Brainport Smart District is developing Brandevoort LAB, which is a platform that enables companies and citizens to co-design innovations for the Brandevoort neighbourhood situated between Eindhoven and Helmond. Managed by Brainport, the website is used to organise, communicate and document various projects and related activities with a focus on citizen participation.
The goal of this Bachelor Graduation Project was to (figure out how to) improve the user experience of the Brandevoort LAB platform for Brandevoort citizens. Therefore, user research and involvement was prioritised.
The final design proposition was developed through a design and research process, inspired by the Sprintbase Design Thinking methodology, consisting of the following phases: Field Research, Form Insights & Focus The Challenge, Generate Ideas, Prototype and Test The Concept.
Based on insights from the conducted research, the proposed design gives you as a citizen complete freedom over the information you want to share and receive. Furthermore, you decide how much you participate in any of the projects and what kind of work you contribute.
The proposed design provides a significantly improved user experience for Brandevoort citizens in terms of becoming a member of the platform. However, as the development of Brandevoort LAB is an ongoing transformative process, the outcome of the User Tests also shows that there is still room for improvement.
The advice for the client, to further develop Brandevoort LAB, would be to further explore and test the actual use of the platform as a participation tool. This means, to develop a working formula of organising and executing various participatory innovation activities and keeping participants informed on the developments made as a result of their efforts, in order to keep them motivated to keep participating in the long term.
Looking forward, Brandevoort LAB should create a thriving community in which citizens are empowered to collaboratively shape their living environment.
Field Research
Client Meeting
Wina Smeenk
Discussing my assignment with my Brainport Smart District contact person to narrow down my design context and to roughly determine my design challenge.
Field Observation
Brandevoort
Walking around and observing how Brandevoort wakes up in the morning to become familiar with the neighbourhood, to make pictures of anything that sparks my interest and to gain inspiration for my Exploration of Possible Directions.
Exploration of
Possible Directions
Synthesising three concrete design directions from all the information I currently have about the design context to make my assignment/challenge clearer and more suitable for my personal development.
Benchmark of
User Research Methods
Surfing the web to explore User Research Methods and to select one that is suitable for me and the current stage of my project, so that I can develop a human-centred mindset.
User Interviews Preparation Iteration 1
Exploring User Interview methods and adapting the Five-Act Interview method to suit my project. Testing and practicing two variations of this method with students to discover which one gives me the best results. Discussing with my client which people I should ask for my interviews and how to contact them.
USER INTERVIEWS PREPARATION ITERATION 2
Implementing what I have learned during User Interviews Iteration 1 and the two practice interviews to improve my User Interview method and execution. Scheduling 10 User Interviews with Brandevoort citizens.
USER INTERVIEWS Execution
Conducting 10 User Interviews to collect qualitative data from my target audience and to get an understanding of their needs.
FORM INSIGHTS & FOCUS THE CHALLENGE
From Insights
to How Might We Questions
Processing the outcome (Mind Maps) of the User Interviews into Observations, First-Level Insights, Deeper Insights and How Might We (HMW) questions to prepare for the Generate Ideas phase of my process.
GENERATE IDEAS
From How Might We Questions
to Ideas
Reading papers and benchmarking platforms to explore possible answers to my HMW questions and translating Top Answers into ideas.
Prototype
Brandevoort LAB 0.1.0
Midterm Demonstrator
Creating a demonstrator for the Midterm Demoday to let people experience a potential feature for the new Brandevoort LAB platform.
BRANDEVOORT LAB 0.2.0 DEMONSTRATOR
Creating a demonstrator for the Final Demoday to let people experience my design proposition for the new Brandevoort LAB platform.
BRANDEVOORT LAB 0.3.0
Final DEMONSTRATOR
Implementing feedback and insights from the Final Demoday to improve on my Brandevoort LAB 0.2.0 Demonstrator in order to provide a better experience of my final design proposition and get more out of my User Tests.
Test The Concept
User Tests Preparation &
Execution
Testing my final design proposition, using my Brandevoort LAB 0.3.0 Final Demonstrator, to acquire feedback from my target audience.