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Participatory Democracy Platform for Curitiba Mais Açao
Generative research resulting in the creation of a proof of concept website that would provide a neutral and user-friendly platform for Brazilian citizens to connect with their political representatives.
Target User / Persona
“The Moderately Socially-Conscious Gen Z”
Content of this case study
Context
Problem Statement
Target User / Persona
Outcome / Impact
Tasks Performed & Methods Used
How Research Impacted Design
Lessons Learnt / Next Steps
More Details
Client Location
Brazil
Team Size
2 Persons
Final Prototype
CMA_Ligo_Final-Prototype
Project Duration
1 Month
Team Role
UX Researcher
Skill Areas Demonstrated
UX Research, Wireframing, Prototyping (Figma), Usability Testing
Image Credit: Sergio Souza (Pexels)
Context
This project was a collaboration with a non-profit organisation called Curitiba Mais Açao (“CMA”), which is based in the city of Curitiba, Brazil.
This project came about as the founder of CMA felt that the political climate of Brazil had caused the general public to become disillusioned and disengaged with their politicians. He felt there was an urgent need to improve this situation, particularly given there was an impending election. Based on his own experience, he believed increasing communication with politicians could lead to more political engagement.
The project was performed remotely with stakeholders based in Brazil.
Problem Statement
HOW MIGHT WE create a user friendly and neutral communication channel SO THAT Brazilian citizens are encouraged to be more proactive in voicing concerns and politically engaged.
Target User / Persona
“Disillusioned Millenial Who Wants to Make a Difference” (Moderately politically engaged citizen.)
Outcome / Impact
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The prototype democracy platform has been created which the founder can use a proof-of-concept for fund-raising and recruitment purposes.
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The participatory democracy platform takes the form of a website, which will enable address-based search of local political representatives, and provides a straightforward channel for users to contact their politicians through email and social media.
Contact Information screen - displays all contact information of selected political representatives.
"
She completely exceeded my expectations with her great analytical and team work abilities.
Rafael Gomes de Oliveira | Founder of Curitiba Mais Açao
Client
"
Tasks Performed and Methods Used
How Research Impacted Design
Main insights gathered from research which had impacted the design of the platform:
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Insight 1: There appears to be no "go-to" source for common citizens to find out who their political representatives are, and official website can be hard to navigate.
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Result 1: A "one-stop" shop platform where contact details of politicians at all levels of government are centralised.
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Result 2: Search by simply entering address.
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Insight 2: Social Media has been identified as an important channel for political mobilisation.
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Result: Options to post message publicly (via Twitter or Facebook) or to privately message politicians.
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Options to Contact Politicians Through Private Or Public Messaging
After selecting the politicians the user wishes to contact, the platform offers the option to reach out either by public or private messaging.
If the private messaging option is selected, a messaging screen will appear for the user to type in their message and provide basic pers onal information. It also provides the options to send message by email, Facebook Messenger, and / or Twitter Direct Messaging.
If the public messaging option is selected, a screen with the selected politicians and the hyperlinks to their respective Facebook and Twitter pages will appear. The user can then click through the respective social media pages to post messages.
Examples of how insights from Usability Tests have impacted design:
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Insight 1: A grid / card display system can make it hard to view multiple contacts
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Result: Provided options to switch between grid and list view, as well as a zoom slider (see circled section in screen below).
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Insight 2: Mobile phones are widely used in Brazil by people across the social spectrum.
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Result: Added Phone Number as one of the details on the email message window (see circled section in screen below).
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Lessons Learnt / Next Steps
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More interview test runs should be done to test out online tools prior to the usability tests to avoid wasting time dealing with technical glitches.
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Better manage client’s expectation at the start of the project in terms of final outcome, in terms of what is achievable in the given timeframe.
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If more time was available, the prototype will be further refined to fully showcase the filtering function, to allow the website to be scalable to multiple city level.
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If more time was available, a mobile prototype will be developed and tested given the prevalence of mobile phone usage in Brazil.