Design for the most vulnerable first

Design first for the person most likely to be hurt: in crisis, grieving, abused, scrupulous, new to faith, hurt by a church, or, where an app serves them, a child. Help comes before features, verses or answers.

From the calling

Scripture and tradition

“If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck” (Matthew 18:6). “Open your mouth for those with no voice, for the cause of all the dispossessed” (Proverbs 31:8).

FaithTech reminds builders that the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine for the one, and that faithfulness is not measured by scale. faith.tools asks whether an app is safe-guarded from content that could harm. Where an app serves children, the UK Children’s code makes a child’s best interests the primary consideration in design.

Sources: UK Children’s code · The FaithTech Playbook · faith.tools selection criteria

What it rules in, and out

In

A way to a person on the first screen, never behind an account, a limit or a paywall
Testing with the most vulnerable people you serve, not only the most engaged
Accessibility as love: low vision, dyslexia, other languages
Where an app serves children, their best interests ahead of growth

Out

A verse in place of a helpline
Automatic messages to a parent or a group about someone’s disclosure
Designing for the confident majority and patching the edges

What the maker gives up. Speed, and the simplicity of designing for the confident.

Qualification. Protection must not become control. A child, a survivor or a doubter keeps a voice in what happens next, and specialist safeguarding review decides the hard cases.

Test a design

Who is the most vulnerable person likely to use this today, and what will they see?

Where could this cause someone vulnerable to stumble?
Would someone who was hurt in a church feel safe on this screen?

Worked out in the deep dives

Every pattern tagged with this principle