On july 27th we gathered again with the open rampette community to share the final results of the project.
We presented the final prototypes of the solutions designed around the 2 topics we have been working on, namely “the call” and “the procedure”, moreover while working on the two topics, we realized that there was a third topic emerging “the communication”.
The Call
Regarding the call we shared with the community the feedbacks we got from the usability testing of the prototype (you can read more about it here). And we let people experience the
improved/final version of it.
The Procedure
The day before the event we had the chance to test the prototype in some real shop around isola neighborhood (read more about the test results here). The collective event was the perfect moment to share what we learned from it.
The communication
Although the theme partially overlaps the two themes already discussed we decided it had so much importance it required to be treated alone.
The topic addresses some questions we already asked ourselves during the research:
How do I recognize if a shop is accessible?
How do I know where to find an accessible shop in town?
How can Minerva explicit the fact that they are well equipped to welcome dioniso?
We believe that communicating the right message in terms of accessibility is as important as filing all the paperwork required to be “legal”.
In fact, as discussed also during the user test with the doorbell, the very simple sticker we designed gives Dioniso the confidence that he will feel ok pressing that doorbell.
After presenting the development about the three topics here, we finished our presentation mentioning a couple of global take aways we wanted to share with the community.
Inside out: from the details to the global scale
Makers usually have this kind of approach; you start making something and than you reflect on the impact that the thing you are making might have and how you can improve your design.
Thinking practically in terms of solutions in the beginning of the design process gives you a solid starting point you can use to test your assumption and discuss your ideas from the very beginning.
At the same time you are continuously pushed at thinking about how your solution might fit in the context and how it can link to the other pieces of the system.
Tangible solutions
Letting people touch with their hands some prototypes and experience a potential improvement regarding their issues is not just the best way to collect feedbacks; but it is also a super effective way to demonstrate policy makers that things can be changed and improved.
Multiple voices/experiences and new communication channels
Along the project we created an environment open to critiques and ideas coming from different perspective. The active participation momentum gave us the opportunity to engage offices and functions of the municipality not directly linked to the project (i.e. ufficio suolo pubblico and urbanistica)
Testing and iterations for an agile policymaking
Small iterations, user research, interviews are few elements that guided our design process. While those concepts and tools are well accepted in the world of the industry (in the startup world as well as in the most robust companies), in the domain of policymaking, regulations, and administration of city they haven’t been quite discovered yet.
We believe that some of the techniques we adopted can be translated in the exciting domain of the city regulatory system. Agile can be applied to policymaking and at WeMake we would be more than happy to open a table with the municipality to understand how.