Corporate Training @ The City of Miami
The ask
Bring the idea of a UCD “user centered design” process to the City of Miami. Educate the IT department, made up of mostly developers, teach them best practices for mobile devices, forms and data capture, and how to run effective ideation sessions. Most importantly, we hooked them on user testing and the feedback loop.
The materials
This was an eight week corporate training class that I hosted every Thursday from 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM at the City offices in downtown Miami.
The training syllabus
Our eight syllabus included lecture materials, and workshop sessions. We tackled City of Miami design issues by dissecting each screen, coming up with multiple options and testing with real users. Many of these projects were planned weekly and exemplified the way they could work.
The UX methodology
One of the best tools I’ve learned during my career was to create and utilize a framework, it is essentially our way of working. It is our google maps for designing digital products. We used my framework but discussed ways they could create their own and which tasks would make sense for each stage.
Mobile tips & best practices
One of their first requests was to learn more about mobile. They felt a bit behind the curve as most of their products and services must be carried out on desktop. The group learned a lot about their users behaviors across many devices and browsers. One of the best tools I shared with them was the statistics counters for devices across the globe and which screen sizes people are utilizing and which browsers. This brought to light a need to reassess what the currently design and build for.
Adhering to a user centered design process
One of our most impactful moments was testing the new “beta” version of the Miami dade.gov website with real users. Specifically we test the permitting process. This was adopted by one of the team members who truly embodied the idea of integrating user feedback. As they are in a position to get access to their real users by simply going down to the lobby.
A collaborative setup for training
Another great moment for us was that we were able to place a full time UX Designer & graduate of the Wyncode UXUI bootcamp (Tatyana Plakso) into the City of Miami for the length of the training. This would allow them to tackle small test projects, but also ensure they were able to ask questions and learn more and be sure they were remaining true to the process.
User journey session for zoning verification
Another test case, the Zoning Verification Letter. Our on site Product Designer and I created some slides to utilize during a workshop session, we did an assessment, provided some options that included flow charts, and wires that illustrated what needed to change. We then used this content to facilitate the Hyper Island idea generation for features and an MVP session.
Integrating product designers
Another great moment for us was that we were able to place a full time UX Designer & graduate of the Wyncode UXUI bootcamp (Tatyana Plakso) into the City of Miami for the length of the training. This would allow them to tackle small test projects, but also ensure they were able to ask questions and learn more and be sure they were remaining true to the process.
Audits & opportunities
Another mini project that Tatyana and I explored was an expansion on the new Miami.gov website in Beta testing. We provided a full UX Audit and assessment with reasoning as to why it is or is not a best practice. We ended the document with a set of recommendations or opportunities of improvement that the City of Miami.
Solutions presented in flow charts
Proposals or solutions and opportunities were provided in the form of flow charts, demonstrating how a user and the system would interact with each other across the various solutions. These often provide a great discussion guide for developers and designers when choosing a solution, we then weighed and balanced the options for level of effort, ease of use and overall business objectives.
Training certifications
When the corporate training was complete, we were able to issue 24 certificates of completion. Each of the attendees joined in on a celebration of attaining knowledge and a new set of skills and most importantly a way of working.
Training recap & new approach
In the final session, I summarized all that we accomplished in the sessions including being featured as the City of the Future in the South Florida Business Journal. We also asked each employee to declare how they will improve their work flow.
“I will ask for wireframes for all screens moving forward”
Press & recognition
Word got out and the press and twitter was a buzz with the news that the City of Miami is on the heels of Harvard and Boston with its approach to becoming a “smart city”. We clearly continued to see the value we added through the Director of Innovation’s appreciation and posts that constantly validated all the work Wyncode and the City collaborated on.
The results of the training
Quantitative results
We believe in the feedback loop even when it comes to corporate training. The results were in and almost 90% would recommend this training to others.
Qualitative results
We received a lot of great feedback, overall everyone seemed to learn a lot, the sessions were engaging, and examples that help visualize the best practices was noted as being helpful.
I feel so privileged to have had the opportunity to educate, the City of Miami and the Director of Innovation in an effort to grow our city and design and develop better products for our citizens.