Missing Alert
A mobile app for tracking missing people
2018-2019
Duration: 6 months
Role: Digital Transforation Analyst, Design Lead (COSMOTE-T)
Team: IT D&I, The Smile of the Child NGO
Methods: Requirements Gathering, User Experience Design, User Journeys, User Flows, Stakeholder Management
Impact: Lead the project's end-to-end implementation through requirements gathering, user journeys, prototyping, and evaluating deliverables (user testing with internal teams). Led interactions with the primary stakeholder (Smile of the Child NGO), and acted as an intermediary between the contractor (Simple Apps) and the stakeholder to ensure alignment in end-to-end product implementation.
As part of my role in COSMOTE-T IT Innovation Team I led the design and development of the mobile app “Missing Alert”, in collaboration with the NGO “The Smile of the Child” (client/key stakeholder) and Simple Apps (contractor).
The innovative mobile app employs geofencing to support better locating of missing people. This initiative to design and develop the Missing Alert App was undertaken by COSMOTE-T. The Smile of the Child contributed decisively in developing the app from the initial stages of design, given its long experience and expertise in cases involving missing people.
Anyone can download it on their mobile phone and help in locating missing people across Greece by:
- Getting alerts on their mobile involving missing persons’ cases in the area they are located each time,
- Participating in searches by sending information via chat,
- Mobilising other volunteers in the same area via social media. Furthermore, users can protect people close to them who belong in vulnerable groups and run a high risk of disappearing (e.g. due to dementia, intellectual disability), by proactively declaring their personal details through the app, so that the missing persons’ alert and search operation are expedited if the need arises.
Above: Key features of the Missing Alert app.
I led the end-to-end product discovery and design process, including requirements gathering, stakeholder workshops, user story development, user journey mapping, and the creation of concept designs, wireframes, and low- and high-fidelity prototypes. These activities were used to define and validate the product vision, core user experience principles, and business requirements in collaboration with key stakeholders, including The Smile of the Child NGO.
Following the appointment of the external development partner, I assumed the responsibilities of Design Lead and Product Owner, overseeing the delivery of the mobile application. I ensured that usability, accessibility, visual design, and the overall user experience aligned with project objectives, while balancing business priorities, user needs, and privacy-by-design requirements.
I led stakeholder management and cross-functional project coordination throughout the project, acting as the primary liaison between the development contractor (Simple Apps), internal IT and infrastructure teams responsible for hosting and deployment, and The Smile of the Child NGO. I coordinated project planning, milestone tracking, and delivery activities to ensure successful implementation and alignment across all parties.
Privacy by design / Ethical Use
There were multiple challenges with the project’s implementation, particularly ethical challenges around ensuring the app’s safety when sharing location’s between volunteers. The need for privacy and protection of the location of missing people and people volunteering (while limiting trolls) was ensured throughout the design of the app in multiple levels:
- Involving the NGO when enrolling new volunteers in the app (physical touchpoint)
- Assigning an administrator role that verifies messages’ content before publishing/updating a location in the app
Above: User Journey in the app (Figma).
Above: Short clip featuring use of the missing alert app (prototype).