Research

If we're going to make it easier for people to understand their voting rights, 0:00 we need to think about what kinds of users would benefit from such a site. 0:04 What are their goals? 0:10 What obstacles do they face? 0:11 And what about use cases? 0:13 Would they be more likely to do research on their home computer, or 0:15 using their phone on their way to the polling place? 0:20 Perhaps a little of both? 0:23 Take a look at the Teacher's Notes, and you'll see a competitive analysis 0:25 that compares the features found at the different sites viewed in the last video. 0:30 The American Civil Liberties Union, vote.org, 0:37 the voting section at usa.gov, and 0:42 the National Conference of State Legislatures. 0:47 Before you start any project, it's important to list the strengths and 0:52 weaknesses of organizations with similar goals to your product. 0:57 What will your site offer that competitors don't? 1:03 In this case, none of our competitors 1:08 present a comprehensive list of voting rights that is easy to understand, 1:11 though the ACLU and vote.org come closest. 1:16 You'll also see personas and empathy maps for two users. 1:23 Dispatcher Dulcea is a brand new United States citizen looking to vote for 1:32 the first time. 1:38 Although she speaks some English, 1:40 she understands instructions better in her native Spanish. 1:43 Construction Cal is a construction worker who has served time for a felony. 1:49 He lives in Florida and is unsure whether his voting rights 1:55 have been restored since he completed his sentence. 1:59 As we move forward through this project, 2:03 we'll want to keep the needs of these users in mind. 2:06 How can we make understanding their voting rights easier? 2:10 What information do they need to vote successfully? 2:15 While your task for this practice session is to make a wireframe following 2:20 the United States Web Design System, it's best to explore a variety of 2:24 design options first, using lower fidelity methods like sketches. 2:29 I would encourage you to try this yourself. 2:35 Think about different ways of categorizing the information found 2:38 on voting rights websites. 2:43 Make a written list on a sheet of paper, then set a timer for 2:45 eight minutes, and sketch out eight different solutions for 2:50 presenting the information voters need to know on a mobile screen. 2:54 This method of rapid sketching is called Crazy Eights, and 2:59 I've included a resource to learn more in the Teacher's Notes. 3:03 We'll take a look at the explorations I made in the next video. 3:08