Applied Anthropology and Design

Archive for the ‘Pedal Power - Nonprofit’ Category

Pedal Power July 10th

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

Date of Event: July 10, 2010

What: Pedal Power

Who: Pedal Power

Where: Finsbury Park

What happened:

Met up with the group at the usual time and place after a hot, but nice bike ride up from Brixton. Everyone was back today, as the Special Olympic tryouts were over and it certainly was a full turnout. I took on the task of taking attendance, as I am not a certified trainer, I do not like to take on cycling duties. It was a good chance to chat with parents and to have them ask me questions about the group, some of which translated directly to content for the website. One such woman, wanting to handout information at her school, would have liked to have information to download from the website, so she could print out flyers herself. I was also asked by one woman, how exactly things were run, which made me confident that having sections on what to expect while at Pedal Power were good additions to the website. Many of members are starting to recognize me and know what I am doing, so people are even friendlier than when I first met them. They also know they can ask me basic questions, like where the helmets are and such things.

One of the women in the group Louisa, was itching to take a ride around the park so I offered to go with her. We took off, only to find that more people joined and they send Walter along with us, as again I was not a certified cycle trainer. Cool to see people getting a bit more adventurous, and also reinforced Jo speaking about the freedom that the participants have when the ride their bikes.

Also, in the beginning of the event, Jo and I spoke more about what needed to be on the website and one of the aspects was having people’s stories and the growth they have gone through as a result of the cycling club. A great addition to the website as well, and another reason why I like doing participant observation/informal questioning during the volunteer work. It spurs ideas and because Jo is not a computer person (and quite creative, as I found out she is poet) she prefers a fluid brainstorming process. She also wants to put on the site, a page of cycling poetry, which will give the site more character for sure.

This came up in the discussion after the event, where we all sat down for tea and spoke about a few more website things and general stuff. It was also decided that pedal power should be in the name rather than inclusive cycling, so we will need to get that taken care of soon. Jo also spoke about her feelings on the event, and the amount of say she has during the day. (This is also translating to the website…as she has become responsible for all content and major decisions, which is quite overwhelming). She really is the one that everyone asks for everything and often gets commended for her work. She mentioned as well, the website will be a good chance to get more funding for the group, which is great and a step forward for the club.

Also, it was quite funny, as we were putting all the bike away, I was walking with one of the participants and another support worker, and he took both of our hands to hold, then made the support worker and I hold hands. He seemed to think he was being a matchmaker with us, which was quite funny.

I asked about the pace of the website process, and they said it was fine. Most of the members continuous say they do not know really what it all means, so they are happy to have me tell them what to do. To a certain extent, I feel that maybe this is giving me too much power, but how do you force people to care about parts of the process? It seems that communicating mainly through email is detrimental for this, because I am not able to start conversations as easily, so people see my written comments and the document and it doesn’t go much further. David, the most tech savvy is able to discuss matters online quite easily, because he is use to doing so. The others prefer to have in person conversations. So the idea of people commenting in the blog, is not working out very well, but that is okay… Also, I think Jo is waiting for the aspect of the process she is most interested in, which is the writing and editing. This is her strength and passion, and it seems, why not figure out where people fit in rather than trying to make them care about things they are just not interested to know. This is also true for her daughter, who I just learned loves photography, so I am able to take her photos for the website, and give her credit which I think is great.

Rambling….

Posted in Pedal Power - Nonprofit | 49 Comments »

Pedal Power – Visual Design

Friday, July 9th, 2010

Posted in Pedal Power - Nonprofit, web documents | 4 Comments »

Pedal Power – Wireframe

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

Wireframe – A basic visual guide for the general structure and content placement of the site.

Please click the image to enlarge.

Posted in Pedal Power - Nonprofit, web documents | 47 Comments »

Pedal Power- Sitemap

Monday, July 5th, 2010

Please click on image to enlarge.

Thanks!

Posted in Pedal Power - Nonprofit, web documents | 4 Comments »

Pedal Power – Personas

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

Personas – Fictional descriptions of website users and their potential utilization of the site influenced by real-life participants.

Name: Kate Hetterle – Board member/Volunteer

Personal Background: Kate is a 40 year old, long time resident of Hackney who works full time as a teacher at the local primary school.  While the workload can be tough, she appreciates her career because it gives her time and flexibility to be with her family. Not to mention the great community at the school and the many fantastic friends made over her time there.

Kate was introduced to Pedal Power through a friend and quickly found it to be a great event to bring her daughter to. Having been an experienced cyclist for many years and currently riding to work each day, she quickly took on the role of mechanic for the group’s events.

Personal Internet/Computer use: Used predominantly for everyday tasks: ex. finding directions, networking, events and checking email. However Kate is comfortable with intermediate HTML/CSS due to informal projects at her school.

User goals: As a board member of Pedal Power, Kate is well informed on all happenings in the group. In fact she is often the one creating and running many of the events.  Therefore the website will be the main vehicle through which she is able to share necessary knowledge in a concise and timely manner and reach out to the greater community.

Possible Tasks:

  • Blogging a new event related to all ability cycling
  • Updating pages of the site when new volunteers or board members join the group
  • Respond to questions about the event sent through the website or left in the comments field

—————————————————————————————————————-

Name: Brett Sullivan – Supporter

Personal Background: Brett is a 27 year old part-time university student working to complete his degree in anthropology at LSE (also near his flat). His schedule can be quite hectic, but enjoys his education and the variety of people, music and art he encounters in his daily adventures.

As a support worker for a young man named Steve with autism, Brett was looking for various events to attend. He heard about Pedal Power through another support worker and found it to be a great opportunity for Steve to socialize a bit and get some exercise. He rides his bike around London on a regular basis and finds it quite comfortable to help out at the events and also ride with Steve on the tandem and other two person bikes.

Personal Internet/Computer use: Owns a laptop; mainly used for Internet research, social networking and word processing.

User goals: As a supporter at Pedal Power the site is mainly used to check for new events to attend as well as any major changes in the schedule of Pedal Power.

Possible Tasks:

  • Checking blog for updates or upcoming events
  • Referring others to site for information about location and expectations/rules for event

—————————————————————————————————–

Name: Mason Lindell – Participant

Personal Background: Mason is 31 years old and lives near Finsbury Park in assisted living flats. With a mild level of autism, he spends his time focused on projects of his own creation and working in a part-time position at his flat’s office.

For the Saturday rides, Mason makes his way to the park by bus and a short walk. Not allowed bicycles where he lives, this event is both a great way for him to meet people outside of his flat and a chance to ride freely on a variety of bikes. Being quite comfortable on all the bicycles, Mason also trains and competes for the Special Olympics each year and does very well.

Personal Internet/Computer use: Used predominately for everyday tasks, such as checking email and surfing the Internet.

User goals: Mason relies on a close knit community to keep him informed on many of the all ability cycling events; however the site will be a good source to view any changes in schedule or information about previous and upcoming events.

Possible Tasks:

  • Viewing photos from a recent Pedal Power event
  • Checking blog for upcoming events or changes
  • Seeing what sort of bikes are used during the event and who the volunteers are

Posted in Pedal Power - Nonprofit, web documents | 90 Comments »

Pedal Power – Website Proposal

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

PROPOSAL- Website Design

Prepared by Kristina Krause

June 29, 2010

Version 1.0

1.0        Project Overview

By partaking in Kristina Krause’s master’s research project, Pedal Power shall receive a fully functioning website that will establish a greater presence for their cycling club, promote the values of all ability cycling and strengthen their current cycling community.

This proposal has been created to outline the individual tasks that will be involved in the restructuring and content revision of the current website.

2.0      Project Approach

Kristina Krause and Pedal Power will work together to create a website to accurately portray Pedal Power to the greater community.

Prior to starting on the web design process, Kristina will participate as a volunteer to gain greater knowledge on the structure and goals of the organization. This information will be used to complete the following documents with feedback back given by the organization’s board members.

The initial web design planning stages will involve a variety of website documents to better plan the structure of the website and to keep both parties up to date on the direction of the website.

I will also be providing copies of all documents directly on my blog in order for all board members and the greater public to provide feedback and suggest changes to any portion of the web design process. This way, all comments will also be viewable to others and hopefully keep everyone on the same page.

The documents:

  • Website Proposal: Current document outlining goals of website.
  • Personas: Fictional descriptions of website users and their potential utilization of the site influenced by real-life participants.
  • Sitemap: A diagram showcasing the different pages and functionalities in the site and their hierarchy.
  • Wireframe: A simple diagram of the visual layout of the site.
  • Visual Design Comp: A visual representation of the site before it is functional.

Main Objective: To create a website that showcases the importance of all ability cycling and encompasses the values, ideals and community goals of the Pedal Power Cycling Club.

3.0      Scope of Work

Kristina Krause will focus on creating a fully functioning website for the cycling group Pedal Power. This site will be built on Wordpress.org in order to allow easy updating for the nonprofit through a graphic interface rather than code, once the site is finished.

This will also include implementation of Wordpress plug-ins and widgets to fulfill site needs.

Revisions will be made to the site by Kristina after project completion upon being given feedback by the greater public.

4.0      Assumptions

Once the structure of the site has been determined, all content will be written and revised by the Pedal Power Cycling Club board, suggestions made when necessary by Kristina. Up until the project deadline, Kristina will be responsible for placing delivered content.

Upon completion, Kristina will teach appropriate members of Pedal Power how to update website with the Wordpress admin interface.

The logo used by David Moreno will be used as the base of the branding for the site.

Photography and video for site will be a collaborative collection by all members of the Pedal Power club.

*All major documents will be shown to the Pedal Power board for feedback, however final decisions will be given to Jo Roach.

5.0      Deliverables

Pedal Power will be provided with a full website, necessary training in Wordpress to continue maintenance and all content created for the website.

6.0      Ownership and rights

All content created becomes property of Pedal Power, while also allowing use in Kristina’s publicly accessible master’s thesis and website.

7.0      Timeline

  • Every other Saturday: Research/volunteering (participant observation) to better understand cycling club.
  • June 26th – July 2nd : Construction and approval of website proposal, personas and sitemap
  • July 2nd– 6th : Creation and approval of wireframes (website visual structure) and discussion on ideas for visual design
  • July 6th – 10th: Creation and approval of visual design
  • July 10th: All content received for website pages
  • July 10th – 15th: Site construction, completion
  • July 15th – ? : Response to public feedback, making necessary alterations
  • TBD: Training in Wordpress.org in order for Pedal Power to continue maintenance and updates.

Posted in Pedal Power - Nonprofit, Uncategorized | 983 Comments »

Personas

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

A quick note before I actually post the personas:

I am having a difficult time writing the persona for the “participant”  user, one who is often learning disabled. It is a segment of the population that I am not familiar with and although I have been able to hear some stories about daily life, I am mainly only able to write about what I have seen and heard in relation to their experiences at Pedal Power. This is something I will have to remedy at the next event and learn more about what happens outside of the cycling event.

It is simply a user I have never written, nor designed for and made me realize how much we generalize our users as web designers.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Pedal Power - Nonprofit | 1 Comment »

Pedal Power – UNDERSTANDING THE PROJECT ECOSYSTEM

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

UNDERSTANDING THE PROJECT ECOSYSTEM– for personal reference

Identify the type of site

The Pedal Power website will be most strongly associated with: brand presence – a constantly present online platform that facilitates the relationships between the company and a general audience (anyone interested in its products or services) (Chandler & Unger 2009: 11). While a nonprofit organization, Pedal Power will be using the web as a tool to communicate their values and goals to their website audience in order to build awareness of all abilities cycling.

Necessary Roles

I will be performing the role of UX designer during the construction of Pedal Power’s website. My main job duties will fall under Information Architect – responsible for creating models for information structure and using them to design user-friendly navigation and content categorization and User Researcher – responsible for providing insights regarding the needs of end-users, based on information that is generated from, or validated with, the research that person conducts with users (Chandler & Unger 2009: 23). My knowledge as a front-end developer aided by the Wordpress CMS will also be essential in completing the site.

In the role of information architect, it will be necessary to organize and balance the amount of new content that needs to be placed on the site. In particular, to clearly identify the site’s main users, as this will have a stronger impact on the site architecture than in other projects.

Conducting user research will be necessary to understand the structure, goals and community of Pedal Power.  This will be done through the use of participant observation at the alternating Saturday events.

I have left Interaction Design (– responsible for defining the behavior of the site or application in accordance with user actions) as a lesser role because the site will not be highly task based (Chandler & Unger 2009: 23). The site will mainly focus on providing useful resources and up to date information about events related to cycling.

Company Culture

Through participant observation, serving as a volunteer at their community events, I have had the opportunity to begin to decipher the organization/company culture (Chandler & Unger 2009: 35). The cycling club itself is made up of a number of board members that all hold the usual roles. Jo, the head of the organization, is responsible for all major decisions and my main contact in addition to David for the website.  The confusion in the beginning of the project, turned out to be positive, as it showcased the group’s interaction and how they are all dealing with full time jobs and/or lives in addition to volunteering with Pedal Power. It is something to keep in mind and to be as organized as possible in order to make things easy to manage.

History

Pedal Power, is a cycling club for people with learning disabilities and is part of the greater Hackey London Cycling Campaign Charity. Run by a number of volunteers, most of whom have been with the group for years; they are able to provide for a very small fee a number of different bicycles and riding exercises to get people going. The overall organization, skill-sets and sense of humor of the volunteers provide a supportive and fun environment for everyone there.

From what I gathered at the meet-up and their current web page (http://www.hackney-cyclists.org.uk/pedalpower.htm), the group began as a result of Jo Roach, who wanted her daughter to keep up on her exercise after moving out. Cycling provided that physical exertion, in addition to a greater sense of accomplishment and adventure. One of the women there stated that she was not allowed to have a bicycle at her home, so I assume this might be the case for others as well.  So, she started this event in 2004 with the help of a few volunteers. Many of whom are certified cycle trainers (http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4275), previous competitive cyclists and knowledgeable about bike repair.

It appears there are three main groups of people at the event: volunteers, supporters and participants. While during the event everyone participates together, it is of course true that each person plays a distinctive role, also making their needs on the website different.

Hierarchy

Again, Jo will be my main contact for the organization and major website decisions. However, all information will be sent to the whole of the committee prior to finalizing any major aspect of the web design process.

Logistics

Again, using participant observation as my ethnographic method was the logical choice because it is the most appropriate and least time consuming method for understanding the organization. There is ample time for me to have conversations will all people involved and I am better able to built rapport if I also take part in the activities and help out with the other volunteers. Interviews would have been far too structured, required extra meetings and I would have never really understood how tightly knit the group has become.

When it comes to stricter web designer related tasks, I will stick to email and the blog to provide information and proofs, having a few key meetings to discuss changes and ideas in person as to be able to communicate more fluidly.

Because I am using Wordpress.org, I will have a strong base to begin the website construction, and I will make sure I keep to the basic structure in order to hand over a website that can be updated easily.

All work will be done on my laptop and files transferred at the end of the process.

Posted in Pedal Power - Nonprofit, research methods, web documents, workflow | 4 Comments »

Pedal Power

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

Date of Event: June 23, 2010

What: Pedal Power Ethnography

Who: Pedal Power

Where: Finsbury Park

What happened:

A quick rundown….having trouble writing cohesively today…

Alright, arrived at the park a bit early to help set up, but group got there even earlier and everything was already ready. So had a bit of time to chat and talk about an earlier event where David and Jo had offered free bike repairs. Not many people had turned up and as I was speaking to David, who spent a large portion of his life in the USA, he brought up the fact that the British are terrible at self promotion. Something that myself and others have also been noticing and dealing with. It is extremely difficult to find out what is going on, unless you are closely connected or just happen by.

We were not sure how many people would show, due to the Special Olympics tryouts in Victoria Park, but, it ended up being great crowd again, and a lot of people got on the bikes.

There is one bike that is built to hold a wheel chair in front which had a flat tire on one side and the wire had popped out of the tire on the other site. David fixed the flat incredibly quick as usual and then rode a bike to grab the new wheel equally as quickly. Certain people have a whole different comfort level with bikes that is always amazing to see.

Had a good chat with Walter as well about his filmmaking. Turns out he specializes in documentaries and is currently taking a cultural studies course that is very similar to visual anthropology. He is also the one to have made a film about all abilities cycling. I believe this is it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=999_wpI2-EQ

Found out a very important piece of information, talking to Ray who is the treasurer for the organization: The paved lot they have in Finsbury Park is supposedly going to be developed and used for football fields, pushing Pedal Power out. Having written a few letters, they have received responses and also found it has been a way to really get people to know who they are. I this will be important to put up on the website for sure.

I also was told that Pedal Power is nearly never cancelled for any reason at all. Beyond this showcasing their commitment to the group, it also appears to be of great asset to the participants. Ray was saying that his daughter is really bound by routine in her life, so when things are unfamiliar, it shakes her up a bit. The stability of this group is probably very helpful for a great number of people.

I was able to take a few photos today for website content which was a good chance to tell people what I was doing. I made sure to get the permission of volunteers, supporters and participants and surprisingly everyone was more than willing to have their photo taken. In fact there was a lot of posing going on and stopping of cycling.

After the session was over we helped to pack up and then rode over to the Special Olympics’ barbeque at Victoria Park. We rode all through Hackney, which was amazing. I love how much exploring I get to do for my research by bike. I can actually say I know how to get around London which is awesome.

At the barbeque all the participants were having a great time and immediately came to tell us what times they achieved and how well it went. Met a lot of people and had a very quick chat with the owner of Bikeworks, which also helps disabled or disadvantaged people to fix or learn how to ride bikes. Very cool organization as well.

Able to speak with one the chairs of pedal power, and I asked her to send me photos she had taken throughout the event.  We had a nice conversation about what I was doing and cycling in general.

Finally rode home along the canal with Andrew, a bit lost both of us were, but we managed to get home and the ride was beautiful.

Posted in Pedal Power - Nonprofit | 2 Comments »

Pedal Power!

Sunday, June 13th, 2010

Date of Event: June 12, 2010

What: Pedal Power – Cycling club for people with learning disabilities – meets every 2 weeks

Who: Pedal Power

Where: Finsbury Park

What happened:

Yesterday I had the pleasure of taking my first ride (3 hours worth) through London and meeting up with the Hackney community group Pedal Power, which is a cycling club for people with learning disabilities. Run by a number of volunteers, most of whom have been with the group for years; they are able to provide for a very small fee a number of different bicycles and exercises to get people riding. And I have to say; it was amazing. The overall organization, skill-sets and sense of humor of the volunteers provided a supportive and fun environment for everyone there. Taking part in a few of the games, I also was able to meet the majority of the participants and/or supporters and again: just an awesome group of friendly and outgoing people. I had a really excellent time. (And my bike got a tune up!)

From what I gathered at the meet-up and their current web page (http://www.hackney-cyclists.org.uk/pedalpower.htm), the group began as a result of Jo Roach, who wanted her daughter to keep up on her exercise after moving out. Cycling providing that physical exertion in addition to a greater sense of accomplishment and adventure. One of the women there stated that she was not allowed to have a bicycle at her home, so I assume this might be the case for others as well.  So, she started this event in 2004 with the help of a few volunteers. Many of whom are certified cycle trainers (http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4275), previous competitive cyclists and knowledgeable about bike repair.

It appears there are three main groups of people at the event: volunteers, supporters and participants. While during the event everyone participates together, it is of course true that each person plays a distinctive role, also making their needs on the website different.

My goal in using participant observation and collaboration with the cycling club is to gain the necessary information for building the site, without taking up a large amount of time. Those involved, as in many nonprofits, are quite busy because this club is an additional activity, not one part of their work schedule.

Although I was only there for a short period of time, here are my initial thoughts about the website:

Main end-users or audience:

-        Participants: Both current and prospective.

-        Volunteers: Both current and prospective.

-        Supporters: Both current and prospective.

Possible goals when using site:

-        Participants: General club details and rules, view media from past events, check out volunteers and qualifications and last minute changes or cancellations.

-        Volunteers: Volunteer openings and qualifications, last minute changes or cancellations, post entries/updates to blog.

-        Supporters: General club details and rules, view media from past events, check out volunteers and qualifications and last minute changes or cancellations.

*Here I am not sure of how the club functions in terms of the rules in terms of special releases and permissions that need to be taken care of and by whom. I saw one form to be signed, not sure if this is something that could be put online to be printed and signed beforehand.

*Also assume media put online dependent on proper permissions.

Accessibility:

The site as a whole will need to address a variety of accessibility issues which will be predominately my job as the web designer.

-        Proper tagging for screen readers

-        Text size adjustment

-        A variety of content: written, audio, video, photographs

-        Background and text color adjustment

Website Pages and Content:

-        Home Page: Blog for updates, pertinent information and to promote upcoming events.

-        About: History, information about the club, media and how to join.

-        Cycling Safety: General safety rules and cycling information.

-        Participants: Preparation for event or expectations.

-        Volunteers: Current volunteers and their role, and how to be involved.

-        Supporters: Preparation for event or expectations.

-        Resources: Community, cycling and disability specific resources.

-        Contact Information

Tags: ,
Posted in Pedal Power - Nonprofit | 38 Comments »