The challenge
Young people in state care often have fragmented or missing records of their childhood, even though those memories strongly shape who they are and who they become. In Aotearoa New Zealand, thousands of tamariki (children) could benefit from having important moments preserved in a way that feels safe, meaningful and truly theirs. The social services sector understood the importance of life story work but struggled to help tamariki collect, maintain, and share their stories in ways that engaged young people and whānau and fit into already‑stretched support workers’ days. Working with the Canterbury Care Collective, and sponsored by Brackenridge, the challenge was to re‑imagine traditional life story books into something that worked in the real world of care and relationships.
How we helped
Over nine months, we led a design project to redesign life story work using the DUCTRI design thinking methodology. We began with semi‑structured interviews with a diverse group of young people in care and support workers, alongside analogous research into how similar problems were being solved in other sectors
We then made the insights visible: building a crazy wall and an affinity map from interview data; creating empathy maps and personas for young people, whānau, and support workers; identifying bright spots; and reframing the challenge around trust and connection. From there, we ran a co‑design workshop and used tools such as brainwriting, storyboards, sketches, and low‑fidelity wireframes to shape a concept that evolved into a working minimum viable product (MVP) life story app using a no-code platform.
The MVP was tested with young people and support workers through focus groups, one‑to‑one sessions, and a three‑week real‑world pilot, while we worked with young developers to define the architecture, user stories, a development roadmap, and costings, and conducted a pre‑mortem to identify risks. Finally, we applied the behavioural change frameworks to design how support workers could realistically use the app in their busy days and clarified the key success factors for organisational change. And, we created critical building blocks: insights, point‑of‑view statements, design principles, a social impact map and canvas, “foundation stones” for continuing the work, a tested MVP, and a model that placed the young person at the centre of life story work.
The impact
The project delivered a meaningful impact for young people, support workers, whānau and the organisation. For young people, the MVP made it easy to preserve important moments, build a positive narrative about their own life and share those moments with people they trusted. Over the seven‑week pilot, hundreds of photos were captured by young people, support workers and family; tamariki engaged with their stored memories, shared more with others and showed pride in their achievements. For many who found typical communication difficult, the app offered a powerful way to communicate on their own terms and deepen trust and connection. Young people continued to use the app regularly months after the pilot ended.
For support workers, the app showed it could fit into messy, busy days and help them co‑create rich, meaningful life stories with young people, while providing another way to build trust and connection. It also became a focal point for conversations and collaboration between workers, prompting a shift in thinking and new ways of working. For whānau, the app created new opportunities to stay connected, acting as a conversation starter during visits and offering a “peek” into the young person’s day, bringing comfort and a stronger sense of remaining part of their life.
At an organisational level, the project delivered a practical tool to help meet regulatory obligations without imposing an undue burden, and a scalable alternative to ad‑hoc practices such as emailing photos. More importantly, it established a new way of working that has since been applied to other research and service redesign, using the same methods and insights to reshape services in a more human‑centred, collaborative and iterative way. The life story app was approved by the board for implementation.
“The experience was so positive and impactful for us that we have asked Vaughan back on numerous occasions. His expertise in design thinking coupled with an engaging personal style makes him a valued member of the team that is transforming our organisation.” – Nick Scott, GM Service Delivery, Brackenridge