Category: team 5 (16/17)

Week 8: User Test Preparation

As we are going to do 2 user tests in the coming week, everything needs to be well prepared to achieve a smooth run through. The Marvel App prototype must be completed and tested before we show to the users to avoid any technical problems during the test. During the testing workshop section, we assigned team members roles for the user testing day. While one of us is introducing the app to the users, the others are demonstrating the using of the app from tablets and other devices. Good time management is a necessity.

Our first User Prototype Test was scheduled on 9th December from 10-11am at Kids Kabin with Will and Gerrard, with the second test scheduled at 12pm in Walker Learning Hive with Heather. We have been to those two places for client interviews before so there should not be a problem.

We based our interview around the five-step interview guide:

  1. Give an introduction
    Allow the user clients to have a brief self-introduction and ask why are they interested on the project. Our project aimed to served the local community, therefore we must have better understanding with our users.
  1. Run the application in Marvel App and introducing the details and functions of the prototype.
  2. Tasks
    Give the users to have a taste of using the app at first hand experience. Ask them to navigate and execute tasks on different sections on the app to see if they can handle the functions and put to real life practise.
  1. Observe their reaction
    Document and capture their instant reaction when navigating the app. Observe and listen to what they say.
  1. Collect general feedback
    Ask them how, why and what they feel worked well or didn’t worked well. Can request more detailed feedback, such as “what should be done here on the page?”, or “what do you wish we had included but didn’t include?”
  1. Conclude with a Debrief
    Set up a set of questions other than those from feedbacks in order to collect more data from the future users to modify the app to be more appealing and user friendly. (e.g How useful did you find this app for the use of the local community?)

We aimed to test what we have done throughout the project, how the prototype works and does it meet the demands of our users in Walker local community. Moreover, Users responses in Testing section it very important  for designing the prototype. During the testing progress, we need to make sure they know how to use our app and solve any confusion by explaining thoroughly.  With positive and negative responses from the users, we can improve the prototype to a better future app for community.

Week 4: Revisiting Goals & Finding Examples

Our initial goals were to rebuild bridges between people in Walker and encouraging pro-community organisations to cooperate, by promoting activities and opportunities, increasing people’s awareness of what is being offered for them and encouraging businesses present in Walker to social reinvestment. We were to achieve this by creating a set of tools, both digital and non-digital, for the community to encourage volunteering and entrepreneurship and to share ideas and communicate

These goals received positive feedback at interviews of relevant parties and as such remain largely similar. However, encouraging businesses to reinvest in their communities is a side-track, although this may be a way in which the website can be partially funded. Similarly, it would be doing too much too soon to work on both digital and non-digital, as this can provide the greatest immediate benefit. We have decided that a greater emphasis on encouraging people to volunteer is also important, and as such this has taken on a greater focus. As such, our update project goals are:

  • Promote activities and opportunities for residents
  • Encourage pro-community organisations to cooperate with each other
  • Encourage local people to become more involved in volunteering with their local community groups

To ensure that we were on the right track with our ideas, we research three relevant projects that were related to some or all of our project goals.

Example 1: PeopleCan

  • An initiative in Bradford ran by the council that has the aim of encouraging community action and volunteering.
  • Provides links to apply for volunteering
  • It uses Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus and YouTube to widen its scope
  • There is a volunteers’ section which includes a recruitment notice and advertising posters and videos
    • There are volunteering ‘awards’ available to the best performers / contributors
    • Advantages to CVs are mentioned as a benefit
  • ‘Community Action’ page aimed at prompting cooperating between communities and local government to deliver community projects, eg litter clears
  • Ongoing events are posted, and there is an option for people to suggest events

Example 2: Voluntary Norfolk

  • A group based in Norfolk that is creating a volunteering network across the county
  • Aims are to:
    • Encourage social inclusion by the engagement of local people in the community regeneration and development
    • Promote, support and develop volunteering and the work of voluntary organisation and groups
    • Enable people to contribute their time, skills and talents for community’s benefit
  • Offer training to help people into work and improve volunteering skills

Example 3: Erewash Partnership

I interviewed Ian Viles, the chief executive. This organisation is based in Derbyshire and aimed at delivering economic development projects and support for potential and existing businesses, and helping local people to access training

  1. If we were to build a community website targeted towards the Erewash borough what requirements would you include?

We currently have a website tailored to business participation & 2 town centre listings… A website aimed at including the community would have to be less technical. A list of business partners & event listings for the borough would be key. A good starting point for us would maybe be to build from our current Ilkeston & Long Eaton town centre websites.

  1. Out of the following features (map, event calendar, help into volunteering access, community noticeboard) would you consider the most important in a community website?

The map and event calendar… because our aim of community enterprise means we encourage the use and betterment of local business & a map would easily lay out where to find them. The calendar… would help promote our & other events in the borough aimed at attracting visitors & therefore business.

  1. In… Walker particularly, it may prove difficult to encourage the community to actually use the website. Have you any suggestions as to what may prompt their participation?

Keep the website easy to navigate… If users can access what they want by an easy route that isn’t too confusing / time consuming… Make it an enjoyable experience as much as a technical website.

This suggests that we are on the right track. Many of our suggested options are functions are suggested or used in the above examples. It is clear an event calendar is a popular function, evidenced by both PeopleCan using it and Erewash Partnership suggesting it. Voluntary Norfolk in particular provides lots of ideas on how to engage with and encourage new potential volunteers. CV support is evidently a worthwhile option.

Week 10: Where Next?

In terms of next steps to take the project forwards, the next immediate step would be to take it back to the community groups of Walker. As the proposal suggests the website should be self-reliant, it depends heavily on their input, which has already been positive. Something akin to a partnership of willing Walker community groups, who can then streamline ideas into a functional mock-up of the scheme. This would allow them to collectively apply for grant funding, increasing the chances of funding being approved.

Based off user test feedback, a ‘What’s New’ section would also be desirable to allow users to identify changes – such as new events, for example. Whilst not the main target audience, there is a wish to include features incentivising children to use the site. Businesses could be encouraged to advertise their activities and job training opportunities too. Comments on the noticeboard should be approved before being posted online as a safeguard against abuse of this feature.

Long-term, if we were to pursue this idea we would include a feedback system to encourage constructive criticism – both positive and negative – on events, which would allow the event creators to make changes going forwards. This can only be a positive as it allows community groups to improve what events, services and classes they offer and to make it more tailored around the needs of the community. If their offerings are more attractive, it will potentially attract more use and traffic, both to these and the website itself. A more efficient use of funding towards these services means that there is more available to improve elsewhere. Additionally, if they can be shown to be working this will potentially help towards further future funding.

Expanding on the volunteering scheme as the website becomes more well-known and established is also important as a method of encouraging further volunteering. A method of doing this would be to improve rewards as increased site usage and funding allows, possibly to include incentives such as shopping vouchers or vouchers towards education classes. Giving people a route into work at the end of volunteering would be a major advancement in improving the lives of people in Walker. Self-help is a key aspect of what our interviewees suggested would be successful motivation tool.

Branching out into a newsletter would allow for those without access to the internet – around 40% – to see information on the community groups, events and volunteering information organised into one place. It wouldn’t be as comprehensive as the website, but would remove the major problem of lack of total coverage from the website solution concept.

Week 9 – Prototype User Tests

Users reacted to our prototype mostly highly positively, with notice board idea being the most appreciated by all users. Every user put high emphasis on improving feedback system, which would encourage constructive criticism and that there should be a follow-up for feedback from organisations receiving it. Bud and Will agreed that regular newsfeed on social media, especially Facebook, but possibly also twitter should be present to keep younger Walker residents informed and, over time, convince them to use the website more often. Heather insisted on creating an introduction guide for new users. This could be solved by an overlay on the home page, adding new, separate subpage for this or just having the guidance on the main page. Overlay seems to be most effective, as it allows for user interaction, instead of only having passive information somewhere on the page. For all users it was highly important that the whole initiative, including the website will stay in hands of the people, and/or the organisations present in Walker, as it is a matter of distrust to the local council or ‘outsiders’. Unfortunately our idea of having achievements and volunteer points systems  was not well received, user’s reason for this was that it would rather confuse the general public, rather than helping them to be more committed for the local causes, but they did not exclude a possibility of adding it later, as the wide user group gets used to the website.

 

The user tests went mostly as expected, with an exception of our idea of volunteering points and achievements (a reward for activity system), which wasn’t accepted very enthusiastically by the users. Nevertheless, users ‘rejected’ this system, not because it is bad, wrong, etc., but rather than that it would simply confuse the general public, so they advised implementing the system later on, after most website users get used to it.

User testing with Will and Gerrard were quite informal and pleasant for both sides, as we have already spent significant amount of time talking together before. User test with Heather was also alright, but a little bit more tense, as Heather was very focused on constructive criticism of our prototype and after-test discussion regarding the prototype.

The process was fairly easy to understand for everyone, even for Will, who self-declares himself as ‘techno sceptic’. Heather raised the need for an introductory guide for the website, bearing in mind wider public’s computer literacy levels.

I think the user interviews went very well and that there isn’t much, if anything, that could be changed for better, perhaps maybe organising the user test for all users at the same time and providing each user with a device for testing. Unfortunately this was not possible at the time.

Week 5: Concept ideas sketch

Our original idea for the project was to create a website – online platform for volunteer groups and wider  community in Walker to communicate, share ideas, information and opportunities. While this is still main focal point of our design, during interviews we have noticed that many people in Walker have difficulties regarding computer literacy and/or accessibility to computers or smartphones. To overcome this difficulty we assumed we need to promote our website as well as various courses in computer literacy offered by volunteering organisations across walker, but as well creating a paper version of a ‘newsletter’ – something like yellow pages. This will help to reach to the elderly, and to people who would not be keep on learning how to use a computer. The drawback of printed newsletter is it’s cost, so to cover for it, we believe it would be a good idea to ask local businesses to pay a small monthly fee, so that we can run the website and the newsletter, and for that the businesses could advertise themselves to the local community.

Other alternative that we propose to help to reach out to as many Walker residents as possible is to mount a public interactive displays, where people could gain information what events, activities and opportunities are available for them and sign up for them. Public displays could be placed in libraries, community centres, etc. They would also be provided with easy to read and follow infographics how to use them, so the people won’t be discouraged to use them. Other discussed alternative was a smartphone application, something like a simplified version of the website, but we have agreed that since Walker is facing economic hardships and not many people do have a smartphone, combined with low computer literacy skills it won’t be too useful for the community, at least during first few years of the project.

To summarise, the main point of the program will be the website, as it can be easily modified to suit the needs of the users, and as well as it has relatively low cost of running. It could also help to create sense of community without a need of leaving your home. To reach to computer illiterate people we aim to advertise computer skills training sessions and as well as hand out a monthly newsletter through the mail door. This way everyone in Walker will be informed about opportunities, events and activities, while the cost will most likely be covered from advertisements from local businesses. Public interactive displays can be a helpful add-on to the website for the people who lack a computer in their homes. We estimate that a smartphone application would not be used to the extent it will be worth creating it on so early stage of the project.

Walker Creative Neighbourhood Week 3: User Interviews

Reflection and Summary of the User Interviews

We have arranged two Users Interviews in Walker on 21st and 26th October respectively. On our first interview, we have met Alice McCreadie, project development worker in Worker’s Educational Association and the other two clients Will Benson, manager from Kids Kabin, a charity for children (primary school students) and Gerard New from Tyneside Outdoors, an outdoor youth work organisation which provides young people skills and opportunities. They encourage people to learn and build. The WEA project in Northumbria and Building Future East helps people who want to start a new business and act as a community directory in sharing of resources. On the second interview, we have met Bud Russell and Liz Coates from Worhoose, Francesca Maddison from Building Futures East.

They stated that usually University students, Local Residents, International volunteers as well as parents of the children and youngsters who benefits from the organisations get involved in volunteering, some ex young-groups participants came back as volunteers but drop in and out occasionally. Students come more often but some may come for placements and experiences. They picture the motivation and the way they wanted to volunteer. However, most of the people only volunteer when they know how to deal with the project. Volunteers may lack of confidence when they experience barriers such as application forms. They are afraid of failure. Volunteers may  participate in it because their families and friends have received the services before and they have had loyal to it. Parents who wanted to volunteer but haven’t been able to commit and not consistent. Problems with housing and children as well as financial stuff, utilities compulsory and debt. Students are more free and available. But the inconsistency of young person is a problem. They don’t based in the same place and maybe have issue to deal with and cannot arrive on time.

Our aim is to motivate and encourage more people to volunteer in the local area. Clients think that the best way to inspire and develop potential volunteers themselves is illustrating to them the benefits of the volunteering. Build up the strong of pride and unity in Walker. They often said that  they want to bring the community together but none of them execute the idea. By offering more opportunities for people to share their resources, such as funds, can help achieving the social needs. People will be attracted to get on volunteering if they are sure that they can have reward and opportunities. However volunteers may come only for reward, such as for CV purpose.

In order to promote our initiative, setting up a webpage and encourage everyone to be on that, increase residents motivation to click on the link, also Get to advertise the organisation and their base through giving out handbooks. Most kids have phone nowadays. According to Will, he will use website for research but not Facebook. Most parents use Facebook but they don’t allow young people to use . School only admit Facebook for age 13+. Sometimes social media might not be an ideal platform for promotion. As we would like to encourage volunteers in a digital way, Internet access is more important as wifi limited throughout the area. The Pottery bank got a suite of computer to offer. The Local mapping idea with tag and present all the barriers, avoid hidden information will help people to know the base for volunteering, so to persuade them to volunteer easily. Other than network, handbook giving to door not run by company but well written might work. It has games, section with local communities group put up their news, spreading their group and organisation around the area. Finding help from local people through the handbook instead of from web found people from elsewhere. It also creates local identity, encourage people to start looking at it. Creating the handbook can be a social enterprising, strengthening social cohesion and awareness of what surround you.

In order to run the project smoothly, we need to encourage local businesses for social reinvestment. They have political investment, they want to invest in a project with good outcome and 100% productive, well prepared, best quality and best time. If these are all possible they will continue to support. We have also concerned about the role of local authorities, the clients suggest that they should have participation but they shouldn’t have a role in it. The initiative is acting for the community’s social health, the authorities should have responsibility to buy and share them as local residents don’t have money and expertise to do it.

Other than our proposed initiative, Building Future East has an education course for the benefit of young people in the area, formal education allows higher education for adult to get back into job.

In Conclusion, our clients looking towards the summer putting together a programme for a family to go in the website and the handbook. Summer holiday planner including activities for different ages, different opportunities for different days. Therefore, volunteers and participants can know whats coming on.

Walkers: Designing Storyboards (week 6)

Week 6

While we have settled on the function of the webpage, we will be focusing to demonstrate the voting system and the volunteer point system in the storyboard.

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The voting system is a function for basic members to create their event on their own via Notice board. When they choose the ‘event’ categories in the notice board, they may be able to uphold their own event concerning no matter what. For example, in the above picture, a resident may be unsatisfied with a dirty park. He may send a post recruiting volunteers to clean it up. By inserting a number of minimum participants need (e.g. 20 people need here), the event will be created automatically on the calendar when 20 interested participates click ‘yes’ in the post. This save works in administering and can allow people to have a first try in participating in volunteering without processing a lot of registering process that gives pressure on them.

 

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Another storyboard showing is one demonstrating how the volunteer point system works.

Volunteer points can be earned through holding and participating events. We try to make the online points to have an actual benefit in real life so as to encourage the community to involve in it. There are three major ways to use it:

  1. It can act as a counter for organization to know how active a participate in the community. It somehow works as an online cv, but more informal one to show some organization in the site who are potential volunteers or employee.
  2. When the points continuously add on, participates may unlock achievement and level up as higher level members to have higher authority (like admin) to edit post etc. Achievement may include exchanging for volunteer hours on CV in certain rate. (1 :1 may do also).
  3. By cooperating with business we can offer discounts through exchange points. (may involve another unit for exchange since the volunteer hours should not be gone when you purchase anything)

Both story boards are just showing the basic concept and may not be complete and thorough enough. We will continue to try editing for the final output.

Interview template for Walker

Our interview based research we have focused on talking with local pro-community organisations leaders, as they know the realities of local community and troubles that organisations face.

 

(Welcome), we are 2nd Stage students at Newcastle University. We are currently working on a project named ‘Walker Creative Neighbourhood’. Our aim is to gather the Walker community together and encourage pro-community organisations
co-operation. We would like to develop a set of tools for the community that will help them to organise and support themselves. We assume that after short time after the project has been implemented the people, who are interested in actively participating in their community’s life will be content creators as well, most likely under supervision of moderators (who would also be part of the community). Initiative will help promoting events, education and volounteering opportunities. The project could also include promoting local businesses, entrepreneurship, and also potentially recruitment and freelance opportunities. This project is meant to help community in Walker, thus we would like to ask you a few questions to better understand the community itself.

 

 

  1. Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
  2. Can you tell us what is the role of your organisation for the people in Walker?
  3. What is your role in the organisation? (unless covered in point 1.)
  4. Which kinds of people do commonly get involved in volunteering for your organisation?
  5. Can you tell us, as far as you are concerned, what is the profile of current volounteers in Walker?
  6. What is current ‘volounteering atmosphere’ in Walker (how people think and feel like about volounteering)?
  7. What challenges does your organisation face to reach out to local individuals, who could volunteer?
  8. How do you think is the best way to inspire people to develop themselves, participate in various activities and volounteer in Walker?
  9. What do you think is the best way to bring up connection between communities in Walker?
  10. How do you think is the best way to encourage cooperation between various organisations present in walker?
  11. What do you think would be the best way to promote/advertise volounteering and other activities?
  12. What could be the best way to reach people with our initiative in walker?
  • A)if digital, what about the people who don’t have access to computers/smartphones, what is the best way to reach to them?
  • B) if digital, how can we also engage people who lack IT skills, i.e. the elderly?
  1. Are there any education projects that you are aware of in Walker?
  • if yes, how do they benefit local communites, how they should be promoted?
  1. How do you think our initiative should be funded?
  2. What do you think the role of local buisnesses should be in this project?
  • how could we encourage them for social reinvestment?
  1. Alice drew our attention to the mapping of organisations and buisnesses in Walker. How do you imagine a map like that should look like, and what features for the users should it include?
  • A)Also, how users should be able to interact with it?
  • B)Should mapping be more stiff – limited to the Walker only, or more relaxed, allowing users to see map’ content beyond Walker, which could be helpful to them?
  1. What do you think the role of local authorities should be in the initiative (or perhaps they shouldn’t participate at all)?
  2. Do you have any other propositions or comments?

Walker Community project: Week one progress

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In the first week, we start off by understanding our project, the Walker creative neighborhood, and get a clue on what our project is about. We met Joy, one of our client representatives, to discuss on the project. It was a very meaningful meeting as she helped us to recognize the project’s objectives throughout our discussion.

Goal

The main goal of the project is to gather the Walker community. Due to the lack of funding to local community initiatives, the organisations may fail to cooperate with each other and brought down the connection between community. Therefore, our client hoped that some measures can be made to bridge back people in Walker.

With the aid of an online platform, such as a homepage or forum, we wish to build a space especially for the walker community. It will be a Walker-focused page including local organization and volunteer information. We hope that it can become a key in arising residents’ awareness to their community and promote volunteer work in Walker.

In long term, it is hope that connections can be rebuilt between the Walker community and people can also get use to helping each other or leaning for help on their own, which hopefully can increase their living standard or quality. The increase volunteering promote may also solve problems in business. People may also start their own business with the help of other volunteers.

Key stakeholders

Since our project involves digital technology, local people who are able to reach the internet may be our target. They may be looking for events and update information in walker in the website. Among them, we focused on people who have higher possibility in participating volunteer work at their free time, such as housewives or students, as our main users. Students, or other locals, may be interested in volunteering for their own reasons, such as building experience for their CVs, can also easily applying one through the website. We will also have to cooperate with local business in walker since they may also be promoted in the page. Especially community organisation, as they may recruit volunteers via website.

However, considering that people in Walker may experience any technological problems, technology support may be need. We suggested printed newsletter, as another media besides webpage.

Further Research

When meeting other representatives later on, we would like to know more on the status of the existing community group and their projects in Walker. It is important to know if there are already similar projects running now. We may also have to investigate information of walker residents to give a background study of our stakeholders. Their background may vary our decision and how we execute the whole project. Also, it is hoped that we can interview with people having different position in walker and get a full picture of what their needs are. People with different identity may have different goals and expectation in this project.