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Tools Help Courts Explain ODR to the Public

Stephen Sullivan, May 12th, 2025

RSI has completed the second phase of the ODR Party Engagement (OPEN) Project! We are thrilled to share that our new communication tools to help courts educate self-represented litigants (SRLs) about ODR more effectively are now available. The tools can be accessed on our OPEN Project website.

The tools include RSI’s Model Notice to Defendant of Mandatory ODR, our Model ODR Explainer Video, and desktop and mobile website prototypes that contain our ODR Home Page, our Model ODR Self-Help Guide for Defendants, and our Model Account Registration Webpages.

Our Toolkit for Making ODR Make Sense to the Public provides step-by-step instructions for adapting our models or designing each model type based on our focus group and usability testing research.

OPEN Launch Party Recording
Learn all about RSI’s newest tools for improving court communications in this recording of our OPEN Launch Party webinar.

Designing New Court Communication Models

We partnered with an inclusive designer and an accessibility evaluator to ensure the models were easy to use and understand and accessible to individuals with disabilities. We structured the models around a simple workflow that provides a clear path for parties to follow to learn about and prepare for ODR. Importantly, we also scaffolded information about ODR across the models — we designed them to gradually introduce details about how ODR works, so parties do not feel overwhelmed.

To obtain feedback on the models from individuals similar to those most likely to use them, we conducted usability tests across the U.S. with a diverse set of participants whose backgrounds resembled those of SRLs with low literacy and low digital literacy. The final models reflect this collaborative approach among RSI, our design partner, an accessibility expert and 20 real users.

Usability Testing our Models

Overall, usability test participants found RSI’s OPEN Communication Models to be visually engaging, intuitive to navigate and, importantly, easy to read and understand. We asked participants to rate each of the models for how easy they were to understand; the final versions of the models received an average 4.8/5 rating.

Below are key findings from usability testing:

  • A mobile-first design is essential
    Overwhelmingly, our usability testers shared that they primarily access the internet using their smartphones. It is critical to create materials that are not just mobile-friendly but mobile-first in their design. This finding was further supported by participants’ enthusiasm for mobile-first features, such as the inclusion of a QR code on the Notice to simplify navigation to the website.
  • Testers’ confidence grew
    We found that as participants successfully navigated each model, their expressed confidence, understanding of ODR and sense of ease grew. Participants also demonstrated an interest in learning more about ODR, suggesting that our approach to scaffold information was effective at boosting participants’ engagement with the process.
  • Data privacy and security are top of mind
    Usability test participants responded very positively to our dedicated data privacy and confidentiality section on the model ODR Home Page. Providing concise and specific information about how ODR platforms address data privacy concerns can help alleviate users’ anxieties over these issues, even for those who are most hesitant about using the internet.
  • Simple materials enhance excitement for ODR
    Most of our usability test participants did not have any prior knowledge about ODR and were learning about it for the first time. After going through our materials, testers were not only able to accurately answer our questions about how ODR works, but also expressed their excitement for the prospect of ODR being available in their communities.

Recommendations to Courts

Feedback from our usability testers demonstrates that simple, easy-to-understand communication materials can positively impact parties’ understanding of and interest in ODR. Based on what we learned from usability testers and our work with an inclusive designer and an accessibility evaluator to design effective models, we developed a set of recommendations for courts to ensure that their communication materials can effectively be understood by SRLs. Check out our report, Designing a New Way to Communicate about ODR: Usability Testing Insights, to learn more about these recommendations and our usability test findings. 

Next Up: Support for Using Our Models

RSI is pleased to share that we have begun offering a technical assistance service to help courts and ADR organizations to enhance their communication materials about ADR programs. Contact us to learn more about the different ways we can help you communicate more effectively.

We are extremely grateful for the American Arbitration Association-International Centre for Dispute Resolution Foundation’s support for the OPEN Project and the dissemination of its findings.

Join RSI at an Online Demonstration of our New OPEN Project Communication Tools

Just Court ADR, March 11th, 2025

We’re rolling out RSI’s newest tools to support courts’ communication with parties, and you’re invited! Join us for an online demonstration, a Question & Answer session, and a chance to win a free one-hour consultation! Participation is free; registration is required.

What: RSI’s OPEN Project Model Tools Launch Party!
When: Thursday, April 3, 2025; 12 p.m. Central
Where: Zoom; please register here

Background:

You might have read about Phase 1 of our ODR Party Engagement (OPEN) Project. For Phase 2, RSI has developed model materials — a webpage, a notice document, an informational video and an interactive guide — to help courts communicate more effectively with self-represented litigants (SRLs) about online dispute resolution (ODR). We developed these models with the support of an inclusive designer and an accessibility expert, then user-tested them with a diverse set of individuals around the United States. Although focused on ODR, these materials offer innovative solutions to communicating with SRLs about any court program.

You can learn more about the OPEN Project, and download Communicating Effectively About ODR: A Guide for Courts and our Document Preparation Worksheet and Checklist, on the OPEN Project section of our website. You’ll also find updates on the project’s progress on our blog, Just Court ADR.

RSI is excited to share these new resources, and we hope to see you at the launch!

Shack Shares Insights from Research on ODR for Family Law Cases in NCTDR Webinar

Sandy Wiegand, December 18th, 2024

RSI Director of Research Jennifer Shack joined ODR.com CEO Colin Rule and Redek founder Nicolas Lozada this month for an ODR Cyberweek 2024 webinar on the topic of online dispute resolution to settle family law cases, focusing on a report Shack co-authored in 2021.

ODR Cyberweek is a free, virtual conference hosted annually by the National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution (NCTDR).

Shack answered questions about the 2021 evaluation of a Michigan ODR program she conducted with University of California Davis law professor Donna Shestowsky, which was the first third-party evaluation of a family law ODR program in the United States.

The program, in Ottawa County, Michigan, was launched by the 20th Circuit of Michigan’s Friend of the Court in August 2020 with the goal of providing parties with post-judgment family law disputes a simpler, more convenient and cost-effective way to reach agreements related to child custody, parenting time and child support. It also aimed to increase efficiency in the disposition of these matters.

Among the topics that came up in the ODR Cyberweek discussion were the varying levels of interest by caseworkers and others in participating in ODR; the likelihood that cultural and demographic differences might impact openness to ODR, as well as ways of dealing with conflict in general; and the potential for and possible hurdles to using ODR to mediate cases where intimate partner violence is a factor.

Shack also offered insight on how to improve communications with parties about ODR as a means to improve understanding of the process and increase participation, based on findings from RSI’s ODR Party Engagement (OPEN) Project.

Lozada, who founded the Colombian ODR startup Redek, noted the challenges of advocating for ODR in Colombia when consistent internet access and use remains out of reach for much of the population. In addition to the access problems this presents, it can also mean that those who do have access remain wary of the legitimacy of online programs, Rule suggested. 

ODR.com recently launched a new AI-powered platform for ODR in family cases that integrates with court systems and provides tools to support mediators.

NCTDR’s ODR Cyberweek serves an international audience, is open to the public, and includes panels in English, Chinese, Spanish and Portuguese. Additional topics this year included AI integration in courts, mediation and arbitration, recent innovations and research findings. The event also included tech demos and a student panel. Recordings of many of the ODR Cyberweek sessions from this and previous years can be found in the NCTDR’s ODR Cyberweek Archive.

Tools to Help Courts Improve ODR Communications Now Available

Rachel Feinstein, April 9th, 2024

RSI has completed the first phase of the ODR Party Engagement (OPEN) Project! We are excited to share what we have learned from our research and to roll out new downloadable tools designed to support courts. A summary of our research, our full report and the tools can be found in a new section of our website.

Report cover: Making ODR More Accessible to Self-Represented Parties: Focus Group Perspectives

The Study

For this extensive study, RSI conducted six focus groups with a total of 41 participants from three areas of the country. Our aim was to uncover barriers to using court-referred text-based ODR (online dispute resolution) and ways courts can address these barriers. More information about the study, a summary of the findings and key takeaways are available on the OPEN Project section of our website, in addition to the full report.   

Tools for Courts

Informed by our research findings, RSI developed tools to help courts communicate more effectively about ODR. The two downloadable documents, “Communicating Effectively about ODR: A Guide for Courts” and a “Document Preparation Worksheet and Checklist for ODR Programs,” are both accessible on our website.

The Guide for Courts provides recommendations for developing documents, websites and video tutorials for ODR that are easy to understand and use, particularly for those who have low literacy and are self-represented.

The Document Preparation Worksheet and Checklist walks readers through each step of the document prep process, from considering the characteristics of the audience to determining the key content to include and the best way to communicate this content. Once documents are completed, the interactive checklist provides an opportunity to review the material and ensure all key recommendations were incorporated.

Next Up in Phase 2: Model Materials

RSI is very proud of what we have accomplished in Phase 1, and there is more to come! We are now starting Phase 2, in which we will work with an inclusive designer to create model court documents, a brief informational ODR video and a mockup webpage, using our findings from Phase 1 and previous research on best practices.

We will user-test these models to learn what barriers persist for people when attempting to use the models to register for ODR. After all our user-testing is complete and barriers have been addressed, courts will be able to download the final model documents, video and webpage to use as examples when developing their communications. This will provide added support to courts with limited resources, who will be able to simply replicate these models and tailor them to their specific needs and audience using instructions we will provide. 

RSI is grateful for the generous support of the American Arbitration Association-International Centre for Dispute Resolution Foundation for making the OPEN Project possible.

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