User Research

A key principal in our process is to build upon a foundation of user research. What do users do today, where do they find problems or friction points? How do they use current tools and techniques? By doing this, we hope to build something of discrete and tangible value. We share our findings below in the spirit of open-ness.

(August '22) CNRA Tools, Data & Collaboration Research Report (slides)

The team completed a second research study looking closely at the existing tools and data California resource managers are using to prioritize projects. The goal of this work was to understand the pain points and communication around decision making so Planscape can better support this process. Major opportunities for Planscape to address include:

    • Users need help using data to optimize treatments based on multiple landscape goals

    • Users want to be able to model tradeoffs between different treatments to support communication and planning

    • Users need to have a comprehensive view of current and planned projects

    • Users need a tool that supports collaboration throughout the planning process and allows them to easily share finalized project proposals.


LINK

(July '22) CNRA Foundational Research Report (slides)

Shows the results of tens in depth interviews with resource planners and others across the landscape planning ecosystem. Builds on the findings of the design sprint.

LINK

(May '22) CNRA and Google.Org Design Sprint Final Day Readout (slides)

This slide deck summarizes our Design Sprint week where we collectively produced:

  • 6 user journeys highlighting pain points, needs and opportunities

  • 5 storyboards bringing solutions to life

  • 4 prototypes demonstrating how solutions might look and function

LINK

(May '22) CNRA and Google.Org Design Sprint Final Day Readout (Video)

This presentation was the final readout of the accomplishments of a five day Design Sprint by the California Natural Resources Agency and the US Forestry Service with support from Google.Org in May 2022. The presentation describes the process used, the intermediate products and the screen mockups.

The video is an hour and twenty eight minutes long. LINK