Glific Sprint is always a great opportunity to connect and work closely with NGOs. We can observe firsthand how they are using Glific, and understand the real-world impact it is having on their work.
For me, it is also a chance to retrospect on the work that has been done so far and also helps to identify new opportunities for the product. With the help of collaboration from all our NGO partners it’s easy to identify the areas that need improvement and provide a roadmap for future development.
In the previous sprints, we have been working with the mostly active NGOs in Glific, but this time we thought to invite and involve the newly onboarded NGO and support them in onboarding and launching their program.
It will be a dedicated 3 day Bootcamp Sprint from these new NOGs
In the Bootcamp, I got an opportunity to work with an NGO Shiksharth, which is working in the conflict-affected areas of Chhattisgarh and trying to work with children and tribal communities with a vision to contribute to the peace of the region through education.
Pavan Deshmukh, who is the head of product in Shiksharth, joined the Bootcamp to launch a WhatsApp chatbot.
It was great to know Pavan in person and to see what impact they making through Shiksharth in the Naxal-affected areas of Chhattisgarh and also what sort of challenges they face to implement their programs at the ground level.
In these 3 dedicated days to Bootcamp, 1st day we helped NGOs to understand the WhatsApp ecosystem and things they should be aware of before launching their programs. [Read Here]
We also wanted NGOs to get familiar with the Glfic platform so Mohit Sharma(Support Lead) gave them s detailed walkthrough with a hands-on session.
Akhilesh presented on Design conversation flows, monitoring, and reporting
After that Pavan and I had a detailed discussion on the use case and how it can be implemented in the chatbot.
For Shiksharth the main challenge was the data collection and monitoring & evaluation. Getting in person in those Naxal-affected areas was not that easy, to get the information from the teachers. Also, due to the issue of the internet, a chatbot seems to be a good source to collect data.
Once we finalized the questionnaire, Pavan created the flow structure in the Miro-board, which helped him to design the conversation flow and also re-fine the content.
On the 2nd day after revisions on the micro board, we started implementing the flows in Glific. After some initial hands-on support, Pavan took it forward and completed all the flow building.
A presentation from Shiksharth on their experience in the Bootcamp and bot demo (3rd Day)
All over it was a great learning experience for me in the Bootcamp, Sharing a few insights below.
What went well
- Working in person gave me an opportunity to understand their mission and goals as an organization a bit better.
- It was easy to encourage them to try their hands as much as possible and also to make them understand the platform.
- They were feeling comfortable asking questions and taking an interest to build their chatbot
- In-person it was easy to execute the Bootcamp process. From discussing the use-casse to make them think about the conversational flow and let them create a Miro board which helped them to visualize their user journey.
Things to learn for this Bootcamp
- We should plan to stop registration at least a month back for Bootcamp so that NGOs can get a decent time for Facebook verification
- Work closely with NGOs to get their verification fast and give them a heads up that this process can be a roadblock so sooner is the best
- Keep regular nudges as we did this time as well Push them to provide the use case or one pager at least a week back and have a scope dissuasion call before the Bootcamp
- We should have a plan if the NGO is stuck for the business verification how we can still launch their pilot and also set their expectations in the right direction.
Please read Abhishek’s experience as well of working with Piramal Foundation in this blog
At last sharing some beautiful scenes from the Goa Sprint
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