SB UX

“SB UX” is the City's user testing cohort program. When the City builds or launches new resident-facing technology or tool, we want to make sure that it’s accessible and user-friendly. We hope to accomplish this by inviting interested residents to join cohorts. Cohorts will receive emails throughout the lifecycle of a project and be invited to give feedback via in person events and/or surveys.

Get Involved 

Current cohorts recruiting resident participants:

- Police Transparency Hub – Sign Up Here!
  - Who: Anybody in the City of South Bend
  - What: User interface and data presented in SBPD Transparency Hub
  - Remote & in-person user testing
  - Status: Ongoing Testing
- Landlord Registration – Sign Up Here!
  - Who: Landlords or former landlords in the City of South Bend
  - What: User interface for new landlord registration tool
  - Remote & in-person user testing
  - Status: Ongoing Testing
- Park Health Dashboard – In Development – Sign Up Here!
  - Who: Anybody in the City of South Bend
  - What: Data visualization of parks maintenance
  - Remote & in-person user testing
  - Status: Recruiting, testing to being in early 2020
- 311 Service Portal – In Development – Sign Up Here!
  - Who: Anybody in the City of South Bend
  - What: User interface for requesting City service online
  - Remote & in-person user testing
  - Status: Recruiting, testing to begin in early 2020

Note that some projects require feedback from residents with specific experience and backgrounds (e.g. to test a landlord registration website, we’d want to talk to landlords), but most projects need feedback from all levels of technical ability and backgrounds.

FAQs

Do I need to have a background in technology to join a cohort to provide feedback/input to the City?
No! You do not need technical expertise/skills to help make technology in our City better. In fact, we aim to create things that are usable to residents of all skill levels.

I’m interested in joining a cohort, but I don’t know if I can commit to participating a lot. Should I sign up anyway?
Yes! By signing up to be in a cohort you only are committing to receiving information, invitations to events, and optional surveys. It’s up to you how + how deeply you want to engage.

What other communications or emails will I receive if I sign up for a cohort?
If you sign up for a cohort you will only receive email communications about that particular project and no other projects or City updates.

Why is this program called “SB UX”? What does that mean?
UX is a common abbreviation for User Experience which is the experience that a person using a website, product, or application. We want our users to have a smooth, positive experience when they interact with the City of South Bend’s technology and we believe the best way to do this is by testing and getting feedback on applications before they launch and throughout their lifecycle.