Lenia Margariti, PhD

Missing Alert

Designing a mobile app for tracking missing people
2018-2019

Duration: 8 months

Role: Digital Transforation Analyst / Design Lead (COSMOTE/DT)

Team: IT D&I, The Smile of the Child NGO

Methods: Requirements Gathering, User Experience Design, User Journeys, User Flows, Stakeholder Management

Impact: Led the design and delivery of a privacy-sensitive mobile platform that mobilises local communities to support missing person searches. The product balanced social impact, user experience, and safeguarding requirements through close collaboration with NGOs, developers, and operational teams.

Overview

I led the design and delivery of Missing Alert, a mobile application developed by COSMOTE / Deutsche Telecom in partnership with The Smile of the Child NGO and external development partner Simple Apps.

The platform uses location-aware notifications (geofencing) and community participation to support missing person searches across Greece. The app enables volunteers to receive local alerts, share information with search teams, mobilise others through social networks, and proactively register vulnerable individuals who may be at risk of going missing.

The project combined social impact, mobile product design, privacy-sensitive data handling, and multi-stakeholder collaboration.

The Challenge

Missing person investigations are highly time-sensitive and rely on effective communication between organisations, volunteers, and local communities.

The challenge was to design a mobile experience that could:

  • Rapidly mobilise volunteers in relevant geographic areas.
  • Support secure communication during active searches.
  • Balance public participation with safety and privacy requirements.
  • Enable proactive support for vulnerable individuals at risk of going missing.
  • Build trust among users, volunteers, and partner organisations.

My Role

I led the product discovery, design, and delivery process from concept through launch.

My responsibilities included:

  • Requirements gathering and stakeholder workshops.
  • User story creation and journey mapping.
  • Wireframing, prototyping, and interaction design.
  • Defining product vision and UX principles.
  • Acting as Design Lead and Product Owner during implementation.
  • Managing stakeholders across COSMOTE, The Smile of the Child, and the development partner.
  • Coordinating delivery milestones, testing, and deployment activities.



Above: Key features of the Missing Alert app.

Design Approach

The product was designed around a simple goal: enable people to contribute to missing person searches quickly, safely, and effectively.

Key features included:

  • Location-based alerts for nearby missing person cases.
  • Volunteer reporting and communication tools.
  • Social sharing mechanisms to increase search reach.
  • Registration workflows for vulnerable individuals.
  • Administrative moderation tools to support operational decision-making.

Throughout the project, I worked closely with the NGO to ensure the user experience aligned with real-world search and rescue processes and reflected the needs of both volunteers and case managers.

Privacy & Ethical Design

Because the application involved sensitive personal and location data, privacy and safeguarding considerations were central to the design process.

Key measures included:

  • Privacy-by-design principles throughout the product lifecycle.
  • Human verification workflows for volunteer participation.
  • Administrative review and validation of submitted information before publication.
  • Careful management of location data to protect both volunteers and vulnerable individuals.
  • Close collaboration with the NGO to ensure operational safety and responsible information sharing.

These safeguards helped balance community participation with the protection of individuals involved in active cases.

Outcome

The project successfully delivered a mobile platform that enabled communities to participate more effectively in missing person searches while maintaining strong privacy and safety standards.

The work demonstrated how user-centred design, stakeholder collaboration, and ethical product development can be combined to create digital services with meaningful social impact.



Above: User Journey in the app (Figma).

Above: Short clip featuring use of the missing alert app (prototype).