This summer, I interned with the Alaska Children’s Trust to create and design a data dashboard to visualize regional Alaskan “Kids Count” data.
About the internship
Context
Alaska Children’s Trust (ACT) is the leading nonprofit in Alaska advocating for policy, fundraising, and organizing to prevent child abuse and neglect.
Every year, ACT publishes regional KIDS COUNT data in Alaska’s 7 health provinces. KIDS COUNT is a national and state-by-state effort sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation to track the well-being of children, youth, and families utilizing sound data. With this data, ACT aims to answer “How are Alaska’s children doing?”
Prior to the internship, the data was displayed in static PDFs that were difficult to update, hard to navigate, and too long to read. ACT sought an interactive data dashboard to display the data more digestibly and easily update-able.
Problem
My Solution
After I created the regional dashboard, the ACT team decided they liked it so much, they wanted a dashboard for the statewide data. I created this statewide dashboard using the same layout in Tableau, and implemented it to be accessible through the regional dashboard. I finalized the visual design of the dashboard. I prioritized accessibility, clear action cues, and clear hierarchy. It was very important to ACT and I that this dashboard would be usable, so all users can access the data.
I started by learning Tableau and organizing the Kids Count data. I conducted market analysis and interviewed some other states’ dashboard creators for advice on how to create ours. It was difficult to learn Tableau on my own, but eventually, I was able to integrate a clickable map for the regional dashboard, which updates the data based on the region selected.
It was key to ensure throughout my work process that I was creating something easy to update because ACT’s team has very little Tableau experience; the end dashboard is easily updatable with a few steps in Google Sheets. I also created a “how-to-Tableau” crash course for ACT team members and a “how-to-update” step-by-step tutorial for the dashboard.
I had the most incredible experience with build4good and the Alaska Children’s Trust; I learned so much working on my project, from gaining technical Tableau skills to exercising my UX design skills to design a higher-level user-friendly system. It was incredible to work with the amazing people at Alaska Children’s Trust and truly make an impact on others through my technical skills. I’m excited to continue creating tech for social good!
Reflection
Aside from my career experience, I gained many new friends and connections through the mentorship program, whether it be my advisors or my fellow intern cohort. In particular, the highlight of my build4good experience was the cohort convening in Washington D.C.; it was amazing to meet my peers in-person and ~build for good~! This was truly an incredible opportunity that I am so thankful to have had!
This summer, we had the privilege to welcome Sonia to our team as a Data and User Experience Intern, working on a dashboard that promises to create a lasting impact on our work, our community, and our team.
Hear from Alaska Children’s Trust:
We are grateful for the opportunity to work with her and build4good, and we are excited to see the amazing things they do next.