University of Loughborough

The University of Loughborough (UoL) is renowned for its cutting-edge research and innovative educational programs. Vu Digital is a dynamic digital agency specialising in transforming traditional models into innovative digital solutions. Together, UoL and Vu Digital embarked on a collaborative project to digitally transform a reflective goal-setting toolkit developed by Dr. Cheryl Travers.

Defining Digital Transformation Dreams

Our journey began with a straightforward yet critical initial conversation with Cheryl. Understanding her goals and the model’s existing applications set the stage for our discovery project.

Our approach was methodical and collaborative, involving several structured workshops with key stakeholders.

User Needs Workshop

This session was designed to gather qualitative insights from a large group of stakeholders. It provided a platform for users to articulate their needs and expectations for the digital application. This collaborative effort ensured that the core functionalities of the RGS model were comprehensively captured.

Moscow Prioritization Workshop

The next phase involved a more detailed examination of potential application features. Here, stakeholders prioritised their ideas, helping us to create a roadmap that reflected the most critical elements for the digital transformation. This workshop was pivotal in defining the scope and scale of the application.

Strategic Synthesis: Ideas to Stories

Post workshops, Vu Digital synthesised the collected data into a set of user stories. These stories were more than just narratives; they were structured into epics that outlined the essential components and functionalities of the proposed digital application.

Key Epics Included:

• User Definitions and Terminology: Establishing a common understanding of key terms within the RGS model.
• Journaling: Emphasising the importance of reflective writing, a cornerstone of the RGS methodology.
• Goal Setting and Task Management: Detailed processes to help users set and achieve their goals.
• User Profiles and Organisational Use: Customizable user profiles to cater to different organisational needs.
• Application Administration: Features for effective management and maintenance of the application.
• Authentication and Notification: Ensuring secure access and timely updates for users.
• Branding and Reporting: Maintaining consistency in brand identity and providing insightful reports.

The user stories were meticulously crafted to serve as a robust foundation for future development. They included a thin layer of technical specifications, enabling potential development teams to understand the project’s scope and provide accurate quotes.

The Solution

Vu Digital transformed Dr. Travers’ offline model into a well-defined digital roadmap through structured workshops and detailed user stories.

We conducted three stakeholder workshops, creating over 100 user stories. This process allowed for comprehensive user needs assessment and feature prioritisation, resulting in ready-to-tender technical specifications.