The Challenge
My San Jose is the City of San Jose’s 311 reporting app. The City enlisted our help to understand whether non-English speaking residents were (1) using the My San Jose app, and (2) how to increase their engagement of the app to ensure that the City’s resources were being distributed equitably.
What We Did
My partner, content designer Nira Datta, and I practiced both generative and evaluative user research to inform the City’s direction on designing inclusive digital services. Our work was supported by a partnership between the City and Code for America.
The Result
I co-wrote an official report that helped guide the City’s direction on designing digital services for monolingual Spanish- and Vietnamese-speaking residents of San Jose.
An overview of our seven major findings:
Simplicity and usability are as important as language.
Always provide an option to remain anonymous.
Website experience is as important as the mobile app.
Phone calls will always be a relevant touchpoint.
More outreach is needed to increase awareness of My San Jose.
Improvements should address the needs of the elderly and those living with disability
Even if all barriers were removed, some residents may not feel inclined to report issues via My San Jose.