We are delighted that Rocketmakers are joining us for a second year as our Bronze Partner. They design, develop and deploy award winning apps, websites and software.

Ahead of the 2021 Summit, Richard Godfrey, CEO, explains how Rocketmakers ensures their technology doesn’t exacerbate or reinforce existing social and economic inequalities, and why that’s so important to him.

Before taking on any new project, at Rocketmakers we have long been in the habit of asking, “will this make the world a better place?”

In recent years, however, we have started asking follow-up questions. If we find a new project which will make the world a better place, our next question is now always “for who?”

Ensuring that our technology doesn’t exacerbate or reinforce existing social and economic inequalities is a minimum requirement, and the chance to create technology which will benefit marginalised groups is increasingly of interest to us.

Meeting these social goals with our work is not just a matter of will. There are steps we’ve had to take as a company to make sure we have the proper tools and procedures in place.

Diversifying our workforce

The first step has been diversifying our own workforce to ensure there is a broad understanding of different perspectives among the people developing our software. This has been a challenge, as diversity is a common problem across the tech sector. We never miss an opportunity to promote coding as a skill that anyone can learn, and we have also had an all-female work experience group from a local Bath school (and look forward to doing this again as soon as our offices reopen) in an effort to empower a more diverse tech workforce for the future.

Having a diverse workforce on its own will not ensure our technology promotes good social aims, however. To make sure our technology helps the people we want it to help we need to listen to the users, and that means having a skilled and experienced UX team.

We are also taking more formal steps to commit to diversifying our workforce, and have recently become a signatory to the Tech Talent Charter.

Having a diverse workforce on its own will not ensure our technology promotes good social aims, however. To make sure our technology helps the people we want it to help we need to listen to the users, and that means having a skilled and experienced UX team.

Good UX procedures are vital

Good UX procedures are vital for making sure any digital project has the positive impact we want, and (even more importantly) doesn’t have unintended consequences which end up further marginalising disadvantaged groups.

For example, an app which is intended to be used by everyone needs to account for everyone’s needs. Our UX designers believe in getting user feedback at the earliest stage possible in a development, and it is important that the sample of users reflects the full spectrum of socio-economic backgrounds as well as a range of physical and mental abilities.

When a project has reached the MVP stage, we think it is vital that the MVP be developed in a way that facilitates widespread adoption. With smartphone apps, developing an MVP for iOS and not Android can seem like a smart play. iPhone configurations are less varied, and some would say that iPhone users are more likely to be early adopters.

Good UX procedures are vital for making sure any digital project has the positive impact we want, and (even more importantly) doesn’t have unintended consequences which end up further marginalising disadvantaged groups.

But iPhone ownership is still, broadly speaking, much more common among affluent middle-class consumers. An iOS-only app means initial user feedback, which will inform the future development of any app, doesn’t reflect society properly. For several years now we have built all smartphone apps using React, which allows us to design a single set of code which can then work on either iOS or Android, ensuring our early users are not restricted to a single demographic.

Projects with positive social goals

As well as trying to ensure our projects advantage all social groups equally, we also seek out projects which have positive social goals.

Ensuring technology doesn’t exacerbate or reinforce existing social and economic inequalities is now part of what we do, from who we hire, to who we develop for, to how our software is designed. Things are still far from perfect, and we are constantly identifying new areas which need improvement, but we are very proud of what we are accomplishing today.

Three years ago we began a partnership with the Aldridge Foundation, which runs a series of academies in underprivileged communities. The app, called Ameko, uses a tamagotchi style interface to encourage students to learn entrepreneurial skills. Every time students upload evidence of a new skill they’ve learned, the student’s personal animal (called a “Meko”), becomes happier.

We are also working on two projects which address energy poverty and help the environment at the same time.

The first is Pure Planet, an app-based energy provider which provides green electricity and carbon-offset gas at prices which are often lower than what can be had from the big six providers. Lowering prices while helping the environment is a win-win we are proud to be part of.

We have also designed the app interface for an exciting new project called Sero, which has begun testing in social housing in Wales in the last year. Sero keeps energy costs low by managing solar power collection, an energy usage plan which is tailored precisely to each specific home’s needs, and the ability to purchase additional energy during off-peak hours and store it for when needed. Again, like Pure Planet, Sero combines the goals of reducing energy poverty and promoting the environment at the same time.

Ensuring technology doesn’t exacerbate or reinforce existing social and economic inequalities is now part of what we do, from who we hire, to who we develop for, to how our software is designed. Things are still far from perfect, and we are constantly identifying new areas which need improvement, but we are very proud of what we are accomplishing today.

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