2014
Q1 Lexington
Good governance
and good policy
are now inextricably
linked to the digital.
Tom Steinberg
Founder of mySociety
The principal struggle
of the 21st century
is not left or right,
but open versus closed.
Alec Ross
Senior Advisor to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Together, we're building a
government by the people,
for the people, that works
in the 21st century.
Code for America
Timeline
- January:
- Training in San Francisco
- February:
- Hands-on research in Lexington
- March / early April:
- Research synthesis
Large-scale project ideation
Development of prototype for first iteration - Mid-April:
- Presentation and testing of prototype for first iteration
Hands-on research in Lexington with users
Further research into areas identified in research synthesis - Late April / May:
- Research synthesis and refining of scope
Timeline creation for further prototypes
Development of prototype for second iteration - Early June:
- Presentation and testing of prototype for second iteration in Lexington
Hands-on research in Lexington with users
Further research into areas identified in research synthesis - Late June and July:
- Research synthesis
Planning for small-scale prototype integration into a platform
Development of further prototypes (building on initial prototypes) for platform - Late July / early August:
- Presentation and testing of platform prototype in Lexington
Presentation to County Council on progress, process, and next steps
Hands-on research in Lexington with users - August / September:
- Final development of platform
Preparation and presentation of project at Code for America Summit - Early October:
- Promotion and publicity of platform in Lexington to users
Timeline creation for integration of platform into existing city systems
Identification of what might be added to platform in the future. - October / November:
- Integration of platform into existing city systems
Continued promotion and publicity of platform in Lexington to users
Testing to ensure robust documentation and processes for sustainability
February
Individual Meetings
The meetings conducted by CfA Lexington in February included both LFUCG employees and engaged Lexingtonians. (A full list of individuals with whom the team met can be found in Appendix A.) Meetings were typically conducted in a question and answer format, with most meetings audio recorded and detailed minutes taken by a team member. Prior to each meeting, CfA Lexington conducted research and identified the goals of the meeting and topic areas they wished to discuss. After each meeting, the team held a debrief session during which they would discuss topics or statements that stood out, data resources that might potentially be useful, project ideas coming out of the meeting, people or organizations with whom to follow up, and general action items.
30
Meetings
70+
Interviews
Weekly Summary
Once weekly, the team would gather to discuss themes that came out of the previous week and to identify what topic areas should be focused on for the following week, including setting up meetings for the following week and deciding what information and data to potentially request from the city. This process included writing ideas and thoughts independently on post-it notes, presenting what they considered, and organizing the results into major thematic areas for consideration. This process allowed for each team member to express what they had been mulling over throughout the week while still facilitating an environment for robust discussion and debate. These meetings helped set some boundaries around the research synthesis conducted upon returning to San Francisco in March.
CodeAcross
Additionally, CfA Lexington took on several events during February residency. On February 21, the team hosted CodeAcross, an event in February where more than 120 cities hosted volunteers working together on civic technology projects with representatives from government and the tech community -- all on the same day. The team co-hosted with OpenLexington, a group of volunteers working to create civic technologies for the city year-round. (OpenLexington is a group organized through the Code for America Brigade program, an initiative within Code for America that facilitates volunteer groups interested in civic technology around the country.)
Lexington’s event boasted more than 50 attendees, several of whom work for LFUCG and many of whom are not developers; the oldest of attendees was 55, and the youngest was 11. At the event, there were three projects going simultaneously. There was a group working on improving What’s My District, a web application in which users can enter their Lexington address and receive a list of their congressional districts, school districts, neighborhood association, and a variety of other information; a group working on editing LexingtonWiki, a local information repository created and edited by Lexingtonians; and a group editing OpenStreetMap, a crowd-sourced map to which anyone can add locations. (it is colloquially known as the Wikipedia of maps!) The event was successful, and the team generated a lot of support for the Code for America program in Lexington.
Synthesis
Research Synthesis
Upon returning to San Francisco in March, CfA Lexington began the task of compiling and synthesizing all of the notes from meetings and research conducted in February. Because detailed notes were recorded in each of the sessions conducted, the team started by identifying problem statements from the notes collected and organizing them into categories. (A full list of problem statements can be found in Appendix B.) The categories identified were:
Grants
In speaking with members of the community, there was a sense that neighborhood engagement could be increased if there were more resources for Lexingtonians to spearhead projects in their neighborhoods.
Ideas:
- A centralized site for publicity of grants offered by the city.
- A centralized application process for grants from the city with a mechanism for receiving updates on the application process.
- A centralized site for publicity of grant recipients and mechanisms for feedback from Lexingtonians.
Code Enforcement
The team discovered that there were many issues related to code enforcement, including a lack of knowledge about rules and procedures, a process that is not always easily trackable and potentially inequitable, and a reliance on paper forms that can create problems for record-keeping.
Ideas:
- A website to learn about code requirements in an accessible way.
- A digital process for code enforcement officers to enter information in the field via mobile devices (tablet / iPad).
Neighborhood Data
As identified by the primary team, the city maintains a multitude of data related to neighborhoods that Lexingtonians would like to know about, but there are not good mechanisms for sharing that data or for Lexingtonians to request it.
Ideas:
- A data visualization tool to compare data between different neighborhoods.
- An analytical tool for LFUCG to determine neighborhood success and decline over time.
Neighborhood Social
Through research in February, one very clear indicator of neighborhood success and health is communication and community between neighbors. Finding information about neighborhoods is currently difficult, and it is a convoluted process to host neighborhood events.
Ideas:
- A neighborhood website platform that centralizes all neighborhood websites and connects with social media.
- A mechanism by which neighborhood association leaders can communicate with each other and share skills.
Community Spaces
Another indicator of neighborhood quality that emerged was the physical environment. There are not currently good mechanisms for communities to work together to learn about how to make their neighborhood spaces more robust, beautiful, and fun places to be.
Ideas:
- A resource to learn about sidewalk ownership and maintenance.
- A tool to identify vacant lots and design something to develop on them.
- A map and search for parks to discover amenities, events, processes for booking, etc.
- A site to gather updates and opinions about community projects.
Government Communication
LFUCG does not do a great job of proactively communicating with Lexingtonians. A large part of that problem is related to poor systems for aggregating and comparing city-managed data, but there is also a barrier between the data that exists and Lexingtonians who would like to see and use it.
Ideas:
- A tool for tracking an issue (zoning, building permit, ordinance, etc.) along its lifecycle in government.
- A location-based text message notifications tool for city updates and information.
- A comprehensive search tool for government data.
- A digital flow-chart for indicating necessary steps for completing a desired task with the city. (I want to…)
- A tool for comparing and conducting analysis on city datasets.
Ideation
Project Ideation
The team then conducted research on each of the topic areas. The goal of this phase was to identify some potential projects and select something to experiment with for the first few weeks of the initial iteration cycle. The team came up with the following projects:
- Waste management notifications:
- A system for automated notifications related to waste management, connected to RouteWare, that would provide customized information to those who opted in based on their locations.
- Interactive and illustrated city org and process chart:
- As a response to lack of knowledge of how to get things done when working with LFUCG, this site would provide an interactive flowchart to help answer “How do I…” type questions.
- Lexington tour guide:
- In order to get more people excited about exploring different parts of Lexington, this application would allow a user to input a spreadsheet of addresses and receive a map of a routed walking tour between those locations.
- Vacant lots mapping:
- Lexington has a fair share of underutilized spaces, so this site would show a map of vacant lots in the city with links to information about what might be able to be developed in those spaces.
- Neighborhood competitions through data:
- An emphasis on getting city and neighborhood data out to the public led the team to consider an application containing rankings and comparisons between neighborhoods based on data provided by the city. The application would update in real-time, provide user-friendly data visualizations, and include information that would be interesting to view in aggregate.
- Code enforcement visualization and information sharing:
- Lack of knowledge about what constitutes a code violation (and leads to a fine) is an issue, so this site would outline what acts are violations of municipal code in friendly language with interesting data and graphics.
- Input on proposals for city grants:
- Based on the assumption that neighborhood engagement can come from providing input on community projects, this application would allow Lexingtonians to vote on grant proposals for projects in their neighborhoods.
- Evaluation of completed and in-process projects funded by city grants:
- Once projects are funded by city grants, they tend to fall off the map. This application would encourage social media updates about city-funded projects by aggregating them onto a feed where residents could find out about updates on projects that are being built in their neighborhoods. Additionally, showcasing the projects that are being funded may encourage others with project ideas to step forward and apply for grants.
After considering the feasibility and impact of the identified projects, CfA Lexington decided to first work on waste management notifications. Based on the research conducted, more than 70% of calls to LexCall 311 were related to waste management, with a high percentage relating to missed pickup and confusion about pickup dates. The idea of notifications for waste pickup was also mentioned several times by the primary team in February, and the technology in use by the city provided a potentially interesting application.
Experiment #1
Waste Management Notifications
The first tool CfA Lexington created is called Notify, and it lives on the web at http://notifytheton.herokuapp.com. Notify helps Lexingtonians who have city trash service remember to put their Herbies, Rosies, and Lennys out on the curb the night before pickup by sending a reminder text message to those who sign up. The app also includes an admin page where an administrator can send out messages to users by pickup day; this would likely be used for days where bad weather or a holiday necessitates moving a whole day’s pickup to another day.
Feature Ideation
Once they picked a theme and a project, CfA Lexington got to work planning out the app and what it might include. In order to do this effectively, the team employed two brainstorming tactics associated with agile development processes.
The first is called crazy eights. In this exercise, each team member has a sheet of paper divided into eight sections. The team then has five minutes to fill each box with an idea related to the project -- these could be features, conceptual ideas, sketches, or anything else related to the project, but the goal is to fill all eight boxes. Once the five minutes is up, each team member shares what they’ve drawn without discussion or feedback. The team then does a second round of sketches, using the first round as inspiration. This exercise helps to flesh out ideas about the functionality of an application.
Through this process, CfA Lexington made a list of all of the features that might be included in a waste management notifications app. This informed the second step of the process, in which the team wrote out user stories. User stories take the form of, “As a ______, I want to _________ so I can _______.” For example, some of the many user stories for the waste management notifications app were:
- As a user, I want to know why my trash wasn’t picked up so I can ensure it is picked up in the future.
- As an administrator, I want to be able to message a group of subscribers based on their pickup day so I can let them know when pickup is going to be rescheduled.
- As a user, I want to be able to unsubscribe from text message notifications so I can opt-out conveniently.
Each of these user stories corresponded to a different potential functionality of the app, so it was good way to figure out what a pie-in-the-sky product would feature.
Initial Product Creation
After creating a comprehensive list of user stories, CfA Lexington determined which were the most important and therefore which functionalities should be developed for the initial prototype. The user stories process ensured that whatever we were building would be useful for the goals of the app.
The initial user stories included:
- As an admin, I want to be able to send SMS messages to all users so they can learn about trash pickup information.
- As an admin, I want to be able to customize the content of SMS notifications so I can send an appropriate message.
- As a user, I want to know which waste management quad I fall into so I can see what day my trash is picked up.
- As a user, I want to input my phone number so I can get SMS notifications on my cell phone.
- As a user, I want to input my street address so I can get a localized alert.
- As a user, I want to input my email address so I can be contacted for feedback.
- As a user, I want to know the lat/lon of my address.*
- As a user, I want a sign-up page that respects my time so that I can sign up easily and quickly.
- As a user, I want to receive an SMS message the night before my trash pickup so I can remember to put my cans out.
- As a user, I want to be able to opt out of notifications so I can live my life.
- As a user, I want to see my city name when inputting my street address so I don’t input duplicate information.
- As a user, I want informative feedback once I’ve signed up so I understand what I’ve done.
- As a user, I want to ensure that I typed my address correctly so I can get the correct notification.
- As an admin, I want to see a map of available geographic subsets to notify.
- As an admin, I want to search for users based on pickup day so I can select a subset of users to notify.
Each of these user stories corresponds to functionality in the Notify application, which grew over time and through better understanding what technology was available. While some of the user stories were identified prior to development, approximately half of those that ended up being addressed by the application came up while the team was building the app. This is very common in iterative processes, which allow the latitude to change direction and add or remove features as they become more or less relevant.
Next Steps
Next Steps
As CfA Lexington gears up for its first trip back to Lexington, the team hopes to not only conduct user research on the Notify app, but also move the needle on several other initiatives. These include:
After creating a comprehensive list of user stories, CfA Lexington determined which were the most important and therefore which functionalities should be developed for the initial prototype. The user stories process ensured that whatever we were building would be useful for the goals of the app.
The initial user stories included:
- Working with OpenLexington on smaller projects and planning more events, including National Day of Civic Hacking.
- Conducting user research to gather information and feedback on communications between LFUCG and Lexingtonians.
- Interviewing LFUCG employees and community members to learn more about other areas that may be interesting to pursue for future projects.
After the trip, the team intends to leverage new insights from the visit and reassess the original problem statements to better guide the project toward creating significant impact. The process moving forward will closely mimic the process undertaken in February, with brainstorming, ideation, user stories, and prototyping.
