Develop Alfi, the AI Assistant that helps companies address low basic skills (reading, writing, math and digital skills) among employees.
The challenge: Helping companies quickly and easily 24/7 with questions about to low literacy at work.
In 2023, a Sounding Board Group on Work and basic skills like language, initiated by the Municipality of Rotterdam [Dutch website] and the Reading and Writing Foundation [Dutch website], searched for a good way to help companies establish a language-friendly workplace. Commissioned by the Municipality of Rotterdam and the Reading and Writing Foundation, Proposition Hero guided this innovation process using Design Thinking.
Ideation, Prototyping and Testing
Proposition Hero facilitated a creative session with the sounding board group to test existing ideas. One of these ideas was using AI to provide employers with quick and good answers on how to address basic skills so they can get started with language in the workplace. The first prototype was developed by Robbert Bos and Vitas Kersbergen, with the content being provided by the Reading and Writing Foundation. The first version was received with great enthusiasm by the companies in the sounding board group. The key question, of course, was whether the same would be true for the target group. The prototype of the AI assistant Alfi was therefore tested in 2 sprints by more than 125 potential users on both the quality of the answers and the added value of the answers for these users.
The results: a validated prototype
Users were enthusiastic about the convenience and speed of the AI Assistant. As many as 82.2% preferred the AI assistant to searching websites themselves. The answers helped according to 77.2% of testers. With these test results, we can conclusively state that AI Assistant can be used online to give employers quick, easy and personalized answers. And thus can really help employers move forward in addressing basic skills!
