Birdie's recipe for co-development: how we build better homecare technology, together

Ever used a piece of software and thought, ‘this clearly wasn’t designed for me’? It’s like a chef creating a new dish without ever tasting the ingredients.

That’s why at Birdie, our product team works more like a test kitchen than a closed-off lab. We believe the best technology is developed in partnership with the experts who use it every day: you.

In this our lates "Under the Microscope" video from the Smarter Care Lab, Jon (Product Director at Birdie), shares our recipe for co-development – our collaborative process for cooking up new technology, together.

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Our three-step recipe for building better technology

Our recipe for co-development has three key ingredients. It’s a simple process that keeps us focused on what really matters: solving the real-world challenges of our partners.

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1. Start with a diversity of partners

Just like a great dish needs a range of ingredients, we know that not all care providers work in the same way. A feature that works perfectly for a large care provider might not fit the needs of a small, independent agency.

That's why we partner with agencies of all shapes and sizes – from different business sizes and regions to the various types of care they provide.

When we started building visit templates for our Upgraded Rostering system, for example, we spoke to over 25 care agencies every month. Some needed simple, one-week templates, while others required complex, four-week rolling rosters. By bringing these diverse needs into the process early, we were able to design flexible, multi-week templates that work for everyone.

2. Use a range of tools and techniques

Our development process goes far beyond just sending out a survey. We use a whole range of tools to gather the right insights – from one-on-one interviews and site visits to surveys and hands-on testing.

For example, when we wanted to improve the navigation in Birdie Finance, we used a 'Feature Preview' to collect feedback. This allowed our partners to opt-in and test the new design in their own time, using their real data. It’s a way to see how new ideas work in the real world, not just in theory.

3. Add early and continuous feedback

Our partners are involved from the very first sketch on a whiteboard to the final release. This continuous conversation is vital. In the last two years alone, we’ve spent over 400 hours in collaborative sessions.

You can see this at work with our AI team. They brought partners in at the very beginning of the process for SmartPlans, Birdie’s new AI-enabled assessment assistant. Those same partners are now the first to test the feature, providing feedback that actively shapes the product for its wider release. This early and constant feedback is key to how we build.

From feedback to features: the story of ‘Sessions’

This recipe has a huge impact on the final product. A great example of this is ‘Sessions’, the new visit planning feature within our Upgraded Rostering system.

Previously, care managers had to manually drag and drop every single activity into visits – one by one. It was incredibly time-consuming, and we knew it was a major pain point.

The challenge was, everyone had a different idea of how to solve it. So, we put our co-development recipe into action. We created four different prototypes and tested them directly with our partners. One was too complex; another was too simple. We took this feedback and developed ‘Sessions’: a way to automatically assign activities based on the time of day, without all the manual effort.

When we brought this updated approach back to our partners, the response was overwhelmingly positive. That's the power of co-development: taking a complex problem with diverse opinions and, together, finding a solution that works for everyone.

A partnership in innovation

For us, co-development isn't just a project – it's a core part of how we build. It’s our commitment to staying close to the real-world challenges of care and solving them together. It’s how we ensure the technology you use is something we don't just think will work, but something we know will help you deliver outstanding care.

Stay in the loop with the Smarter Care Lab

At Birdie we're constantly developing new innovations to make social care smarter, safer, and more efficient. Want to stay updated on what we're building and how we're building it? Visit the Smarter Care Lab to get the latest updates on our innovations and product developments. And to provide product feedback, be sure to check out our public roadmap at roadmap.birdie.care.