On May 29-31, a contingent of the Ad Hoc team will be traveling to Oakland, CA for the 2019 Code for America summit where we’ll be running a hands-on workshop demonstrating the power of prototyping digital services and testing them with users. If you’ll be attending the summit, we’d love for you to participate in the workshop and meet some of the Ad Hoc team.
Last September, Ad Hoc worked with the City of San Jose on a mobile app for citizens that had become so successful that some city departments were struggling to keep up with requests from the public. The city was on the verge of a procurement to work on the app, and they brought in Ad Hoc for a four-day workshop to define their vision and prototype some potential changes. By combining user research and rapid prototyping, we were able to help the San Jose team gain meaningful insights into their users and better plan the next step in developing their app.
“It was powerful to hear first-hand the operational challenges staff faced while having to handle an unprecedented volume of requests from residents. My San Jose made filing reports easier and more convenient for many residents but how was it affecting the behind-the-scenes operations?” - Julie Kim, Code for America Community Fellow working within San Jose’s Office of Civic Innovation (Read more about what the San Jose team learned during the workshop.)
Our Prototyping Products and Digital Services 101 workshop will be a three hour, condensed version of our work with San Jose. Participants will get hands on experience collaborating with other government innovators and working with an Ad Hoc facilitator to learn valuable prototyping skills that can save agencies time and money. Our goal is for all the attendees to understand how and when to prototype, why it’s useful, and how to draw insights from prototypes that can inform the direction of their product or service.
Here’s a short version of the agenda:
- Introduction to the incredible value of prototyping
- Split into teams and set the direction for your three-hour “sprint”
- Work with your team to create a service blueprint for a real-world scenario
- Practice sketching solutions guided by Ad Hoc experts
- Work with Ad Hoc staff to translate solutions to clickable prototypes, right on the spot
- Test your prototypes with real, live users!
It’s a lot for three hours, but we believe there’s only one real way to learn this — by doing it! Want to learn more about our Discovery Sprints and Workshops? Drop us a line at innovation@adhocteam.us. We’ll also be sharing the prototypes and more about the workshop after the Summit, so make sure to return to the Ad Hoc blog.
If you can’t make it to the workshop (you can register here), we’ll be holding office hours with our product, service design, and user experience experts that can help you think through any challenges you’re experiencing. Keep an eye on our Twitter account for more info closer to the Summit!
See you there!
