techzans-blog

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Buckling Down

We were set to fly back to San Antonio in two days, but we had a problem. Our team knew we had to buckle down and form a solid strategy around what we were working on. We needed to focus.

We were at a good place. We had a main project idea we all felt good about — Homebase, an app that makes it simple to fix up your house. (More about that soon.)

However, we had a bunch of other project ideas that we were excited about too … around 50. These came to us through meetings with council members, government employees, community members, and the public. We couldn’t work on everything, so we made a plan: Team Project Tracker.

We wrote down the projects we were going to spend our time on and each one had three questions:

1. Who wants to work on it?

2. Who’s the project leader?

3. What’s the priority?

—

1. Who wants to work on it?

If you wanted to work on a project, put your name down. For whatever reason, this helped cut the fat and left us with projects we felt were worth spending time on. Projects that sounded cool at one point (e.g. a card flipping catalog with people's likes and dislikes about the city) became extra work that we were happy to leave behind.

Some projects we were all interested in being involved in. Others, just one or two of us. And that’s OK. We recognized we’re three different people with different interests. We’re all focusing on developing our skill set, learning new things, and we’re happy to help each other when we can. Still, some projects needed attention from a developer, some from designer, and some from both.

We decided to narrow our efforts, but stay open to helping each other out as projects evolved.

2. Who’s the project leader?

Before this strategy, our leadership roles on each project were not clear. We each have different areas of expertise and capabilities. Our leadership styles were different, but we’re all leaders in our own way.

We discovered that leading a project wasn’t about being named the person in charge. It was about stepping up and taking responsibility for moving forward. On our main project, we lead as a group by consensus. On other projects, just one person leads. This made management organic: we have each stepped up to guide the things we care about.

By distributing responsibility of the projects, we’re all invested and involved. This distributed leadership system gives us all an opportunity to take charge of a project, creates accountability, and streamlines our goal-setting process.

3. What’s the priority?

After choosing the mini-team for each project, we decided to give them a priority: high, medium, or low. This helped us decide how we’d map out our time and allocate resources for each project. We more or less agreed on the level of importance for each subject, and when our opinions differed, we were able to compromise.

—

When we sat down to brainstorm, we just wanted to figure out how we’d tackle all the projects we’d added to our list over time. But what we got was a structure for our team to work together.

We all have things to offer and contribute. We’re all here to work together to make San Antonio’s government more open and accessible. Our new game plan is strong yet flexible, decentralized yet focused. We’ve spent a few weeks using this strategy and so far it’s been working for us.

We've been focusing mostly on our main project, but we feel the real value this gives us is a way to work productively for the rest of the year.

-Maya

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This is my home.

1132 Woodlawn Street. Liz Victor.

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From the Field: Explaining the "Why?"

The San Antonio team is doing user research in the field this week. Today we met with the Development Services team who helps homeowners get permits to improve their property.

"Why can't my fence be that high? Why do I need a permit for my shed?"

City staff's answer to questions like these can make or break a visit to the permit counter, or a call to the city's development call center.

There are a lot of rules about what can be done to a property. Some just make sense. Of course I should hire a professional electrician to wire up my house. Safety first, right?

But some are just plain weird. I need a permit to install a ceiling fan? Are you serious?

But staff, and the city in general, often don't know how to answer the question. And I don't blame them.

City development codes are weird, sprawling documents. Sections are added, rules change and restrictions are deleted all the time. Some common sense rules are created to keep everyone safe. Others are reactions to specific events in the city's history, sometimes long forgotten.

Why the "why" matters

Through our research, we've found that city employees who are best at answering the "why" question can create a really positive experience for the residents they want to help.

We've met code enforcement officers who really know how to explain why the rules exist. Leveling with residents really helped shaped the interaction: the users felt empowered, and the code enforcement officer felt understood.

Construction rules are just as confusing as property codes: substitute phrases like "minimum housing: exterior premises" for "typical setback for R6 front - 10ft".

Huh?

Its the never ending job of city staff to break these rules down, explain how they work and how to follow them. But its just as important to try and explain the "why".

-David

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Techzans by the Numbers

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Back to San Francisco HQ

We had a blast during our residency and learned so much about the city and what makes it work. Here are a few highlights:

Through CodeAcross, we saw for the first time the city and county meeting in a collaborative spirit to work together. 

We heard the IT department talking about opening up 20% time and their desire to to build capacity by working with RackSpace and CodeUp (a local coding bootcamp that turns non-techies into computer programmers).

We visited Bibliotech, the first all-digital library in the nation. 

We saw video kiosks in the supermarket that allow the people to settle their traffic tickets with a judge.

We were blown away by Haven for Hope and how they transformed lives by providing care to people experiencing homelessness.

We came out of the residency with 3 project ideas: 

Neighborhood Revitalization

Proactive Service Delivery

Workforce Development

We are most excited about the first idea, Neighborhood Revitalization, that we came to from an organic collaborative process after doing code enforcement ride-alongs and experiencing the poor conditions of houses, meeting Regan Turner, a former Marine officer and Harvard graduate who shared his passion about redeveloping historic buildings in San Antonio, and going on a tour of San Antonio neighborhoods where we saw the contrast of beautifully restored houses to run-down houses. We came up with the second idea, Proactive Service Delivery, after speaking with a number of human service groups and seeing the need to connect their services to the people who need them in a more proactive way. We came up with the third idea, Workforce Development, after seeing a need to to connect the jobless or disenfranchised population to the training required for a well-paid job. Since coming back, we’ve been hard at work combing through all of our research and synthesizing our data, to come up with a plan of what project we think will make the most impact. We also launched ilovesanantonio.org, a way for San Antonians to share their love about the city they live in. We are excited about being a part of the renaissance happening in San Antonio today.

[techzans-blog]

The brigade is a go

Saturday, February 22: The first meeting of OpenSATX. CodeAcross San Antonio version 1.0. A pizza-fueled idea fest.

Whatever you want to call it, remember it.

It brought hackers and thinkers together to dream big about the future of San Antonio.

A census of open data available in the city came together in just a few hours. The survey is one of the most complete in the nation.

And ideas started to form.

The big ideas

Six big ideas for future projects were dreamed up by hackers, designers, researchers and city officials. The issues this brigade wants to tackle are some of the most pressing:

How can the city best notify residents of emergency conditions, like water storage levels, burn bans, power outages, road closures and more?

Could a central dashboard better get the details out?

What questions do residents ask most of the city?

Could a simple, clean FAQ portal help them get that info more easily — and reduce the burden on city staff?

All of the inspiring ideas are captured here.

Deep discussions

The conversations between the City of San Antonio IT staff and citizen were deep and serious. Questions about data sets, internal software, the city’s mission and its processes were answered and dissected.

In this age, why do we make it so hard for citizens to interact with their government? #CodeAcross #codeforamerica #OpenSATX

— Rebecca Reser (@rebeccareser)

February 22, 2014

The group brainstormed ideas for improvement, and some offered their time and skills to help the city tackle projects.

We’re pumped up

CodeAcross was a big opportunity for our fellowship team to sync up with the community and start tackling problems together. We were so humbled to see people from all walks of life come together to make their community a better and more open place. 

#opensatx is a wrap: fifty participants, six ideas for projects, one new Brigade. It’s gonna be a big year for them! #CodeAcross

— Catherine Bracy (@cbracy)

February 22, 2014

We’re excited to see what the future holds for the OpenSATX brigade. It’s looking pretty bright.

- David

Photos courtesy Kara Gomez and Joseph Lopez.

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Happy Valentine's Day from the Techzans! <3

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Haven for Hope is largest center for the homeless in the nation and considered the “new national model for homeless shelters.” It felt more like a beautiful college campus inside and you could tell how much the people really care.

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Wild Wild West

“I have two warrants to issue before noon and we’re already late.” That was how my day riding along with a code enforcement officer started. It was a blur. My team visited Development Services last week. We learned about their broad mission and the challenges they’re facing making sure residents follow the rules and keep their properties up to code. We also heard about all the things people need permits for on their property: fences, garages, even ceiling fans. After meeting with some higher-ups for an overview of the process, we each split off to ride along with an officer for an in-field experience. I ended up going out with a dangerous premises team. I had no idea what this meant or what I’d be doing, but as soon as our meeting broke, I met Tony, the officer I’d be accompanying. He was cool, but in a hurry.

I hopped in his vehicle. In front of me sat a slightly older Dell laptop that he used to enter reports. The system he used is called Ecco. It reminded me of my first experience of a computer black background, blocks of green text. It was hard to decipher.

He showed me how he had to enter the report: one line at a time, then a special command to get a new line to enter text. Ecco is 15 years old and hasn’t been changed much.

On our drive, I learned about Tony's military background. I’ve heard that from a lot of people here. San Antonio is a big military town. We arrived at our location: a lot with two dilapidated houses. In front of the house was a junk truck and three men. It was time to go.

"These guys are my contractors” Tony told me, "They’ll be helping board up the property." I was relieved. For some reason I thought they lived in the house and knew we were coming. As we were getting out of the car, his partner pulled up and I introduced myself. I soon realized it’s really hard to explain Code for America quickly and in a tense situation, like right before issuing a warrant. “So they paying you a lot of money?” he asked. “Not really,” I replied. He laughed. We stepped up to the porch of the house and Tony’s partner knocked on the door: “Police!”

No answer. Tony stapled the warrant to the front door. Finally someone answered and it was clear they didn’t want us there at all. Eventually, they opened the door and Tony’s partner stepped inside. Tony asked me if I wanted to come in. I hesitated and thought it would be better to hang out outside. A few moments later, I heard a lot of shouting: “I’m gonna slap you!” a voice echoed. I turned to the contractor and we were both shocked. He told me he never heard it that bad and that usually people get scared of them and let the officers do what they need to do. Tony came over to me. “You do not want to go in there.” A few minutes later, Tony said it was OK, and the aggressive people were all handcuffed and invited me to go in once again. This time I went and stepped inside. There were four people in the living room, one or two handcuffed. I saw sinking ceilings, sinking floors, graffiti on the walls, mattresses on the floor, crack pipes. The stovetop was on full blast as the only source of heat on a day with below freezing temperatures. We inspected the condition of the house and took pictures, lots of them, so they could be used in court.

We walked to the back of the house and I realized that neither of us knew what was behind each door. Tony kicked down a door, all clear. We turned a corner and I saw him scared for the first time. "You don’t want to go in that room,” he said. I looked in a hole in the door to see a pit bull tied on a bed with a TV cable.

We took more pictures outside. The house was sinking because the poor foundation and had a stench as there was no connection to the sewer.

As I went out, I heard some laughter, an older guy living in the house told the cop he needed to use the bathroom and ran off through the backdoor. The officers respected his needs, and they shared a laugh. It was clear they cared about the people, but had to do a job. Before issuing the warrant another woman walked right up to the house and the cop knew her, “How are you doing? You were almost dead the last time I saw you! … When I was getting shot at!"

Tony’s contractors were boarding up the windows and clearing junk out of the lot. We continued inspecting the property. As we were finishing, I was outside and looking for Tony. He called me and grabbed my hand as he jumped out of a window. In that moment, I felt like Robin to his Batman. And it was awesome. On the way back, we were running late so Tony let me enter the whole report into Ecco while he was driving. The ride along really brought back to home how important people are. It also highlighted how important technology can be to getting a job done -- even if it doesn’t seem that way from the outside. I felt the experience was a metaphor for good design and good technology: All I wanted to do was to get out of the way and let the officers do their job ... and maybe, just maybe, lend a quick hand when they needed to jump out of a window. -Maya

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What Can Cities Learn About Empathy?

We rarely use empathy to describe city services.

But after spending an afternoon riding along with a city code enforcement team, I learned a lesson. Good people make for good services. The team I worked with really shows great empathy to the residents of San Antonio.

It spent a morning riding with Garry from the Neighborhood Enhancement Team, a part of the Development Services Department. I saw the day-to-day work he does on his beat.  

Garry is part of a team of proactive code enforcement officers who go out into neighborhoods to identify problems like overgrown weeds and trash on lawns.  

Under the “REnewSA” initiative, this special team is focusing on properties that face a lot of issues in certain neighborhoods. Their job is to enforce city regulations, but I saw firsthand how much they care about the residents they serve.

To begin our ride, we first stopped by the community tool shed.  The tools stored there range from lawnmowers to chain-saws. Any city resident can borrow tools for free by calling the Development Services Department a week in advance to arrange for a pickup.  If the resident needs help, the department can also bring the tools to them.

Garry took me to the Eastside of San Antonio. We were able to see a lot of neglected properties. Vacant lots and houses with yards strewn with trash dot the neighborhood.  Although there are signs letting residents know about free bulky waste collection services, people were still dumping their trash wherever they wanted.

As we were touring around the neighborhood, we saw another officer named Michelle inspecting a house.

She saw a large piece of trash in a front yard, but nobody answered the door when she knocked. The home was vacant. Michelle placed a notice on the door and marked the trash with spray paint so a team could pick it up later if nobody responded.

What happened next gave me new insights into how much these officers cared about the people they were serving.

Garry had plans to follow up with an older man named Paul who had a lot of debris and other items stored in his yard. This was a code violation and had to be cleaned up.

Paul is 80 years old, and he cannot remove heavy things from his yard. Garry went to talk to him so he could understand what the problem was, and how it could be fixed. So we went to understand the situation.

Garry offered to get help to clean up the yard, but Paul wanted to clean it up himself. Paul’s son would pitch in, but only when the weather improved.

Garry showed a lot of empathy while talking to Paul. He understood that it is too cold right now and said he doesn’t want Paul to get sick.  

Paul was really happy about the help these special teams provide. 

Garry’s team really tries to understand the problems the residents of their neighborhoods face. They assess each situation and try to lend a hand when people are in need.

The officers want to help, not just give out citations.

I wonder how we can make each city service experience like this? The government should always show empathy, and try to lend a hand.

-- Amy

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Puppies for America! We visited Animal Care Services and learned about their incredible transformation from a 10% to 85% live release rate.

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We didn't get chased out

It’s amazing how quickly a crowd can turn.

The San Antonio teams -- we call ourselves the Techzans -- spent tonight at a Girl Geek dinner in town. It was hosted in a makerspace filled with unique projects. (Think Tesla coils shooting our sparks and burning through stuff.)

When we walked in the door, we didn’t really know anyone. Our connection to the host was through a mutual friend. It seemed like most of the people there knew each other already. You know how that goes.

It was pretty clear they didn’t know what to make of us. Who are these three nerds in matching blue track jackets? Fair question. We could’ve been some weird cult that drank Mountain Dew and hacked on Ruby.

So we made some small talk and learned about the fascinating projects going on -- a homebrew 3D printer, a new art installation that will project video of Texas chefs cooking local dishes onto a table, and more.

• • •

Then it was our turn to stand up and talk. It was quiet.

We started by introducing ourselves: who we are, where we come from, what we do. Then Maya started to explain our mission. We’re here to listen. We want to know about you, what you’re struggling with, if you need your sidewalk repaired, if you can’t find your lost dog.

They turned fast. No more quizzical looks, no arms crossed. People started tossing their ideas out, sharing their experiences. We weren’t giving them a presentation anymore. We were having a real discussion, back and forth.

We heard about fears of new development and urbanization pushing average San Antonians out of their homes and neighborhoods. We talked parks and schools and recycling. They told us their stories. But they also listened to each other, offered opinions.

• • •

Afterward, we ate deli rolls and chips and watched the Tesla coil burn through a CD and light up the darkened fluorescent bulbs hanging in the warehouse.

By the time we left, we had plans to visit a teacher’s classroom and talk with her students, to connect with a local professor who wanted to help us get the word out about our mission, to have coffee with some new friends and learn about their lives.

These connections, the passion people have for learning from each other, give us hope that our project will succeed. We’re excited to see where it takes us next.

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Checking out the City Council Chamber

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At 30,000 feet

Good morning.

Right now, we’re barreling at 500 mph over the sprawling mountains and deserts of the southwest.

It’s the first official day of our teams’ month-long trip to San Antonio. A good chunk of it will be spent 30,000 feet above your head. It’s a fitting start to our journey.

January has been a month of lofty discussion and high-minded ideas. Design luminaries, research experts and government officials floated in and out of Code for America’s headquarters, teaching us what they knew and asking us to reach, jump, push upward, do the big things.

We’re cautious. We’re excited. We’re tired. We’re more invigorated than we’ve ever been.

San Antonio is floating ahead of us, somewhere on the horizon. A beautiful, sprawling city home to more than a million hackers and organizers and dreamers and doers. They’ve been pushing for a long time. They are doing the big things.

Through Pre-K 4 San Antonio, the city’s schools will give more than 22,000 kids the chance to start right and succeed in school, and make a bright future for themselves.

Through SA2020, community visionaries and nonprofit leaders are coming together with the city to plan for a better future. They’re creating plans that start at the bottom, with the people’s needs, and turning them into real initiatives.

The movement is real. And we’re on our way to join up, learn, and do our part.

This is the month for 30,000 foot ideas and 500 mph plans.

See you soon, San Antonio.

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A quick hello from the team

There's just one week left until we head to San Antonio, and we're pretty pumped.

We'd like to start out our blogging adventure with a quick hello from the team. If you're following along at home, we're starting from the left in the photo above.

Hey, I'm Maya.

I’m a designer and developer from Los Angeles. I’m excited to bring great design and innovative solutions to the city of San Antonio.

Hey San Antonio. I'm David.

I'm a project manager and designer from Southern California. I'm interested to spend time with city officials and community members in San Antonio, and to learn more about the city and their lives.

Hi, I'm Amy. 

I'm a software engineer from San Francisco. I'm very excited to collaborate and innovate with the government and citizens of San Antonio.

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We're booting up

Welcome to the team blog for the 2014 Code for America San Antonio team. We're working feverishly behind the scenes to write interesting posts and make this site look awesome.

Come back soon, won't you?