Inclusive Surfing

Desk Research

People with disabilities need to be accepted into the social norm for true inclusion. People with disabilities are often defined solely by their disability and denigrated, marginalised and pitied. In many cases, they are viewed as incapable and limited in their ability to be independent and successful. (Martin 2013) Inclusive activities and sharing space and goals with people without disabilities might offer a healthy solution to this problem. For example, in mixed sports groups, people with and without disabilities face challenges together; growing knowledge and mutual appreciation increase the empathetic skills on both sides.
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Engagements

The interview was conducted in a quiet and comfortable environment for the discussion to be uninterrupted. Our essential goal for the meeting was to acquire knowledge into Surfable's configuration process. In particular, we tried to understand the reasoning behind their methodology and the procedures utilised to take special care of the necessities of surfers with disabilities.

The interview was recorded and transcribed, allowing for a line-by-line analysis and the color coding and grouping of information based on relevance. The team was able to identify the reasons behind the three different types of sessions. We also managed to identify some of the problems that the organisation is facing currently, which included the transfer of equipments and the safety of participants in the water. The most important piece of insight that we gained was the values of the surfers and their motivation to surf.

Ethnography

Through the ethnography session, the team identified several possible areas for intervention. These findings helped us focus on the most critical issues and develop targeted interventions to address them, ultimately improving our outcomes. Moreover, we got a first hand surfing experience which enabled a latent data and an opportunity to engage with real participants in the right context. One of the participant caregivers said:

"Surfing is his activity. Its the one thing that he looks forward to for which he plans ahead, packs his bags the night before and uh is excited to socialise and just, have fun"

Opportunity Areas

Thematic Analysis

We performed a thematic analysis of the data. We wrote all the codes from all interviews and interactions with the participants, caregivers and Surfable on sticky notes and put them up on a wall. We began diving into the data and making sense of it. Our approach was critical and reflexive. We questioned all possibilities of use cases and connected the dots in our findings.

Who were we Designing for?

Individuals who came for surfing had different goals and motivations. Some wanted to just start off and catch a wave, some just wanted to mingle and splash around in the water. We understood that different goals need different approaches and as designers, we had to empower them to reach their goals.

Challenges of Neuro-Diversity

Ideation of the System

Personal goals require a tailored experience, and our ideation process considered the need for guided leadership and schedules for neuro-divergent individuals. The team agreed on a set of values and topics that our design should encompass, and data analysis allowed us to pinpoint the importance of equipment and personalisation. After several iterations and sketches, we were satisfied with the idea of designing a way to empower surfers to achieve their objectives in a personalised manner. This system would take shape in 3 steps:

1. Identify Goals
2. Break Goals down into Achievable Chunks
3. Get Rewarded for Achieving your Goals

Getting into the details

It was important to understand how the planner would be used? Where would the users put their planner? How would they work with the coaches? What kinds of rewards would work best for positive habit building? The shape and size of the planner? All these things were discussed in a design sprint and possible solutions were ideated to be tested in the upcoming co-design workshop.

Planner Look and Feel:

Planner Role:

Planner Implementation:

Testing Workshop

We conducted a workshop with 12 participants to test the efficacy of our system. We designed the workshop with a range of activities that kept the participants engaged, providing us with valuable feedback and validation. The workshop commenced with an ice-breaking activity where participants were asked to draw one thing they loved about surfing. Following this, we requested that they draw two goals – one surfing-related and the other pertaining to their life goals. Our primary objective was to understand the types of goals participants have, as well as establish a connection between their life goals and surfing.

We wanted to understand how the participants interact with their coaches with the help of a planner. We tested the interaction with and without the planner to understand the difference. The planner helped navigate the conversation, helped the coach understand their psyche make decisions as a team.

We tested out physical rewards to understand what do the participants respond to. We built multiple prototypes of diverse rewards to understand their inclination and wether the reward gives any positive reinforcement or not? In retrospect, we would also have liked to test out the effect of these rewards over a longer period of time.

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Impact

This project had numerous positive impacts. First and foremost, it enabled participants to set individualized goals and work towards them at their own pace. Additionally, it enhanced communication between coaches and participants, resulting in a more user-centric approach. The reward system fostered feelings of accomplishment, pride, and control over participants' surfing journeys. Overall, the project provided users with an influential voice and greater autonomy over their progression in the sport.

New Service Map

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