HilfHilde

Social Design, Transformation Design (2020)

Promoting participative proccesses in the city of Hildesheim by offering new and more accessible ways of communication between citizens and the city administration.

Context
July 2020, Social Design Project
M.A. Design HAWK Hildesheim
Prof. Dr. Sabine Foraita
Prof. Stefan Wölwer

Team Members
Katharina Geier (Graphic Design)
Jasmin Ohlendorf (Graphic Design)

My Role
Project coordination, research, preparation, implementation and evaluation of expert interviews, best practice analysis, paper prototyping, user testing, figma prototyping, presentation, documentation

Retrospective

Things I've learned

Learning more about Social Design and the bottom-up design process, got me to critically reflect on my responsibilities as a designer: Rather than identifying as a problem solver I'd like to see my role as an empathetic moderator with methodological competence, empowering others in the process.

The most fun

Deliberately stepping out of my own comfort zone by experimenting with new software tools and research methods. Learning from experts who have been involved with participatory processes in Hildesheim for a long time.

Challenges

Restrictions in the choice of methods due to the first corona lockdown. Consciously staying in the research phase for a long time and remaining open-ended instead of quickly following a cherished idea.

What I'm thankful for

The amazing team work: Though we barely knew each other at the beginning of the project, working together was characterized by appreciative and respectful communication, reliability and support in such uncertain times.

Double Diamond

We used the Double Diamond framework as a guideline in our design process

Initial Question

How can participatory processes be actively promoted?

Problem Definition

Bureaucratic hurdles and unclear structures hamper the communication between citizens and city administration.

Solution

Offering new ways of communication to enhance the motivation to join participatory porcesses.

Problem Space І Understanding the status quo

How can participatory processes (in Hildesheim) be actively promoted?

Desk research

We determined success factors for participatory processes and examined the existing participation opportunities as well as the current communication channels used by the city. We collected best practice examples and got an overview of relevant stakeholders. At the same time, we educated ourselfs on participatory design processes and the social design mindset in order to define common guidelines for our work.

Methods and tools: Desk Research, Best Practice Analysis, Kanban, Gantt-Chart, Mindmap, Brainstorming, Headstand Method, Stakeholder Map, Notion, Miro, Slack

Team Miro Board

Primary research

We decided on a mix of methods that was adapted to the circumstances of the current pandemic. In order to be able to understand the status quo, it was important for us to hear various opinions and perspectives. We attached great importance to hearing the voices of the citizens of Hildesheim and spoke to experts about urban design and participatory processes in Hildesheim to learn from their expertise. We conducted interviews with the head of the mayor's office of Hildesheim, as well as the chairwoman of the district association Nordstadt.Mehr.Wert e.V. 

Methods and tools: Answer Garden, Survey, Cultural Probes, Interviews, User Journey Map, Empathy Maps

Rage Room

Inspired by the headstand method and with the aim of enabling participation right from the start of the project, we opened a digital rage room in which Hildesheim citizens were allowed to write their frustration off their chests. The resulting opinion served as guide and orientation in the further process.

Cultural Probes

This (corona-compliant :) method helped us to find out how citizens contact the city of Hildesheim and what obstacles they encounter on the way. 
We gave participants from different demographic and social backgrounds precise instructions and all the necessary materials. We asked them to communicate a matter of their choice to the city administration via their preferred communication channel. Their experiences were visualized in a User Journey Map. 

Key Insights and Goals

The collected research findings resulted in a number of challenges that we clustered thematically. We formulated three central objectives, for which we generated suitable solution proposals in the further process.

1. Improve communication

The direct dialogue between city administration and citizens must be promoted and made visible. Accessible communication channels for all citizens need to be introduced.

2. Create clear and recognisable structures

Diffuse structures within the city administration unnecessarily tie up time and human resources which lead to frustrationon on part of the citizens. Clear responsibilities provide orientation and reduce the administrative burden.

3. Reduce bureaucratic obstacles

Bureaucratic hurdles quickly lead to resignation. New tools can be used to enduringly promote participation in Hildesheim by showing citizens that their concerns are seen and thereby motivating them to take an active role in the processes.

Solution Space І Encourage dialogue with design

How can new ways of communication between citizens and the city administration enhance awareness and motivation towards participatory processes?

Ideation

Based on our research results and by using several creative techniques, we developed a diverse pool of approaches to tackle the challenge we identified. We saw particular potential in a digital tool that offers Hildesheim citizens a low-threshold opportunity to get in touch with the city administration.

Methods and tools: Brainstorming, Brainwraiting, Mindmap, Card Sorting

Prototyping & User Testing

To visualize our idea and put it up for discussion we built an interactive low-fidelity paper prototype. We decided this low-fidelity approach to focus on the intuitive usability and to keep the inhibition threshold for honest feedback and suggestions for improvement in the user test as low as possible.

Methods and tools: User Flow, Paper Prototyping, User Testing, Marvel, Figma

HILFHILDE

Users can choose between three categories to make a report on the map of Hildesheim: "Trees and green spaces", "Traffic, roads and paths" and "Pollution and vandalism". These categories were identified in the research as particular problem areas.

Messages from other users can be viewed, marked as favorites or commented on. Photos or videos can be added to the reports. By displaying the processing status, the work of the city administration is made as transparent as possible: Citizens can see in real time that their report has had a positive effect!

The fourth category "Ideas and suggestions" gives users the opportunity to identify untapped potential in their city by sharing individual ideas for urban design or by supporting ideas from other citizens.

Chances and Limitations
HILFHILDE can connect people, show dissent and consensus and thus create a basis for discussion from which transformation can arise. The tool isn't intended to replace participatory cooperation on site but to support and strenghten the process by making it more inclusive and accessible.

User Feedback

The idea and the intuitive usability of the application met with great approval. There were critical questions about topics such as moderation and the activation of reports. Numerous ideas for new functions such as a reward system and the possibility of more networking clearly show that our prototype can only be understood as a first idea, which needs to be further developed and shaped, in close participative cooperation with the involved stakeholders.

A conception of what the high-fidelity version of HILFHILDE could look like was designed and animated with Figma

Accompanying Measures

Alongside the digital service HILFHILDE, we designed additional instruments which interlock as a holistic system to counteract structural problems and strengthen participation in Hildesheim.

Website restructuring

Clear responsibilities are created to minimize the administrative effort of moderating input channels. 

Additional channels of communication

Important information must be equally available to all citizens. By opening up new communication channels via social media we plan to strenghten public relations in Hildesheim.

HILFHILDE Campaign

The success of HILFHILDE depends to a large extent on the willingness of the citizens in Hildesheim to actively participate in the development and test phase. An accompanying, cross-platform campaign should therefore draw attention to the development of the application and provide information about opportunities for participation.

Conclusion

The right tool for Hildesheim can only be planned and designed in close cooperation with the citizens and the city administration. Only if this process is dynamic and free from any bias, the solution can develop into something that really helps the stakeholders.

During our semester, we were able to visualize our idea in the form of a low-fidelity prototype, make it tangible for others and get initial feedback. However, further loops of iteration are required in order to further develop this project in the sense of the social design process. We therefore do not see HILFHILDE as a "finished solution", but as an invitation to exchange ideas about the potencial of participation and transformative processes in our city.

We're very pleased that HILFHILDE was selected for the Social Design exhibition in the Brunswick State Museum in 2021.

"  It’s not ‘us versus them’ or even ‘us on behalf of them.’
For a design thinker it has to be ‘us with them'  "

—  Tim Brown  —

Let's have a chat!

© Elena Franke 2023
UX Design І Transformation Design