One of the remarkable aspects of my urban planning career was the emphasis on understanding and meeting the needs of diverse stakeholders. This focus resonates profoundly with the core tenets of UX design, which centers around creating seamless, user-centric experiences. Whether crafting policy recommendations or designing digital interfaces, the common goal is to enhance the quality of life for the end-users.
One of the most important ways to bridge the gap between diverse stakeholders is to find common values and to deploy empathy as a basis for conversation. Similar to the UX Design process, one of the best ways to evoke empathy is through user stories and personas.
During the Comprehensive Planning process, key stakeholders from across the community meet in a series of Advisory Meetings that shape the goals, strategies, and recommendations for the future of their community. Feedback has a direct impact on the direction and future of the city, so active participation is essential during this phase.
Since a Comprehensive Plan covers various topics instead of focusing on a specific app feature, Personas in this case are created based on general generational census information, trends, and initial survey results.
As the Project Manager, Engagement Lead and Planner for the City of Spring Hill’s Comprehensive Plan (I worked for a small company and wore many hats), I designed the participant engagement process to begin by having each participant introduce their generational persona.
As they read the personas to their groups, I observed many participants commenting on how familiar the personas sounded. They recognized traits that resembled their neighbors and even laughed, mentioning it sounded like their children.
By creating an impersonal persona that directly reflected community members, participants were able to enter subsequent discussions such as a topic-based SWOT analysis, with an open mind and a level of understanding of what challenges other community members may face.
These skills in understanding stakeholders and facilitating meaningful conversations are highly transferable to UX research, where empathy and personas are crucial for creating user-centric experiences.