the project were delayed. However, one of the reasons we liked Yalla before our collaboration was their supportive approach to staff development through capacity building. Therefore, we completely understood the situation and the NHS granted the project a no-cost extension.

What was your primary form of communication with Yalla?

Virtual Meeting

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

Yalla impressed us throughout the project with their organisation, creativity, and communication skills. They scheduled regular meetings to keep us updated on their progress and the tool's development. They created an environment where we felt comfortable asking questions or sharing ideas. Their creativity was excellent and they also involved our creativity as well. 

We appreciated how they asked insightful questions about the tool, covering aspects we hadn't even considered. The team was great at responding to emails and didn't take long to reply to comments on Notion. Having this great communication made us feel at ease with the development of the tool. 

We believe Yalla did a great job with their attention to detail. This included gathering suitable images, ensuring the tool is user-friendly on both phones and laptops, and incorporating cookies to store data so participants could return to complete unfinished surveys. 

A crucial feature to incorporate was preserving the anonymity of volunteer data from other users and organisations. Yalla devised a method to achieve this using unique pins and usernames, enabling volunteers to avoid sharing their email addresses.

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

No, we thoroughly enjoyed working with Yalla and appreciated their efficiency and effectiveness throughout the project. We are pleased with the final product and thank everyone on the team who contributed to it.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Communications Officer of Social Mobility Foundation

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a national charity whose vision is a society where talent from all social backgrounds is nurtured, harnessed and rewarded.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Build and launch our new website

SOLUTION

How did you find Yalla?

Online Search

Why did you select Yalla over others?

• Great culture fit
• 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.

Nine-month production period to deliver on 'SMF Online' - our new website. We worked on UX design, user journeys, designing and production for our new website, which launched in September 2023.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have a brilliant new website that demonstrates our vision and mission to the world and effectively serves to communicate our charity's strategy to the world. We are able to edit and update the website with ease thanks to Yalla's incredible culture of collaborative working and meeting all our needs.

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

Yalla has excellent project management. All deadlines were met. What was most impressive was their ways of working; they managed our online working relationship excellently. Yalla created clear and effective ways for us to work together in a hybrid manner and constantly meet all our needs.

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?

The culture at Yalla is definitely the most impressive and unique thing. They have an incredible way of making everyone feel supported and on the same page. Yalla bring you into their family and go above and beyond to meet any needs.

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

None at all.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an impact and service development lead for a social housing provider. We provide various services to residents to prevent evictions and homelessness.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Yalla?

We support residents with welfare benefit claims; we anticipate a high volume of new claims over the next few years due to government reforms. We wanted to prepare ourselves to support the influx by building a self-help tool to free up capacity for in-person claims. 

We had developed a proof of concept prototype, so we went out to market looking for a development partner who could work with our non-technical team of welfare reform experts to help us build the tool.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We shared our proof of concept and prototype with Yalla and gave them basic guidelines and images for the design and functionality of the tool. Then, they essentially built the tool from scratch to match our requirements.

The tool is a dynamic website that guides users through the complex nature of the welfare claims process by breaking it down into simpler steps. They’ve written engaging language and developed intuitive functionality for the tool’s frontend. They’ve also created a backend CMS, allowing us to update any changes in government requirements in real time. 

Our research has shown that customers turn to trusted organizations within the charitable sector to guide them through complex processes like ours. Yalla uniquely developed the tool, enabling other charitable organizations to apply their branding to it. As a result, we’ve been able to share the tool with the entire charitable sector. 

What is the team composition?

We mainly worked with Joe (Co-Founder & Project Manager) and Jem (Co-Founder & Lead Designer). During the process, we also worked with their technology and branding teams. 

How did you come to work with Yalla?

We found Yalla through a competitive tendering process. Yalla had thoroughly researched our problem, and they won us over by submitting an engaging brief. They made a compelling case for how they planned to engage users and organizational staff during the development process, which was essential to us. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested roughly $30,000–$50,000 in the partnership with Yalla. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with Yalla in May 2021, and they completed the project in September 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After undergoing a soft launch, we’ve shared the tool with about 100 other charitable organizations, who’ve created their versions of the tool under different branding. 

The tool is exceptionally user-friendly; Yalla has developed a simple solution to a complex problem. We’ve received overwhelmingly positive feedback from end users and internal staff, which is invaluable. We’ve also won an award for the tool and been nominated for two others. 

How did Yalla perform from a project management standpoint?

The Yalla team was timely and reliable; they over-delivered on their promises and worked beyond the brief. The final result exceeded our expectations; they delivered more than we could have ever imagined within our desired time frame.

We involved many subject matter experts and user groups in the process, and they remained very flexible with us. During the development process, we only had one functionality issue we hadn’t identified during testing, but they resolved it within 24 hours.  

We used GitHub and Trello to keep track of the project and Notion to share content. For communication, we used email and Google Meet.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was most impressed with their commitment to the task at hand. The Yalla team immersed themselves in the problem and tried to understand the complexities from a user’s point of view. 

They engaged with the project head-on so they could genuinely serve our clients, which was brilliant. They were very creative and innovative in their approach, which led to a simple, yet effective, final solution.

We’re delighted with the partnership. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have nothing Yalla could improve on; we’re looking forward to working with them again.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Since this project was our first digital development initiative, I don’t have much advice. However, I strongly recommend working with Yalla.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the communications and business systems and data lead at Chiltern Music Therapy. We are an employee owned, non-profit organisation providing music therapy and community music services across England.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Yalla?

Our website was created 10 years ago and was built in such a way that meant we couldn't easily make changes. As an agile company which is continually evolving, we needed a more flexible website. We hired Yalla to design and build our new site.

SOLUTION

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

We looked for web designers that had similar values to ourselves and had the right experience. We approached a number of organisations with a brief and asked them to send us a proposal of how they would help and work with us. Yalla stood out to us from the beginning and we already had experience working with them on a previous project. We really liked their approach, ensuring the site would be user led and we also liked the CMS they suggested.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We started off with a ways of working meeting to ensure we knew how each other worked best. We then had a kick off design session to talk through ideas. We then met in person to look at user personas, journeys and stories. We then mapped out the site and demoed it. There was then a round of user testing. We then added content to the site and reviewed issues. We are now in an ongoing development phase.

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

I worked with the UX team, the design team, and then the development team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Our bounce rate has dropped from 87% to 57%. The website is much clearer, and people can more easily find the information they need.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Really effective and great. Everything was on Notion and then on GitHub, which made it easier to monitor the work.

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

Their processes are structured and well-thought-out. There were clear expectations from the start, and we worked out how we would best work together. 

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

The user testing didn't quite go as smoothly as we'd have liked. It would have been good to know about this at a much earlier stage so we could have longer to approach people. We also felt that we could have allowed more time to put content together as this was a very large part of the project that was only given a few weeks

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.