Enhancing Parks and Rec through Human-Centered Design
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Parks and Recreation aims to create spaces, events, and services that positively impact the community. While we often collect feedback through surveys, we can enhance the way we design programs and experiences to truly meet the needs of our visitors. This presentation introduces human-centered design principles and practical methods to improve the services we provide.
Enhancing Parks and Rec through Human-Centered Design
- 1. Enhancing Parks & Rec Programs through Human-Centered Design Rebecca Blakiston, Senior Service Designer
- 2. Howdy I’m a service designer, researcher, and librarian on a mission to improve the usability of public services.
- 3. Learning objectives An understanding of Human-Centered Design and why it's critical in public service Quick, cost-effective ways to gather valuable customer feedback Practical tips for creating more effective surveys and gathering actionable insights Ideas for incorporating design thinking into everyday decision-making and service creation 01 03 04 02
- 4. Table of contents Why human-centered design matters Design 101 Get out there Learn what’s working and what’s not Make it better Draw from principles of good design Do it cheap Quick and dirty ways to put it into practice 01 03 04 02
- 6. —Cyd Harrell Author, A Civic Technologist’s Practice Guide “Government exists to serve the public, so its services should be designed with the public at the center.”
- 7. Human-centered design Creating public services around the real needs, experiences, and challenges of the people we serve — not around the policies that mandate them, the systems that deliver them, or the staff who provide them.
- 8. Government agencies need to demonstrate our value and impact now more than ever. We’re being scrutinized
- 9. WHOA! But we already do ask the public for their feedback…
- 10. —project manager Marana Aquatic and Recreation Center “We got over 5,000 pieces of feedback from the community.”
- 11. How might we gather community feedback on all things at all stages and from all levels, no matter our day-to-day jobs? Yes, and…
- 12. Here’s how Start with community needs Get feedback early and often Iterate, then iterate again Adapted from Gov.UK design principles
- 13. Key questions… Who are the people you are serving? What are their goals, behaviors, and challenges? What are their unmet needs?
- 14. Get out there 02 learn what’s working and what’s not
- 15. —Jennifer Pahlka Author, Recoding America “The people designing policy and services are rarely the ones who use them — and they don’t know what it’s like.”
- 16. Do your research Learn people’s attitudes, perceptions, preferences, and behaviors.
- 17. Seniors Seeking challenging new trails to explore Hikers Which humans use your programs? Seeking summer programs for their children Parents Seeking accessible community activities
- 18. How does your audience vary? The Loop Community Center Festival Pedestrians Basketball players Child attendee Dog walkers Gym goers Adult attendee Runners Swimmers Traffic control staff Cyclists One-time visitors Food truck vendor E-bike riders Members Wheelchair user
- 20. User interviews Ask the public how it’s going. Example questions: ● What brought you here? ● Why is this important to you? ● What did you enjoy most? ● Was anything frustrating or confusing? ● If you had a magic wand, what would you change?
- 21. Impression testing Put your ideas in front of the public and get their reactions. Example questions: ● What do you think of this idea? ● Does this feel like something you would participate in? ● What do you like about the idea, and what would you change?
- 22. Preference testing Ask people to compare options and select their favorite. Example questions: ● Which of these options do you prefer? Why? ● What is the biggest factor in your decision? ● Which one feels like a better fit for you or your community?
- 24. Focus groups (but better) Ask a group of people for their ideas and opinions. Make it interesting (and avoid groupthink!) by having them do things like: ● Identify their favorite places on park or trail maps ● Build their dream rec calendar ● Sketch a new website, event page, or registration form
- 25. Surveys (but better) Gather feedback from lots of people. ● Know what you want to learn ● Keep it short (under 10 questions) ● Ask clear, neutral questions, and select questions wisely
- 26. Bad survey questions are everywhere
- 27. Bad survey questions are everywhere
- 28. Bad survey questions are everywhere
- 29. Common probs Survey questions that: ● Lead respondents to answer a certain way ● Are hard to answer authentically ● Bundle together more than one thing ● Use complicated or inconsistent likert scales ● Require an answer, even if they are irrelevant or unanswerable More at: theuxcookbook.com/surveys
- 30. Surveys can be simple
- 31. Give it a good name Title the survey something meaningful, starting with a verb. Good survey titles: ● Give us feedback on the new splash pad ● Help us design your neighborhood park ● Submit your ideas about teen programming As opposed to: ● Compulsory All-Resident Holistic Synergistic Feedback Initiative Regarding the Utilization and Perception of Communal Spaces and Recreational Infrastructure
- 32. A note about avoiding jargon Instead of: Enhancing Parks & Rec Programs through Human-Centered Design I could have called it this: Practical Ways to Get Community Feedback But at least I didn’t call it this: Leveraging Community Insights to Optimize Parks & Rec Programming via Human-Centered Design Frameworks
- 33. Asking isn’t enough What people say they do is often not what people actually do.
- 36. Ethnography-ish Look around and see how people are interacting with spaces, signage, technology, and the built environment. Notice: ● What places are popular and unpopular ● How behavior changes based on time of day ● How people are hacking the space
- 37. Usability testing Evaluate a program by asking people to complete tasks and observing their behavior. Notice: ● Their expectations ● Their assumptions ● Language they use ● Where they struggle
- 38. Wayfinding testing Evaluate wayfinding by asking people to find something and watching where they go. Notice: ● Their navigation paths ● Where they make decisions ● What signage they notice (and don’t)
- 39. What have you noticed… Where do people struggle when navigating your spaces or programs? When do people get confused or have questions? When are people creating “workarounds”?
- 40. do the thing put yourself in their shoes
- 41. When was the last time you… Learned about or signed up for a program? Attended an event? Navigated an unfamiliar trail?
- 43. Make it better 03 draw from principles of good design
- 44. Be welcoming, familiar, and simple to use with few steps.
- 45. I emailed support to update my email address and received this response. What’s wrong with this?
- 46. I’m visiting the Playground restaurant/club. What’s wrong with this?
- 47. Make it easy for people to complete their goals.
- 48. I want to reserve a pickleball court. What’s wrong with this?
- 49. I’m trying to update my payment information. What’s wrong with this?
- 50. I’m trying to learn about this event. What went wrong here?
- 51. Encourage the right behaviors from visitors while keeping it human.
- 52. I want to meditate in the new Reflection Room and saw this sign. What’s wrong with this?
- 53. Provide help when people need it and have no dead ends.
- 54. I got out of the pool and walked up some steps. What’s wrong with this?
- 55. Do it cheap 04 quick and dirty ways to put it into practice
- 56. Tiny café Set up a snack station and get rapid feedback from visitors as they’re passing by.
- 57. Roaming café Grab some snacks and get feedback while on the move.
- 58. Talk-back boards
- 61. Follow a recipe The UX Cookbook has tips and templates to get you started. theuxcookbook.com
- 62. —Marina Nitze and Nick Sinai Authors, Hack Your Bureaucracy "We think that changing the world requires inspirational leaders, but the truth is that real change is driven by regular people working behind the scenes."
- 63. CREDITS: This presentation template was created by Slidesgo, including icons by Flaticon and infographics & images by Freepik Let’s discuss. rebeccablakiston.info Thanks!