Ziying Liu
THE MAYOR'S SERVICE CORPS
Overview
Building a sustainable & accessible Volunteer Management System for community members to request and give services.
Dearborn staff are using Monday.com, with the help of our team, to automate and improve the Corps’ workflow and volunteer matching process with a minimum of "0" Cost.
Duration
Client:
Team:
5 Months
Dearborn City Mayor's Office
1 Project Manager
3 User Researcher
Contents
01.Context
What is The Mayor's Service Group?
The Mayor's Service Corps (MSC), initiated by the Dearborn Mayor's Office, is a snow removal assistance program designed to support seniors and citizens with disabilities in need of snow removal services. Additionally, it offers volunteer opportunities for students seeking to contribute to their community.
Who is the user?
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Seniors and citizens with disabilities who require assistance with snow removal.
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High students looking for volunteer opportunities to serve their community, particularly in assisting with snow removal for those in need.
Seniors and citizens with disabilities
High students looking for volunteer opportunities
What was the Goal?
Based on our client's request and our research:
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Integrate the student-senior/disabled citizen matching process into the city staff's existing Monday.com platform, leveraging its capabilities for automation and streamlined communication.
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Minimize the cost associated with developing a new application by utilizing Monday.com's versatile project management tools to facilitate the matching process.
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Enhance the efficiency of the MSC program's operations, reducing manual intervention and accelerating the service delivery to those in need.
What were my responsibilities ?
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Conducting user interviews to gather insights and understand the needs of both the volunteers and those requiring snow removal assistance.
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Performing research to inform the design and implementation strategies of the program.
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Designing posters to effectively communicate and promote the MSC program to potential volunteers and those in need of services.
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Creating the website design, ensuring it is user-friendly and provides all necessary information regarding the program in an accessible manner.
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Crafting content design for both online and offline materials, ensuring clarity, engagement, and dissemination of key information about the program.
02.Research
Background
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A previous team from UMSI developed a mobile app prototype for the City of Dearborn. Unfortunately, due to budget constraints, the prototype could not be developed into a functional tool. Our client now seeks our expertise to create a fully operational tool, moving beyond the prototype stage to deliver a real, usable solution.
(Previous team prototype poster)
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Our client strongly prefers the development of the tool within Monday.com, as this is their current platform of choice.
Monday.com is a cloud-based work management platform that empowers teams and organizations to streamline their processes, manage projects, tasks, and resources all in one digital workspace.
Stakeholders Meeting
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Stakeholders:
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High school students
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High school coordinators
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City staffs
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City Call Center
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City IT Developer Team
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Previous UMSI team who works on this project
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During the interviews with stakeholders, we iterated many different versions of the system map based on different information given by different people, and finally came up with the final version of the system map.
System map
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During the interviews with stakeholders, we iterated many different versions of the system map based on different information given by different people, and finally came up with the final version of the system map.
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No one knows the whole story, so our system map were keep changing each interview.
V1
V2
V3
User need finding
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Student Volunteers: Empower student volunteers by enabling them to select their preferred groups and choose the addresses they wish to serve, enhancing their engagement and satisfaction.
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Citizens in Need: Ensure rapid assistance to citizens requiring support, prioritizing swift and efficient matching to meet their needs as quickly as possible.
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City Staff and High School Coordinators: Significantly reduce the manual effort involved in the matching process for city staff and high school coordinators, streamlining operations.
03.System Design
System Design
04.Final Deliverable
Poster
We designed a poster and 2 flyers for the city to promote the MSC project.
Sustainability Report
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Analysis and Recommendations: Detailed evaluation of existing workflows and identification of challenges, followed by recommendations for utilizing task management platforms, particularly Monday.com, to enhance service delivery.
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Solution Options: Presentation of two main solutions - a Team-Building Board Solution that combines automation with manual processes for volunteer matching, and a fully Automated Solution that aims to automate the entire workflow, reducing manual work significantly.
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Workflow Automation: Instructions and strategies for implementing workflow automation on Monday.com, including forms for volunteer and citizen requests, automated matching of volunteers to service requests, and streamlined communication processes.
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Safety and Accountability Measures: Solutions incorporate safety concerns and accountability, with mechanisms to ensure the protection of minors and the reliability of volunteers, including permission systems and feedback mechanisms.
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Feedback Collection and Analysis: Post-service feedback forms for both volunteers and citizens to capture insights on the service quality, volunteer experience, and areas for improvement.
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Implementation Guidance: Detailed instructions, potential challenges and solutions, and recommendations for maintenance and future development to ensure the sustainability and effectiveness of the service.
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Training and Support Recommendations: Suggestions for training city staff and volunteers on the new system, including the use of tutorial videos and ongoing support from project contributors or technology experts.
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Metrics for Success: Proposal of metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of the implemented solutions, ensuring they meet the community's needs and enhance the Mayor's Service Corps' operational efficiency.
05. Project Impact
Project impact
Implementing the Mayor's Service Corps Sustainability Project in the City of Dearborn has the potential to revolutionize the city's community service efforts, specifically targeting the timely snow removal needs of its senior and disabled residents. By transitioning to an automated volunteer matching process via Monday.com, this initiative is poised to enhance operational efficiency by an estimated 50%, dramatically reducing the time and effort previously required for manual coordination. This advancement not only optimizes resource allocation within the city staff but is projected to increase volunteer engagement by up to 40%, thanks to a more accessible and streamlined system. The project also aims to bolster community engagement, facilitating over 200 high school students to actively contribute to their community's welfare annually.