Looking at well laid-out websites again

I really have to have a point of difference from what the tribunal website already does... have to structure my content in a funner way and with more emphasis on certain things. Looking at visual styles and whatnot now also. Colour palettes, fonts, etc etc.

Lets be honest here - this design is totally just a carbon copy of some of what the tribunal website is already doing... the green? Way too similar! It's good to get it out of my head though.
I do like the idea of a scrolldown journey though... With a fixed hovering navbar for easy navigation through the large amount of content. And I think the style of TT illustrations (little vector graphics) is also quite good, could use sort of the same ish style for this?

Features again - Hammering out the structure

So the website would be divided into 2 sections - how to avoid the tribunal, and then, how to win it.

Automation and automatic process make it easier for people to proceed feeling more knowledgeable and confident when a distressing event is taking place. 

Being Prepared AF

Good visual metaphors. Like, being on the ocean? Climbing a mountain? Gamifying the process slightly... making it more engaging, a narrative people can relate to. A task that seems difficult but then is easy when you have the right gear and preparation, that's what I want to get across to people. It's like your life jacket here, your secret food stash. We all have an earthquake kit right, just in case? Well, this is like that. It probably won't happen, but if it does you can bet you will be the most prepared and the most likely to win your case against a shitty landlord.  "Getting your ducks in a row etc etc"

"Preparing for Tribunal actually starts when you begin the tenancy."

WHEN YOU MOVE IN.

• A database for all photos of prior damage and stuff, all pictures of the existing condition of things. Explain why: So landlord can't sneakily take it out of your bond at the end of the tenancy, which happens a lot. 
• KEEP EVERYTHING ON FILE, especially the contract that you signed, the amounts of money that you are paying each week, etc etc. One easy place. (Secure...)

DURING TENANCY. 

• "Common mistakes tenants make in the path before a dispute..." "Tricks for young players" - e.g. If a landlord is being slack and not fixing something that needs to be fixed, DON'T stop paying your rent. 
• When contacting the landlord for a repair, keep it civil and polite - here's some pre written emails you can use and tailor to send to the landlord asking for a repair, this way it is a pre set process and you are less likely to anger the beast etc etc. 

WHEN A PROBLEM ARISES

• Getting prepared from then on, this is when you bring out your earthquake kit, or lifeboat or whatever the fuck. 
• Bla bla bla, getting prepared 
• Don't hesitate to contact the Citizens advice bureau or the Tenancy 0800 number for help before you take action - it's always great to get outside input from people who know this stuff inside and out. 
• Link to Tenant Advocates Chat... free govt service for vulnerable tenants, they can sometimes help you before you have to go to tribunal... 

How to Win at Tribunal

Illustrated user journey with one of the users... important stuff to remember before + during the courtroom, that they might not tell you. 

After Tribunal

• Other Useful Stuff
• After your case has had a ruling made on it, check out the "tenants database" - this is a register of information that landlords can access about YOU and potentially discriminate against you.  Make sure you request the information it holds about you...
• If you feel like it, you could add the landlord to this information database about bad/shitty landlords - this helps others like you in the future to see nasty landlords and potentially avoid them. 
• A little review form, maybe to make it more legal, a proof of ID? Proof of address. 

#SUPERCRIT

Feedback from Supercrit

• Really get the precedents in order and what they need

presentation of a complex idea

1. context

2. big idea

3. audience description. situation of audience. personae

3a. research. users (testing), history & precedents. where necessary

4. experience plan (flow charts, storyboards: narratives)

4a. experience prototypes (incorporating evidence or feedback where necessary)

5. outputs - include experience prototype where people can perform as necessary

6. reflection. how does your output relate to your research? how does it relate to your intent? to the needs/desire/understanding of your audience?

7. conclusion. desire. projection of concept into future: personal and/or community. hypothesis 

SWOT analysis of the Tenancy Tribunal website and the TPA website (Christchurch)

TT Website

Strengths:  Beautiful and clean visual style - professional and simple design. Cute and appropriate little illustrations. MOSTLY simple enough to navigate, (barring the huge amount of information actually on there). Some use of different visual navigation systems to attempt to break up the massive amount of text.

Weaknesses: Quite text heavy. A very cold and dry tone, not engaging for the reader. Emotionless. Content is not tailored to tenants only- too neutral. Which could turn tenants off the website and discourage them pursuing the TT process if they needed to. Needs much more detailing and more information about what actually happens and what CAN happen in the Tenancy Tribunal process to ensure that tenants are prepared for anything that could happen.
A subsection of the Tenancy Services website, not its own special site to completely serve and speak to the tenancy tribunal experience. For our purposes, too much emphasis on what happens before the Tenancy Tribunal step.

Opportunities: A more user friendly tone - doesn't have to be unprofessional or silly, but just a bit more reassuring to encourage first time users and those embroiled in the gruelling and stressful tenancy tribunal process.  A separate website or subsection dedicated to getting through, and getting the most, out of the tenancy tribunal for a tenant. Opportunity to bring only the information relevant to Tenancy Tribunal to the forefront, rather than emphasising "working it out beforehand", as the website is wont to do.

Threats: Landlords and property management companies who will not support tenants being more informed and empowered to use the Tribunal because it's generally better for them to have uninformed tenants. The government bureaucracy wall to generally getting things done in a way that will help marginalised groups, because of the interests of parliament? The desire for them to keep things neutral and impartial.


TPA Website

Strengths: Tailored specifically for tenant's purposes. Good relevant content Also has parts about the landlords obligations and stuff for the tenant to look at presumably. Really good content for before, during, and after the journey of Tenancy Tribunal, including even what someone should do even before they move in (do I need that on mine? Probably...) A much more accessible tone, more user friendly to read and understand. Even has a section of more specific things that could happen within the TT process - "preparing your case". SO BRILLIANT!!! That is exactly what tenants need to be supported etc etc.
http://www.tpa.org.nz/page/preparing-your-case

Weaknesses: Weak-ish website layout and design, could be structured better, especially r.e. menu items on the navigation bar - there are 2 navigation bars when there might only need to be one. The content is again quite text heavy and would benefit from some structuring and perhaps illustration (good ol' VCD)!

Opportunities: Could really benefit from a unique or more interesting/fun/visually oriented journey of the Tenancy Tribunal? Instead of just a chunk of text.  Perhaps a more dynamic version of emailing... i.e. a chatbot for discussing problems and getting specific advice? Even to Tenant Advocates... because those are a thing. Also easy to share information and things on. Connection to the services of the TT so that cross touchpoint things can happen, like a pool for items and documents 

Funneling down a Proposal/ Research Question

From question to statement... Now is the time where we move from a research question to a statement, to present at the Supercrit next Friday.
Another technique is to go from broad to narrow, from general to specific.

From Question to Statement  + Broad to Specific

How can visual communication design inform and support vulnerable tenants in dealings with the Tenancy Tribunal (and potentially other matters of flatting and the law?) 

Visual communication design can inform and support tenants who are dealing with the Tenancy tribunal.

Tenants in NZ need to be supported and informed when dealing with the Tenancy Tribunal (and housing law in New Zealand) so they can have the best possible outcome for them. 


New research proposal template

For further clarity

1. The Tenancy Tribunal is the one mechanism that tenants have at their disposal to enforce the laws and ensure their landlords and property managers are behaving properly and legally. 
2. However, tenants’ experience with the Tribunal is commonly stressful, emotional, and frustrating because of its relative lack of usability and hostility. 

3. Therefore, tenants need to be more supported + informed when dealing with the Tenancy Tribunal (and housing law in New Zealand) so they can be empowered to use the Tenancy have better and fairer outcomes when dealing with a landlord that is trying to break the law… ??? 

User Journey + Transformation matrix

Experience Transformation Matrix


Before, the tenant feels: 

confused
stressed
angry
scared
emotional

After, we want the tenant to feel:

supported
confident
prepared 
calm


Before

1. Sarah signs a form in order to get her bond back from her property management company.
2. She receives only half of the money that they agreed she would get back in her bank account 6 weeks later. Sarah is confused. She realises the management company has fraudulently switched out the number of money on the form after she signed it. Sarah thinks: I’ll have to apply for the tenancy tribunal… gosh, what a big and scary job this is going to be so annoying! Sarah feels: Angry, stressed.
3. Sarah applies for the tribunal to see her case. She receives an email that says she has to compile all the evidence that she has for the tribunal case to proceed such as emails, documents, etc etc. Sarah thinks: Wow, why are so many documents required to go forwards with this? this is taking a lot of my time up finding all of them…Sarah feels: frustrated, confused.
4. Eventually Sarah is notified that she has achieved a hearing with the tenancy tribunal court. She checks the website and reads the process of what happens at a hearing from the website. She feels slightly more notified but still apprehensive of what might happen at HER hearing. Sarah thinks: there is no specific scenarios for me to look at from the past… Sarah feels: Apprehensive and nervous because of the formality of the situation, frustrated that its taking so much of her time. 
5. Sarah attends the court hearing. The tribunal allows you a support person who can sit there and not say anything, but she does not choose anyone because she thinks how long can this thing possibly take? Both parties state their sides to the judge, and Sarah is frustrated that the judge does not have all of her evidence in front of them to look at, even though nobody told her it was her responsibility to bring all the evidence! She thinks: Wow there’s parts of this that no one told me about on the website…  She feels: Not as prepared as she thought.
6. The opposition property management company keeps interrupting her and generally being disruptive in the court process, as a form of intimidation, and the situation is quite emotionally charged. Sarah thinks: Gosh they must know so much more about this process than me as a company, i’m just one tenant and this is the first time I've been through this process.  Sarah feels: very attacked and vulnerable,
7. Finally the judge makes a ruling. She gets most of her bond money back… However, part of the ruling is that a certain part of the money can not be awarded by the Tribunal, and that Sarah has to go to the Ministry of Business to get this particular money back… Sarah thinks: God I can’t be bothered after all of that palaver. Sarah feels: Emotionally and mentally exhausted after all the unexpected things that happened in the process that she was unaware could happen. 
8. Sarah’s name, unbeknownst to her, has appeared on a database that tells landlords which tenants have brought cases to the tribunal before. When she applies to other flats this can be used to discriminate against her without her knowledge.  

After

1. Sarah signs a form in order to get her bond back from her property management company.
2. She receives only half of the money that they agreed she would get back in her bank account 6 weeks later. Sarah is confused. She realises the management company has fraudulently switched out the number of money on the form after she signed it. Sarah consults the Resource that i’m going to design to see what her next course of action should be. It recommends the tribunal and gives her some information about getting prepared. Sarah thinks: wow better look at the tenancy tribunal resource Sarah feels: ready to apply for the tribunal. 
3. Sarah applies for the tribunal to see her case. She receives an email that says she has to compile all the evidence that she has for the tribunal case to proceed such as emails, documents, etc etc. Luckily the Resource has warned her that she should have a bunch of evidence ready in a folder to send to the tribunal, of anything to do with her case. It also recommends that she rings the 0800 free helpline for any extra questions she might have and even recommends some to ask in case she doesn’t know. Sarah quickly sends off her information that was already compiled, and moves on with her day. Sarah feels: knowledgeable and prepared, not overly inconvenienced.
4. Eventually Sarah is notified that she has achieved a hearing with the tenancy tribunal court. The resource outlines things that might happen in court, and outlines a few example scenarios from the past so that she knows how things might go for her in her situation. Sarah thinks: Wow its great that I have this resource to tell me specific things so that I can get the best outcome by examining past cases. Sarah feels: confident and ready
5. Sarah attends the court hearing. The tribunal allows you a support person who can sit there and not say anything. Sarah chooses to bring a support person because the Resource recommended it. Both parties state their sides to the judge. Sarah has all of her evidence printed out because Resource recommended it again, luckily, because the judge is not organised and is missing some of her information. She thinks: That’s lucky that this resource told me all these things that weren’t on the website  She feels: prepared and confident 
6. The opposition property management company keeps interrupting her and generally being disruptive in the court process, as a form of intimidation, and the situation is quite emotionally charged. Sarah time out option?   Sarah thinks: I can consult the Resource when i feel like i am a bit lost in court… chatbot option? Sarah feels: Supported and ready to check her app or whatever the fuck
7. Finally the judge makes a ruling and through an extremely long and laborious process of checking all the evidence that they can find. She gets most of her bond money back… However, part of the ruling is that a certain part of the money can not be awarded by the Tribunal, and that Sarah has to go to the Ministry of Business to get this particular money back…Luckily in her app or whatever there is a way to fast track this process and directly do the thing.  Sarah feels: Grateful that the process can be fast tracked and she can get all her money back?
8. At the start of this process, the Resource warned Sarah that her name would be added to a database that landlords can check to see if someone has taken a case to the tribunal, and tells her the process to request to get it taken off. Sarah thinks: Better get that taken off so that people can’t discriminate against me as a tenant! Sarah feels: Grateful for the information. 

One of the most common cases that is brought to the tribunal by tenants is the landlords trying to scalp your bond money for stupid shit that is totally illegal and/or unenforceable. The best thing you can do is be prepared way beforehand and then you have a good chance of getting all of your money back. 

Planning out the structure of my piece of writing

Structural planning. Bullet points etc.

Introduction

An anecdote or situation about using the Tenancy tribunal... how quite shit and intimidating it is for tenants going up against landlords or property companies with a much better knowledge of the system and stuff, stressful, hard, etc etc..... So what can be done to help!?


Background

The problems of renting in New Zealand are myriad. It's such a beast of an issue with so many conflicting interests at heart.. and the poor renters sit cold and damp at the bottom of the food chain, with little resources, time, money, to fight the system.
There is no magic bullet to solve every issue that is here (except policy change... and that is not in the realm of possibility with the current govt)!  Tenancy tribunal, history,

"LOTS OF STATISTICS N SHIT" 80 percent of ppl bringing cases to TT is landlords. meaning how can we make the system easier for tenants to use???? that they can use it to their advantage?

Quotes from my interviewees - yeah it would really help if people were more informed going in, if their landlord takes them on etc etc.


Question

How might design assist vulnerable tenants involved in a tenancy tribunal case?

Proposition

To design a service that:

• informs tenants
• assists tenants
• etc etc... when dealing with the tenancy tribunal. How to get the best outcome from their case. 

Design context 

"Experience design" .... user profile with the transformation matrix of before and after someone uses the tenancy tribunal without, and then with, my "thing" or whatever the fuck

Precedents

SWOT matrix

Method

Primary + secondary research... lol.... user personas, interviews. A random piece in there about the shared moment. 

Aim

To help tenants and make them feel supported and confident when interacting with the tenancy tribunal. 

Intention..... 

Direction 1.  A brief outline and wireframes and shit or something of how a user experience through this service might work....??? 

Direction 2. X 

Fin.

Interview with Kara

Interview questions for Kara

Background of case, proceedings, resolution

2012… other flatmates. Fullhouse management. Property management company. Rude tone. Karas tenancy was ending, bond refund form. Left a form on bench, nothing on there about extra cleaning or taking money off of her. Said “fill out the form”… she filled it out. Took a photo…. (informed about legal processes) Gave it to Fullhouse mgmt to sign. 

4 weeks later had half the bond back…. they had twinked out her figures.. it was a different form they had switched it. 

0800 helpline she phoned. Was helpful. Researched the internet. Contacted the property management company. Scalped her. 

Took months. Applied online. The form was laid out more for a landlord or a mgmt company… As the claimant you had to do everything. 

Had to get all the evidence together herself. 18 emails. Hearing, and a re hearing. Lot of time of work, stressfull, etc …. she didn’t win her case. No extra compensation, got some money back. Lost $600 dollars, had to prove every dollar of the money. Big, laborious process. 

Did you feel prepared going into the case?

Wasn’t prepared just from the website. “A friend who had been through it before”…. had to label shit and pushed it back further and further. 

0800 tenancy number was really helpful… a chat thing about the process with more specifics.

Would being more informed about steps you had to take at each point make it easier? 

Yes… someone to answer your questions. to talk to and help you understand. 

Example cases? this is how it goes… 

Top tips for tenancy tribunal. 

offence provision in the tenancy act…. 

no time, money, to fight big things like this. 

look down at you, for people like her going against a big company who is so prepared for this. She felt like when she was sitting there they were very pointed questions. Scary atmosphere. Good that you can have a support person. Disappointed with the lack of joint-up-ness of the departments. How the onus is soooo bloody on the tenant to defend themselves. 

Kara knew it existed before, knew there was a helpline…. in like a random place on the website? Evidence system is quite clunky.

— a data system that uploads things directly to the tribunal??  exists but it’s clunky. 

— less tech savvy people. 

— a drop in time to an adjudicator or who takes the minutes. a

— landlords have to go to the tribunal to get the bond back… 80% figure??? 

— discrimination against tenants when property managers ask for previous landlords and stuff. 

Trouble with the evidence. A refreshing database. 

A screen with evidence on it so everyone knows where they are. A comment system for evidence. Everyone knows beforehand .

Chat with Georgia + Notes

Me and another girl from VCD, Georgia, decided to meet up and chat about our projects, as we usually did not talk to each other and so could provide some fresh perspectives on each other's projects. She asked me whether I would look at actually re designing the system of the tribunal, or simply design a piece of media to go alongside it and help people going through the process.

I thought that was a great place to start, especially as I am not an "experience designer" by trade - I am much more of a graphic designer, and so it makes sense to look at what I can do there, than completely jump into such a huge project that I only know a little about through limited UX design experience (redesigning a system). I have to keep remembering that we don't have to turn ourselves into a completely different profession....

On that note, it would make sense to have a multimedia approach to this - and design a piece of media to help vulnerable tenants, or tenants less knowledgeable of the system. As Robert mentioned (head of tenants united NZ), he as a very informed and knowledgeable tenant found it hard enough to get through the tenancy system.