Project goals and principles

There were three project goals:

1. to explore crowd sourcing as a method for gathering timely, accurate sidewalk condition information;
2. to present sidewalk condition data with public transit information to allow for travel planning (especially for those who have no alternative to sidewalk and transit travel); and
3. to highlight the importance of and demonstrate a means of capturing the impact of poor sidewalk condition on individuals, as told by them.

Driven by key insights discovered during user research, project principles included:

• Any solution proposed should work for those impacted by poor sidewalk conditions most severely.
• As appropriate, any solution proposed should be harmonious with the existing system of municipal government interaction.

Requirements

Several user stories were created in an effort to capture the reported and implicit needs of the primary stakeholders.

As a sidewalk user, I want to quickly, easily, and accurately report poor sidewalk conditions to whomever is responsible for their maintenance so that future sidewalk users won’t be in danger or inconvenienced.

From this user story, several functional requirements followed:

• The system shall allow the user to describe the sidewalk condition.
• The system shall allow the user to identify the location of the sidewalk being reported.
• The system shall allow the user to characterize the impact of the sidewalk condition in a way that makes sense to them.
• The system shall allow the user to associate a date and time with the sidewalk condition report.
• The system shall not require knowledge of sidewalk ownership (region, city, government organization, etc.) in order to report sidewalk conditions.

As a sidewalk user, I want to learn about sidewalk conditions as they relate to travel plans so that I can reduce frustration and schedule my life more efficiently.

From this user story, several functional requirements followed:

• The system shall identify sidewalk condition areas visually and tied to a geographic location.
• The system shall describe the nature and severity of sidewalk condition issues.
• The system should incorporate public transportation information such as routes, stops, and system information.

As a sidewalk user, I want to learn the outcome and status of my sidewalk condition report so that I can feel like I improved city life and hold municipal government accountable.

From this user story, several functional requirements follow:

• The system shall provide progress updates and information about how an issue is being addressed.
• The system shall not require personal identification to observe progress updates.

As a sidewalk user, I want to be able to call attention to poor sidewalk conditions without the need for specialized technology or cost so that I can allocate my income to other things.

As a sidewalk user, I want to be able to learn about the status of existing sidewalk condition issues without the need for specialized technology or cost so that I can allocate my income to other things.

While these are both strong user needs, there are existing channels to facilitate these interactions (e.g., help desk at City Hall or customer support phone number). However, one functional requirement followed:

• The system should work in as many existing support contexts as is feasible.

Design considerations

Several trade-offs needed to be considered during the design of the system.

A key decision, made early on, was to prioritize some of stakeholders above others; these were the primary stakeholders described elsewhere. It was recognized that any longer term, widely adopted technology solution for sidewalk condition data would need to address the needs and concerns of secondary and tertiary stakeholders (which includes city and region staff, some third party companies, property owners, etc.).

Another trade-off involved the tension between traditional and innovative solutions for this problem. The near ubiquity of connected smartphones makes it a reasonable technology option for SideWaze. However, there is a definite trade-off between the relative low risk of established technology (and user patterns) and potential for truly innovative ways of solving a problem.

Finally, the is a trade-off when considering utility versus engagement. Residents of the Region of Waterloo are actively discussing the role of sidewalk conditions. There is a trade-off between utility of a proposed solution like SideWaze and the need for engagement (or capturing the imagination of the public). Speaking to stakeholders and being able to keep their interest while describing yet another app often overshadows the goals of the project. The decision to be more conservative in the approach for SideWaze was, in part, made in deference to the limited time for this work.

SideWaze app

The SideWaze app is not a lifestyle app. It isn’t something one would think of using on a regular basis. But for those primary stakeholders interviewed, it could represent a solution for a problem affecting them on a regular basis.

The app allows the user to achieves both goals discovered during user research: contributing sidewalk condition data, and learning about sidewalk conditions, especially for the purpose of route planning.

---

This page summarizes the following document: