Project Lifecyle

3.1 Discover

Get to know your community and the problem you’re trying to solve. Talk to people, observe, and gather information.

This is where you learn about your community and the problem you’re trying to solve. You’ll do research to understand people’s needs, how the community works, and what’s already out there.

Stay open-minded during this phase. Your goal is to learn, not to jump to solutions right away.

:::tip Include your team and community members in the research. It helps everyone understand the problem better. :::

Key activities:

  1. User research
    • Conduct interviews, surveys, and observations with diverse community members
    • Create user personas and journey maps to visualize user experiences
    • Identify pain points and opportunities in current processes or systems
  2. Stakeholder mapping
    • Identify and engage with key stakeholders, including government offices, community organizations, and local businesses
    • Understand their perspectives, needs, and potential contributions to the project
  3. Problem exploration
    • Define the scope of the challenge you’re addressing
    • Investigate root causes and systemic factors contributing to the problem
    • Research existing solutions and their effectiveness
  4. Data gathering and analysis
    • Collect and analyze relevant data from various sources
    • Identify trends, patterns, and insights that inform your understanding
  5. Context mapping
    • Understand the broader ecosystem, including policy landscape, technological infrastructure, and community dynamics
    • Identify potential barriers and enablers for your project
  6. Opportunity identification
    • Synthesize your research to identify key opportunity areas
    • Generate initial ideas for potential solutions

Resources to help:

import FilteredResources from “@site/src/components/FilteredResources”;

3.2 Define

Figure out exactly what needs fixing. This is where you narrow down your focus based on what you learned.

This is where you make sense of what you’ve learned and pinpoint the real problem you want to solve. You’ll challenge your assumptions and set a clear direction for your project.

Take your time with this phase. A well-defined problem makes it much easier to find good solutions.

:::tip Try using diagrams or mind maps to organize your thoughts. It can help you see connections and explain your ideas to others. :::

Key activities:

  1. Synthesize research
    • Collate and analyze all data and insights from the Explore phase
    • Identify key themes, patterns, and contradictions in your findings
  2. Define the problem statement
    • Articulate the core problem clearly and concisely
    • Ensure the problem statement reflects user needs and community context
  3. Challenge assumptions
    • Critically examine existing beliefs about the problem and potential solutions
    • Encourage diverse perspectives to uncover hidden biases or oversights
  4. Identify success criteria
    • Define what success looks like for your project
    • Establish measurable goals and outcomes
  5. Prioritize focus areas
    • Determine which aspects of the problem to address first
    • Consider factors like impact, feasibility, and resource availability
  6. Create a design brief
    • Document your problem statement, target users, goals, and constraints
    • Use this brief to guide your team in the subsequent Create phase
  7. Align stakeholders
    • Present your reframed problem and approach to key stakeholders
    • Ensure buy-in and shared understanding before moving forward

Resources to help:

import FilteredResources from “@site/src/components/FilteredResources”;

3.3 Develop

Come up with ideas and start building. Try things out, get feedback, and keep improving.

This is where you come up with ideas, build quick versions of your solution, and test them out. You’ll keep improving your ideas based on what you learn.

This phase is all about learning and improving. Don’t worry if your first idea isn’t perfect - that’s normal!

:::tip Try to involve users throughout this phase, not just for testing. Consider having sessions where users help create and refine ideas. :::

Key activities:

  1. Ideation
    • Conduct brainstorming sessions to generate a wide range of potential solutions
    • Encourage creative thinking and consider unconventional approaches
    • Involve diverse participants to bring varied perspectives
  2. Concept development
    • Refine and combine ideas into coherent solution concepts
    • Evaluate concepts against your problem statement and success criteria
    • Select the most promising concepts for prototyping
  3. Rapid prototyping
    • Create low-fidelity prototypes to visualize and test key aspects of your solutions
    • Use methods appropriate to your project (e.g., paper prototypes, wireframes, mock-ups)
    • Focus on quickly demonstrating core functionality and user interactions
  4. User testing
    • Test prototypes with real users from your target community
    • Gather feedback on usability, desirability, and potential impact
    • Observe how users interact with your prototypes
  5. Iteration
    • Analyze user feedback and testing results
    • Refine and improve your prototypes based on insights gained
    • Repeat the prototyping and testing cycle as needed
  6. Technical feasibility assessment
    • Evaluate the technical requirements and constraints of your proposed solutions
    • Consult with developers and other technical experts as needed
  7. Stakeholder reviews
    • Present prototypes and testing results to key stakeholders
    • Gather input and ensure alignment with organizational goals and constraints

Resources to help:

import FilteredResources from “@site/src/components/FilteredResources”;

3.4 Deliver

Put your solution out there for people to use. Keep an eye on how it’s working and make it better over time.

This is where you put your solution out into the world, help people use it, and keep making it better. You’ll focus on getting people to use your tool and making sure it keeps working well over time.

:::tip Think about the long-term from the start. Consider how your project will keep running and improving over time. :::

Key activities:

  1. Develop and launch
    • Build out the full version of your solution based on validated prototypes
    • Conduct thorough testing to ensure reliability and security
    • Plan and execute a strategic launch to your target users
  2. User onboarding and support
    • Create clear, accessible user guides and documentation
    • Develop a support system to assist users and address issues
    • Provide training or workshops to key user groups if necessary
  3. Monitor and evaluate
    • Implement analytics and feedback mechanisms to track usage and impact
    • Regularly collect and analyze data on key performance indicators
    • Conduct ongoing user research to understand evolving needs and experiences
  4. Iterate and improve
    • Use insights from monitoring and evaluation to make continuous improvements
    • Prioritize and implement updates based on user feedback and observed needs
    • Stay responsive to changing community needs and technological advances
  5. Scale and replicate
    • Identify opportunities to expand the reach or functionality of your solution
    • Document your process and learnings to facilitate replication in other contexts
    • Engage with other civic tech communities to share knowledge and resources
  6. Measure and communicate impact
    • Collect and analyze data on the outcomes and impact of your project
    • Create compelling narratives and visualizations to communicate your impact
    • Share results with stakeholders, funders, and the broader civic tech community

Resources to help:

import FilteredResources from “@site/src/components/FilteredResources”;

3.5 Evolve

Decide on the next steps for your project. This could mean growing it, handing it off, or winding it down based on how it’s working and what the community needs.

Once your project is out in the world, it might take different paths. This phase is about recognizing when your project needs to change direction and how to handle that change.

Change is a normal part of any project’s lifecycle. Be open to different outcomes and focus on what’s best for your community.

:::tip Regular check-ins on your project’s direction can help you spot the need for change early :::

Why it matters:

  • Projects often need to adapt as community needs change
  • Some projects fulfill their purpose and need to wind down
  • Others might be ready to grow beyond your original team
  • Understanding these possibilities helps you plan and make tough decisions

Key activities:

  1. Assess your project’s current state
    • Look at usage data, community feedback, and resource requirements
    • Consider if the project is still meeting its original goals
  2. Explore different paths
    • Continuing: Keep running and improving the project
    • Scaling: Grow the project to serve more people or address new needs
    • Handing off: Transfer the project to another organization or government
    • Hibernating: Put the project on pause if it’s not currently needed
    • Retiring: Wind down the project if it’s completed its purpose
  3. Plan for transitions
    • If handing off, document everything clearly for the new owners
    • If retiring, communicate clearly with users and archive the work
    • If scaling, consider what new resources or partnerships you’ll need
  4. Learn and share
    • Reflect on what worked well and what you’d do differently
    • Share your experiences with the civic tech community

Resources to help:

import FilteredResources from “@site/src/components/FilteredResources”;