Public Brand Presence
As the Department’s 43rd commissioner Kathryn Garcia, when joining the Department of Sanitation in 2014 she wanted to revolutionize the agency. Rebranding and clear communication were higher agendas in her modernization plan. Gone are the white, teal, and orange color scheme of DSNY and are replaced with deep forest green and white. The clarity of the information presented on digital and social platforms was a key priority in spearheading her modernization plan.
Our foremost strategy is User Experience (UX), consistently hypothesizing, designing, testing, and redesigning each key element for the most optimal and consistent experience for the user was the key to acceptance by stakeholders, and residents alike. Each iteration of DSNY products has been an evolution of user experience and modernization of infrastructure.
The current Department of Sanitation (DSNY) web presence is the third iteration of the product in its program cycle. It is an essential communication platform for the residents to learn about the department’s involvement in keeping New York City clean.
Customer Relationship Management or otherwise known as CRMs is an integral part of the DSNY website. Managing the relationships between residents and services that sanitation provides is key to customer success.
Kanban Practices
Ideals derived from the usage of Kanban practices, the card-based system was designed to keep track of service requests as they progressed through the different stages of “to-do”, “in progress” and “done”. The visualization is the most obvious aspect of the card-based system because it allowed the user to clearly see the current statuses of each service request.
The idea of sustainability does not only apply to refuse and climate change. We have applied the core concept to the development process and delivery of the product.
The goal was to create a dynamic platform that allows content to be created, edited, and published without developer intervention. Making the system completely sustainable without the use of IT resources.
During the course of the program’s development, I wore many hats during its phases of milestones.
Facilitated delivery of a program to completion on time and quality
Proactively removed impediments to ensure successful delivery
Devised the roadmap for the program
Owned and managed communication plan across the program
Communicated with the stakeholders and ensure transparency on key decisions
Built program budgets and timelines based on internal and external resources
Managed through shifting priorities to provide clear direction and input on program definition
Facilitated sprint planning, daily stand-up meetings, reviews/demos, retrospectives, release planning meetings, and backlog refinement sessions
Championed and reinforced Agile principles and frameworks throughout the development process
Promoted a safe environment for team members to express ideas, ask questions, and voice concerns constructively.
Fostered continuous improvement by guiding the team to self-reflect, identify and improve.
Coached employees and stakeholders on Kanban fundamentals
Identified and implementing agile metrics to measure success (burn down & burn up charts)
Presented concepts, documents, and program information to key stakeholders
Acted as an internal quality control check for all phases of the development process
Provided user experience and technical development oversight
Identified, communicated, mitigated risks, assumptions, Issues, and decisions throughout the program
Defined detailed functional specifications for feature sets
Reviewed features for testing and validation during the life of the development
Collaborated with cross-functional leaders to determine which research activities for the program
Lead user testing and interviews to validate designs with end-user
Guided the design process from framing the problem, synthesizing insights, and ideating creative solutions using design sprints
Conducted exercises at all stages from discovery to validation, using a variety of methods to understand customer needs and define opportunities
The product roadmap is built on an evolution of technologies along with coaching and guiding the team in adapting to current trends.
DSNY Web 1.0
(Responsive Design)
JQuery
DSNY Web 2.0 - “Zero by 30” Update
Angular 1.0
Limited Restful service layers
Google Maps API
Mail Chimp
Unified Dashboard 1.0
Angular 1.0
Limited Restful service layers
Google Maps API
E-waste Dashboard 1.0
Angular 1.0
Limited Restful service layers
Google Maps API
Mobile Apps
Native iOS App
Native Android App
E-waste Dashboard 2.0
Angular 1.0
ESRI Vehicle Routing
Bulk Dashboard
Angular 1.0
ESRI Vehicle Routing
Unified Dashboard 2.0
(Single Page Application)
react.js
RESTful service layers
DSNY Web 3.0
(Progressive Web App)
(Single Page Application)
react.js
CMS - API Word Press
RESTful service layers
DSNY Product Roadmap
One of the toughest parts of this program was the gathering of information, Department of Sanitation (DSNY) has over 20+ Bureaus representing over 15,000 employees. The history of the department extends back 120+ years, with that comes historical processes and undocumented knowledge.
User Experience Sprints
Using traditional UX phases of design “objective >> Research >> Mock-Ups >> Test >> Build >> Validate”. The team adopted design sprints to tackle prototypes quickly for stakeholder review and technical feedback. This allowed for rapid development and deployment cycles.
Below are mock-ups created during the design sprint for review with stakeholders and business owners, getting feedback during this process is critical to the success of the product.
Design Sprint Cycle
Over 300+ high fidelity user interfaces were created, including responsive design, tablet, mobile app, and design specs.
Web Wireframes
Web User Interface
Mobile Responsive (Tablet Viewport) User Interface
Mobile Responsive (Phone Viewport) User Interface
User Flow Diagram
Below is the decision tree the user goes through when making an appointment.
Wireframes
User Flow Diagram
Below is the decision tree the user goes through when planning a route.
Wireframes
User Interface
DSNY platform is the first sustainable Single Page Application leveraging a content management system (CMS).
Application DMZ
The cross-functional team used agile concepts and applying those values to a scrum framework in timebox intervals called sprints. Keeping communication open, collaborating with stakeholders and business, responding to change rapidly, and delivering working software quickly and effectively are key drivers in the successful delivery of the program.
DSNY Platform uses a client-side 3 tier architecture in which the logic, data access, storage, and user interface are developed and maintained as different modules. However, there are external gateways and interfaces the client and service layer will interact with.
External Interactions
Technical Stack
DSNY platform is the most visible communication vehicle for the Department of Sanitation. The cross-functional team members applied design sprint methodology during the sprint development phases of the product. The development team was eagerly learning new technology frameworks like react.js.
In all the platform services half-a-million service requests yearly, without the inclusion of CRM system logistics and follow-up for service requests would have been a nightmare.
The main takeaway is the sustainability of the platform, content creators, business users, and program providers can create, edit, rearrange content on the platform without the need of a development team.
All in total 11 different User Experiences are delivered, that spans over 4 products that include Web, iOS, Android, and stand-alone kiosk.
Dynamic Single Page Application, that delivers on-demand client-side consumption of services. For general public use.
Desktop / Tablet / Mobile Views
Dynamic Single Page Application, that delivers on-demand client-side consumption of services. For internal managing of content, transactions, and users.
Desktop / Tablet Views
Native iOS and Android Application, that delivers on-demand client-side consumption of services. For general public use.
iOS / Android
