Salt Lake County Phase 1 Report

Documenting The User-focused Research Processes Employed

Overview

The first phase’s research process focused on visitation and observation. Primarily, these occurred at the Salt Lake County Jail, Criminal Justice Services, Courts and “in-field” probation check-ups. Interviews focused on experiences of people within the justice system, potential barriers to completing supervision, technology access and their communication preferences.

• In-depth interviews, 30-75 minutes in length
  • 11 pretrial supervision clients at Criminal Justice Services
  • 10 probation supervision clients at Criminal Justice Services
  • 12 Criminal Justice Service staff
• Short Interviews, 5-20 minutes in length
  • 8 homeless individuals in downtown Salt Lake City

Workshops

Participatory workshops, each with between 8-45 members of Criminal Justice Services Staff were performed over the course of a month and a half. Below are the key events, listed with the design exercicse described briefly for each.

Five Whys

Goal: Identify root causes associated with a problem and common themes that emerge with regards to address it.

Method:

1. Start with a large piece of paper or whiteboard with an initial problem written in the middle.

2. Write down all the reasons why that problem exists on sticky notes and place them in a circle around your “why?”

3. Ask another “why?” in response to the reasons just placed on the board and write them down on more sticky notes. Place those in a second circle around your initial question.

4. Repeat (suggested minimum of five rounds) until you get to the underlying conditions that led to the initial problem.

System mapping

Goal: Create shared perspective of organizational system and identify opportunities for improvement.

Preparation: Interview members at every level of organization to produce system diagrams of each department.

Method:

1. Participants review current state maps of the system, add to or edit them with markers directly on the maps on sticky notes placed on the maps.

2. Participants add different color dots to mark what’s working well, where pain points are, and where opportunities for change exist.

3. Small groups pick one pain points or opportunity that has a cluster of dots around it. Give it a name and brainstorm solutions for a final share out.

Product ideation

Goal: Produce deeper discussion on ideas for creating new processes or tools collected from previous workshops.

Preparation: Write down the ideas already generated in large format (e.g. whiteboard, large sheet).

Method:

1. In small groups, pick one idea from the list and brainstorm how to make that idea real. Drawing and storyboarding are highly encouraged here, but just writing down the concept works too.

2. Rejoining all groups, discuss each concept and plot on a grid how feasible and impactful it could be and what would it involve to implement that idea.

3. Determine minimum investment necessary to test if time/resources.Identify individuals interested in taking one of the top ideas further.

Ecosystem mapping

Goal: Map people and relationships that a user interacts with.

Preparation: Write down the ideas already generated in large format (e.g. whiteboard, large sheet).

Method:

1. In small groups, write down the name and characteristics of a typical user and their goals.

2. Note people and organizations that they directly interact with in inner circle and those they indirectly interact with in outer circle; notating the interactions.

3. Collectively discuss how other users and relationships compare.

4. Create a cross-group list of which interactions are a pain point for the user and what relationships might relieve it.