HomeMy WebLinkAboutCompass Kitchener - 2021-03-03
COMPASS KITCHENER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
MARCH3, 2021CITY OF KITCHENER
The Compass Kitchener Advisory Committee metelectronicallythis date, commencing at 4:00p.m.
Present:Ms. J. Stephens-Wells -Chair, Ms. L. Gazzola, Ms. L. Kochut, Ms. R. Lavender, Ms. L. Terry,
Ms. L. Trumper and Messrs. J. Orbegoso, W. Rahimi, D. Snyderand O. Samad.
Staff:K. Cooper, Manager, Strategic & Business Planning
L. Korabo, Committee Administrator
J. Miller, Director, Corporate Customer Service
N. Amaral, Manager, Communications -Digital Media & Creative Services
C. Baker,Supervisor, Customer Experience
L. Burr,Corporate Planning Analyst
C. Zinn, Lab Director / Technical Strategist
T. Grimes / J.Gaskell –Co-op Students
1.CITIZEN DASHBOARD PROJECT
Ms. L. Burr and Ms. C. Zinn provided the Committee with a presentation on the recently held
Citizen Dashboard Design Sprint exercise, an approach that is ahuman-centric, quick-build
process to engage customers, ideate and explore, build/iterate and then submit for user testing.
The design sprintset out to achieve clarity on posed questions, insights from users, identification
of risks, considerations for implementation, an interactive wireframe prototype and additional
insights into the desirability, feasibility,and viability of the solution. The final dashboard product
will be integrated within the city’s website (kitchener.ca).Additionally,the design sprint clarified
that users want simple, clear and intuitive navigation, data that they can make sense of,
opportunities to connect various resources, leverage storytelling, andhelp with understanding
barriers as they may arise and prevent a goal from being completed.
Ms. Zinn provided a demonstration of the prototype, advising that twoformatshave been
developed –one for mobile devices and one for desktop users. Information provided shows
progress towards targets, notes the indicators agreed to byCompass Kitchener, and identifies
the SDGs being incorporated in a simple format but also provides options for residents who may
wish to delve deeper into a specific category.
Ms. T. Grimes shared user feedback, noting both pros (carousel to show SDGs / horizontal
navigation) and cons (welcome screen is text heavy / phone app experience not easy) of the
prototype experience.She reiterated there is still much work to be done including whether to
call this a ‘dashboard’.
Ms. Burr concluded the presentation by indicating next steps: need to align this with website
(kitchener.ca) inboth consistent navigation and accessibility; decisionon final design and
software to deliver; conduct another round of user testing.
In response to a question regarding timelines, staff advised that as development is ongoing,
exact timelines have not been determined.Staff capacity to work on the technology aspects of
this project are still being determinedand a report will be brought back to the Committee once a
timeline has been finalized; the hope is to launch in the Fall.Ms. Cooper stated the prototype
will be tabled with the Corporate Leadership Team (CLT) to gain their support to advance the
project. In this vein, it was noted that formal support from Compass Kitchener would be helpful
when tabling the proposal with CLT.
Ms. J. Stephens-Wells inquired if a link to the prototype could be shared with committee
members so that they may try to navigate it and provide feedback.Ms. C. Zinn confirmed this
could occur with the link being available for a 1-week period. On the question of timing for
launching the dashboard, Ms. L. Trumper inquired if it would be aligning with the release of the
Report Card. Ms. Cooper advised this would not be the case as the Report Card is being
presented to Council in June 2021, with the dashboard being launched after that as staff capacity
to work on this needs to be identified. She did clarify that the dashboard will be updated
frequently and certainly between official reporting back on Strategic Plan progress.
Ms. Stephens-Wells expressed thanks to the staff who have worked on the dashboard project.
Members who test drive the prototype are asked to share their feedback directly with L. Burr,
who’s contact email will be provided.
2.ADVISORY COMMITTEE CHAIRS/VICE-CHAIRS MEETING –FORMAT/AGENDA/DATE
COMPASS KITCHENER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
MARCH 3, 2021-6-CITY OF KITCHENER
Ms. K. Cooper advised the first All Advisory Committee meeting for 2021 will be for Chairs and
Vice-chairs only. This meeting will be held in May and will, most likely, be virtual.
The Committee’s input was sought regardingdate options as well as the proposed focus of the
meeting.The suggested focus willbe to build on feedback from the previous meeting and
identify areas of collaboration regarding Strategic Plan implementation.This would tie back to
the suggestionmade by attendees atthe last All Committee gathering where support to continue
to work together whenever possiblewas indicatedas was a suggestion toinclude opportunities
to advance remaining Strategic Plan work within the work plans of each advisory committee. It
was noted that sevenprojects are currently completedand two will likely be completed by June
2021.Input gathered at thismeeting could be used in the staff report to Council as some of the
gathered public input.
A request was made to re-circulate the notes from the last All Advisory Committee meeting.
Regarding a date to host the next All Advisory Committee meeting for Chairs and Vice-chairs,
thth
the early evening of either May 6or 12was proposed (6-8 pm). Staff was requested to email
date options to members to determine the best availability.
3.DEMONSTRATION –MYKITCHENER –CUSTOMER SERVICE PORTAL
Corporate Customer Services staff attended to provide members with an overviewand tourof
the newly launched customer service portal (MyKitchener), a component of the City’s refreshed
website (www.kitchener.ca).Creation of this portal was one of the five identified actions under
the Great Customer Servicetheme in the Strategic Plan.
It was noted the new website has been launched in beta format to allow citizens to experience
the format and provide feedback priorto the site being finalized. Ms. N. Amaral led the
Committee through a tour of various aspects of the website, commenting that all features were
designed with residents’input in mind. Ms. C. Baker then provideda tour of the customer service
portal, providing information on creating new accounts, use of widgets, notification settings, etc.
In response to a question regarding the availability of videos to help guide users, Ms. Amaral
advised staff are working on a series of instructional videos that will be live on the website within
7-10 days.She also noted that written guides are already available for use.
In conclusion, staff provided information on various avenues of providing feedback during the
beta trial and requested Compass Kitchener members take the opportunity to visit the site and
share feedback.
4.STRATEGIC PLAN EVALUATION FRAMEWORK
Ms. L. Burr shared a presentation which included anoutlineof aframeworkdevelopedand
proposed by Ms. L. Kochut, Ms. K.Cooper and Ms. J.Stephens-Wells,for Compass Kitchener’s
evaluation of progress on implementation of the Strategic Plan.The framework proposed:
evaluation and scoring of the completed Strategic Plan actions (currently 7with 2 more likely to
be completed by June); review the status of action plans delayed and/orin progress;noting any
concerning delaysor prioritiesidentified;and, reviewing the progress on localizingthe SDGs.
The evaluation framework will employ a rating scale for completedactions. In-progressactions
will be displayed in chart format with status, time projections, budget status, and summary of
progress made.
Committee members were requested to read and familiarize themselves with the Strategic Plan
and review evaluation data on completed projects. A decision is required regarding how to divide
the work;it was suggested that at least two committee membersreview each completed project.
There was also a proposal for the Committee to create a video to provide a visual on progress
made against the Strategic Plan. If this suggestion is to move forward, volunteers to form a sub-
committee are required.A schedule of agenda topics for upcoming committee meetings was
provided as well as projections for future presentations to Council.
COMPASS KITCHENER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
MARCH 3, 2021-7-CITY OF KITCHENER
4.STRATEGIC PLAN EVALUATION FRAMEWORK(CONT’D)
Ms. Cooper spoke of the visual changes made to show progress more clearly; green hexagons
denote the year of project completion.She asked for feedback on the proposal to use a rating
system for completed actions, noting this information could be shared as a basis for the
evaluation in staff reports moving forward.Ms. L. Kochut suggested clearly defining what each
number in the rating scale (e.g. 1,3,5) meant.
Regarding the suggestion to create a video, Ms. J. Stephens-Wells suggestedthe video could
include some member commentary alongside of video snippets of completed projects. There
was some interest inthe idea,but concernvoiced regarding the potential difficulty of completing
a video at the same time as completing the evaluation.As a result,a final decision on a video
was deferred to a future discussion.
Regarding the evaluation of completed projects, it should be noted withinthe evaluation that
some delays are due to the COVID-19 pandemic response. Ms. Cooper suggested providing a
tableoutlining allthe projects and relative information (not just the completed ones); however,
there was general agreement to simplyreport on the completed ones. It was agreed that Ms.
Cooper would email Committee members with a list of the completed projects with members
selecting their top 3 choices to evaluate.
In conclusion, Ms. Burr shared an outline of agenda topics for upcoming meetings to allow work
to move forward on the Report Card.It was agreed that at the April 7 Compass Kitchener
meeting Compass Kitchenerwould receive a presentation on the status ofStrategic Plan
projects and on progress towardslocalization of the SDGs,following which the Committee will
undertake an evaluation of the work in these two areas.It was noted an extra meeting willbe
required inApril tocomplete the outlined review schedule. Ms. Cooper agreed to share some
date options with Committee members.
5.OTHER BUSINESS
The minutesof the February 3, 2021 were circulated.
6.ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 6:00pm.
L. Korabo
Committee Administrator