HMW

How might we set up conversation for inhabitants to give feedback about the city and show understanding for it while measuring the state of mind?

Target Audience

Demographics/Geographics

• Age: 12-99+
• Language: Dutch
• Gender: all

Challenges

• Finds it hard to find the right organizations when submitting a complaint
• Feels like their complaint isn't listened to
• Want feedback once complaint is made

Preferred channels

Television and smartphone for news

Preferred content types

• Television
• Videos
• Social media posts

Persona

Research

Brainstorm

Primary Research

Demographics

What is your age?

What is your gender?

Reporting complaints

Have you ever report a complaint in your work environment or your city?

Why have you never made a complaint?

How did you make this complaint to your employer or city?

Do you have a preference of communicating these complaints?

Do you have the feeling they listened to you?

Physical reporting point

Would you go to a physical reporting point?

Digital knowledge

How good to you think you digital knowledge is?

Which digital devices do you have?

Do you use digital devices in your city hall or organisation?

Anonymity

How comfortable are you to make a complaint in your organisation?

How important is it that the complaints happen anonymously?

How do you experience the dynamics of communication regarding complaints within your organization?

Answers
It seems to be well received with understanding, but not much is being done yet.
It often feels one-sided, one party against the other, while I would prefer it as a collaboration.
It takes a very long time for a solution to be reached for the complaints.
They do listen and understand our frustrations, but after the meetings, they seem to forget and revert to their old habits.
Very good. This is always an open conversation where all parties are listened to.
Usually, a personal conversation was appreciated but not listened to, so I had to resort to email to be heard.
Discussable
Good
Good: they listen, and you can turn to a confidential person.
If you present it in a positive and constructive way, they often don't respond hostilely.
Taken seriously but no time pressure, so sometimes I'm waiting to see when something will happen.
Good, actively listened to, and improvements are made.
No experiences with complaint handling in my work environment.
Bureaucratic and sluggish
In our organization, there is a complaints procedure in place.
Not taken seriously
Constructive
GREAT
Good, the situation was addressed and resolved through good arguments from both sides.
Sometimes it takes a few days before you finally get an answer to your question, which is unfortunate. Generally, you get your answer quickly!
Where I work it's okay. Less so at De Lijn ;-(
Cumbersome

Secondary Research

1. Reporting Point for Boundary-Crossing Behavior

• Article Link

The article discusses the launch of a reporting point for boundary-crossing behavior by the Flemish government, with various criticisms raised. Minister Zuhal Demir announced the reporting point, which collaborates with the Flemish Institute for Human Rights, aiming to handle reports across various sectors such as education, sports, and culture, covering issues from discrimination to violence and harassment.

2. People are afraid to complain

• Chapter Link

Many care institutions now have a complaints procedure and a complaints committee, a requirement under the Client Complaints Law in the healthcare sector. However, in many institutions, except for hospitals, the complaints committee is rarely used. There are at least three reasons for this. Firstly, many clients are afraid to complain due to their significant dependence on care providers.

This information is the only publicly available content; the complete PDF is paid. Still, it is interesting to note that people are afraid to complain.

3. Forgiveness in the Workplace - A study on the correlation between forgiving a colleague and the degree of burnout.

• Thesis Link

Conflicts are inevitable in the workplace, whether through collaboration or emotions such as jealousy. But how are conflicts dealt with? Forgiveness seems to be a successful strategy in personal life, but much less is known about the consequences of forgiveness in the work context. This research explores the correlation between forgiveness and burnout symptoms, the mediating role of rumination, and the moderating role of motives for forgiveness on the relationship between forgiveness and rumination. The results show a negative relationship between forgiveness and burnout symptoms, mediated by rumination.

Putting a reporting point in the workplace can help employees submit their complaints more quickly. The supervisor can then address them and potentially facilitate an open conversation between the two employees, leading to forgiveness.

4. EARLY DETECTION OF BURNOUT

• PDF Link (p 8-11) Obtained from: Feel Good at Work

5. First Aid for More Psychosocial Well-being in SMEs

• PDF Link

An employee may not easily admit when it becomes too much. Through confession, they can, and the employer can take that into account. The PDF contains a table with 'what can I do as an employer' for each situation.

6. Digital Banks Touring Villages: "Not everyone is up to date with digital skills"

• Article 1
• Article 2
• Article 3

There is a massive effort to get everyone on board with digitization.

7. Tremelo harshly criticizes its municipal government: poor communication and "money grabbing" around speed controls are hard to stomach

• Article 1
• Article 2

As a mayor, you don't want to be voted the worst municipality. Poor communication is the reason, and that is something that can be addressed with confession. You want to engage in a conversation with the residents.

Insights

Good Understanding but Limited Action: There seems to be an understanding of the problems, but not much is being done to address them. It Sometimes Feels Like One-Sided Communication.

Slow Problem Solving: It takes a long time for concrete solutions to be provided for the raised complaints. Despite understanding and listening, the involved parties seem to revert to old habits after meetings.

Appreciation for Open Conversations: Situations where open discussions take place, and all parties are heard, are viewed positively.

Effectiveness of Personal Conversations: Personal conversations are appreciated but sometimes seem ineffective, requiring emails to get attention.

Importance of Discussability: The ability to make things discussable is positively evaluated.

Positive Responses to a Constructive Approach: Addressing issues in a positive and constructive manner often does not result in hostile reactions.

Taken Seriously, but Without Time Pressure: Complaints are taken seriously, but there seems to be no urgency in finding solutions.

Varying Experiences with Complaint Procedures: Experiences with complaint handling vary, with some organizations actively listening and improving, while others take complaints less seriously.

Positive Experiences with Confidential Advisors: Having a confidential advisor is viewed positively.

Different Response Times: Response times vary, with some organizations responding quickly and others taking more time.

Criticism of Cumbersomeness: Experiences with cumbersome procedures, causing delays in obtaining answers.

Transparency and Visibility: Insight: Respondents value a clear plan of action visible to everyone, indicating a need for transparency in the complaint management process. Implication: Implementing a transparent system where the steps taken in the complaint management process are visible to all employees can improve communication and increase trust.

Expansion of Complaint Collection: Insight: There is consideration of collecting complaints about supervisors, suggesting existing efforts to gather more practical complaints. Implication: Expanding complaint collection to include supervisors can provide a broader understanding of challenges at different levels of the organization and help address issues at the managerial level.

Need for Intermediaries: Insight: An intermediary is mentioned as a help to lower the threshold for expressing complaints, especially in a hierarchical structure where it seems challenging to raise concerns to higher levels. Implication: Naming specific intermediaries within the organization can facilitate communication and provide employees with a familiar point of contact for complaints.

Digital Knowledge and Communication: Insight: The majority of respondents rate their digital knowledge highly. Implication: Digital communication tools can be effectively utilized in improving the complaint management process, given that employees are generally competent in digital tools.

Goals

More people share opinions

Get more people to express their thoughts and ideas on things that matter in the community.

Make authorities listen better

Help authorities understand inhabitants by giving a way for people to share their thoughts.

Give people more power

Make people feel heard by letting them share their opinions and know that someone is listening and care about what they have to say.

Everyone can use it

Make sure everyone, no matter how old or good with technology, can easily use the system. An onboarding could be used to inform the newer generations on how a rotary phone works.

Keep making it better

Keep changing and improving the system based on what people say and new things in technology.

Concepts

Feedback Walls

Physical walls with whiteboards where employees can write or draw their feedback and concerns. These complaints are converted into text and stored in a database. A smart board is utilized for this purpose.

Note Wall

A projected wall where employees can anonymously leave notes. People can digitally leave a note or feedback, which is then projected onto a wall in a public space.

Whisper Walls

Specifieke muren in afgelegen ruimtes waar medewerkers anoniem hun zorgen kunnen delen door het fluisteren in een microfoon. Een visuele weergave van de gemoedstoestand wordt op de muur geprojecteerd zonder specifieke identificatie.

Moodful Murals

Walls with projections that change color based on the emotions anonymously shared by employees via touchpoints.

Echo Chambers

Geluiddichte kamers met interactieve schermen waar medewerkers anoniem gesproken emoties kunnen inspreken. Een grafische representatie van de emoties wordt op de muren geprojecteerd.

VibeTile

Fysieke booths met diverse materialen die emoties symboliseren, zoals zachte stoffen, ruwe oppervlakken, etc. Medewerkers kunnen anoniem een booth betreden die hun huidige emotie representeert. Een geautomatiseerd systeem registreert de keuzes en creëert een tastbare weergave en projecteert deze op een muur.

Inspiration

As inspiration for this project I scoured the Internet for ideas. A lecturer of mine recommended to look at CAN. I found some interesting ideas here. But I didn't limit my scope to this. I went to look at sites I've used, Instructables, Google and even the Raspberry Pi site.

Livegrid

Livegrid is a project that show data visualization in an interesting way. Different factors influence the Livegrid. It represents CO2 levels, humidity and temperature. These factors then show different colors of water, increased growth in the plants, etc.

Blobmaker

Blobmaker is a website I've used before in order to generate blobs. Based on different parameters that you give you can change the blob. These parameters are color, amount of points and intensity. This data would be provided by the user using the telephone. The way this happens can be seen at concept.

Sinusoidal Noise

Another fun project I came across on CAN was Sinusoidal Noise a light installation that created patterns to show a sense of movement. The lights weren't on OR off, there were different states between so the light faded out.

The Telephone

The telephone on a pedestal was an image provided by my client. This created the whole idea of using a tactile rotary phone to make your choices and further communicate your feelings and intensity of your feedback.

Concept Abstract

FeelBack Point is an analog telephone designed to provide individuals with a direct channel to express their opinions and sentiments to relevant authorities. Users navigate through a structured process, choosing a department, expressing their opinion, and indicating its positivity or negativity. The severity of the feedback is measured on a scale of 1 to 9. The telephone system responds with tailored messages based on user input, creating a sense of engagement and acknowledgment.

A visual representation of feedback is projected at the corresponding authority, conveying the intensity and mood through shape complexity and color. This concept combines traditional telecommunication with interactive elements, creating a unique platform for engagement and feedback.

User Flow

Design Mock-Up

Phone

Projection

Dashboard

Kortrijk site

A mock-up on the site of Kortrijk per request of the client.

Finished products

My designs were changed after some further exploration into the Kortrijk style guide. I'm now using the correct colors and font, not cutting off the logo as prohibited in the style guide. Also for the department colors I chose colors out of Kortrijk's style guide.

Projection

Dashboard