smart cities - Wavefront
SMART CITIES Design Thinking Workshop
On April 27 & 28, Wavefront hosted a Design Thinking Workshop for the Town of Newmarket. The workshop explored how the Town might better design and implement Smart Cities concepts, leveraging the strengths of a handful of system integrators and technology partners. The event was hosted at the University of Toronto’s Computer Science Innovation Lab. In addition to participation from the Town of Newmarket, technology partners included Microsoft, Cisco, IBM and Rogers, who were looking for effective ways to collaborate with ecosystem partners, in order to better support communities such as Newmarket. The program was facilitated in collaboration with three Toronto-based system integrators: Connected Lab, TribalScale and rangle.io. The program was designed to probe critical questions that the Town of Newmarket has been facing, with respect to how to best implement Smart City solutions that align with the needs of the Town and citizens. Some of the areas that were explored through the workshop included: • Smart metering & simplified access to utilities/hydro billing information • Parking solutions that increase revenue, while reducing congestion in the core • How internally collected and third party/ external data sets could be leveraged to create value for citizens • What a community engagement digital platform might look like; what value would it bring to citizens and community members?
The workshop leveraged a wide range of usercentric ideation techniques, borrowing from the best practices of Design Thinking and Service Design. Participants were guided through a series of exercises meant to support “out-of-the-box” thinking, while staying in touch with the needs of the Town and its’ citizens. The workshop was also attended by representatives from the NRC-IRAP and the Toronto Region Board of Trade. Participants were placed into three working groups, and over the course of the two day workshop, each group designed, prototyped, evaluated and presented a single concept for a Smart City solution. Each group’s concept was illustrated through a combination of: • Articulated value proposition • Rapid service prototype • Four minute “pitch” of the solution A more detaied summary of the Town’s goals, workshop format and group recommendations follow in this report.
P AGE # 2
Executive Summary
P AGE # 3
WHY DESIGN THINKING? Smart City Challenges for Newmarket Smart City Challenges Leading into the workshop, the Town of Newmarket was looking for a new approach to finding solutions for their unique set of challenges. Exploring services from various vendors in the past left them with solutions that were not integrated or designed with their specific needs in mind.
“There are many smart solutions that have been proposed to us by different vendors. The problem is that none of these have been the right fit for our size, existing city infrastructure, or longterm goals.” Susan Chase, Director, IT Innovation at the Town of Newmarket The challenges that the Town sought to address are not uncommon to municipalities heading towards smarter solutions:
Parking and Traffic Congestion. How could the
Town increase walkability, motivate citizens to make better mobility decisions, and inform them where to park?
Data Collection and Information Sharing.
With many data sources and platforms capturing citizen activity, how could the Town unify the collection and analytics of the data to make better decisions?
Citizen Engagement.
What kind of platform would work to better engage citizens through social initiatives like polls and events?
Design Thinking Approach Newmarket engaged Wavefront to run a design thinking workshop to level the playing field between what the municipality was looking for and what vendors could offer. Using an approach like design thinking puts human-centered problem solving at the forefront of the conversation. Specific ideation and brainstorming techniques are designed to help deconstruct the problem and thoroughly understand
various stakeholder needs before building a technology solution around it. “One of the most brilliant things that Wavefront did with the workshop, was to not allow any of the vendors to recommend their packaged solution. Everyone at the table had to design think together. Technology providers learned new things about what our challenges are, and we learned what information we need to provide engineers to come up with new solutions,” says Susan.
P AGE # 4
DESIGN THINKING in Action
Participants from Cisco, IBM, Microsoft and Rogers were placed into three working groups and given use cases by the Town of Newmarket to brainstorm solutions on. Using the principles of design thinking, a facilitator walked the group through a set of exercises designed to make the groups think crossfunctionally with a human-centered lens to problem solving. The workshop covered a few key steps: 1. Empathizing with and defining the problems 2. Ideation and brainstorming 3. Value proposition design 4. Solution design and rapid prototyping 5. Validating through feedback Over the course of the two day workshop, each group designed, prototyped, evaluated and presented a single concept for a Smart City solution.
”The workshop really helped me think about solving the Town’s problem in a new way. I have a much deeper understanding of the core issues they are facing, and how they could be better served.” Greg Dashwood, Product Lead for IoT & Advanced Analytics at Microsoft The primary aim with each stage of the workshop was to facilitate a new way of looking at the problems presented. Having a group of thinkers from all aspects of the industry at the table allowed for diverse and creative solutions. “Good design thinking is done by deconstructing the problem and only building a solution once you understand it from a human-first perspective,” says Ramy Nassar, session faciliator.
P AGE # 5
WORKSHOP RESULTS & Solution Concepts After two days of brainstorming, the three groups presented their solution through an articulated value proposition, rapid service prototype and four minute pitch of the solution. The three solutions are as follows:
City Points Platform
Smart Parking Signage
NewBucks Currency
The City Points engagement platform was designed to help reward and show gratitude for civic leaders, while providing a mechanism for promoting and bringing awareness to community events.
After much debate, this group realized that many of the Town’s parking woes could be solved by empowering citizens to make better decisions about where and when to park.
By rewarding citizens for engagement and acts of kindness that give back to their community, the NewBucks Currency acts as a digital, virtual currency that can be used for a wide range of programs and initiatives.
Part events tool, part loyalty platform, City Points aims to bridge the gap between engagement and promotion.
The solution provides not only relief to the Town’s strained parking resources, but also motivation for citizens to become more active.
This group imagined a Town where you can cash in on your civic involvements.
P AGE # 6
OUTCOMES & Next Steps Based on the proposed solutions, the Town of Newmarket is looking at next steps to take some of the concepts from the prototypes to reality.
“We are looking forward to exploring how to bring some of the ideas from the workshop to life. It was a fantastic way to get the right conversations going with a few key technology providers.” Mark Agnoletto, Senior Manager Public Works Services at the Town of Newmarket The Town is considering building out a solution that combines key aspects from the brainstormed solutions. The solutions feed into key areas of priority for the Town including finding new ways to increase citizen engagement, change behaviors around mobility and parking, and collect and aggregate data in an efficient way.
CURIOUS HOW DESIGN Thinking Could Work for You? The Internet of Things is complex and requires a variety of perspectives to generate meaningful new solutions. For anyone looking to leverage best practices for solution ideation, rapid prototyping or connecting with the right stakeholders, using the principles of design thinking and an Agile approach can help. As an intermediary between technology providers and enterprise looking for new solutions, Wavefront is uniquely positioned to deliver workshops that intersect essential players in the ecosystem and tackle tough problems. Contact us if you would like to explore how this approach could work for you.
CONTACT US: Phone Number MAIN: +1.416.648.9330 OFFICE: +1.778.331.2002 Christian Magsisi VP, Enterprise Solutions
Address 300 – 500 King Street West Toronto, ON M5V 1L9 1055 West Hastings Street Vancouver, BC V6E 2E9
Website Wavefront.ca
On April 27 & 28, Wavefront hosted a Design Thinking Workshop for the Town of Newmarket. The workshop explored how the Town might better design and implement Smart Cities concepts, leveraging the strengths of a handful of system integrators and technology partners. The event was hosted at the University of Toronto’s Computer Science Innovation Lab. In addition to participation from the Town of Newmarket, technology partners included Microsoft, Cisco, IBM and Rogers, who were looking for effective ways to collaborate with ecosystem partners, in order to better support communities such as Newmarket. The program was facilitated in collaboration with three Toronto-based system integrators: Connected Lab, TribalScale and rangle.io. The program was designed to probe critical questions that the Town of Newmarket has been facing, with respect to how to best implement Smart City solutions that align with the needs of the Town and citizens. Some of the areas that were explored through the workshop included: • Smart metering & simplified access to utilities/hydro billing information • Parking solutions that increase revenue, while reducing congestion in the core • How internally collected and third party/ external data sets could be leveraged to create value for citizens • What a community engagement digital platform might look like; what value would it bring to citizens and community members?
The workshop leveraged a wide range of usercentric ideation techniques, borrowing from the best practices of Design Thinking and Service Design. Participants were guided through a series of exercises meant to support “out-of-the-box” thinking, while staying in touch with the needs of the Town and its’ citizens. The workshop was also attended by representatives from the NRC-IRAP and the Toronto Region Board of Trade. Participants were placed into three working groups, and over the course of the two day workshop, each group designed, prototyped, evaluated and presented a single concept for a Smart City solution. Each group’s concept was illustrated through a combination of: • Articulated value proposition • Rapid service prototype • Four minute “pitch” of the solution A more detaied summary of the Town’s goals, workshop format and group recommendations follow in this report.
P AGE # 2
Executive Summary
P AGE # 3
WHY DESIGN THINKING? Smart City Challenges for Newmarket Smart City Challenges Leading into the workshop, the Town of Newmarket was looking for a new approach to finding solutions for their unique set of challenges. Exploring services from various vendors in the past left them with solutions that were not integrated or designed with their specific needs in mind.
“There are many smart solutions that have been proposed to us by different vendors. The problem is that none of these have been the right fit for our size, existing city infrastructure, or longterm goals.” Susan Chase, Director, IT Innovation at the Town of Newmarket The challenges that the Town sought to address are not uncommon to municipalities heading towards smarter solutions:
Parking and Traffic Congestion. How could the
Town increase walkability, motivate citizens to make better mobility decisions, and inform them where to park?
Data Collection and Information Sharing.
With many data sources and platforms capturing citizen activity, how could the Town unify the collection and analytics of the data to make better decisions?
Citizen Engagement.
What kind of platform would work to better engage citizens through social initiatives like polls and events?
Design Thinking Approach Newmarket engaged Wavefront to run a design thinking workshop to level the playing field between what the municipality was looking for and what vendors could offer. Using an approach like design thinking puts human-centered problem solving at the forefront of the conversation. Specific ideation and brainstorming techniques are designed to help deconstruct the problem and thoroughly understand
various stakeholder needs before building a technology solution around it. “One of the most brilliant things that Wavefront did with the workshop, was to not allow any of the vendors to recommend their packaged solution. Everyone at the table had to design think together. Technology providers learned new things about what our challenges are, and we learned what information we need to provide engineers to come up with new solutions,” says Susan.
P AGE # 4
DESIGN THINKING in Action
Participants from Cisco, IBM, Microsoft and Rogers were placed into three working groups and given use cases by the Town of Newmarket to brainstorm solutions on. Using the principles of design thinking, a facilitator walked the group through a set of exercises designed to make the groups think crossfunctionally with a human-centered lens to problem solving. The workshop covered a few key steps: 1. Empathizing with and defining the problems 2. Ideation and brainstorming 3. Value proposition design 4. Solution design and rapid prototyping 5. Validating through feedback Over the course of the two day workshop, each group designed, prototyped, evaluated and presented a single concept for a Smart City solution.
”The workshop really helped me think about solving the Town’s problem in a new way. I have a much deeper understanding of the core issues they are facing, and how they could be better served.” Greg Dashwood, Product Lead for IoT & Advanced Analytics at Microsoft The primary aim with each stage of the workshop was to facilitate a new way of looking at the problems presented. Having a group of thinkers from all aspects of the industry at the table allowed for diverse and creative solutions. “Good design thinking is done by deconstructing the problem and only building a solution once you understand it from a human-first perspective,” says Ramy Nassar, session faciliator.
P AGE # 5
WORKSHOP RESULTS & Solution Concepts After two days of brainstorming, the three groups presented their solution through an articulated value proposition, rapid service prototype and four minute pitch of the solution. The three solutions are as follows:
City Points Platform
Smart Parking Signage
NewBucks Currency
The City Points engagement platform was designed to help reward and show gratitude for civic leaders, while providing a mechanism for promoting and bringing awareness to community events.
After much debate, this group realized that many of the Town’s parking woes could be solved by empowering citizens to make better decisions about where and when to park.
By rewarding citizens for engagement and acts of kindness that give back to their community, the NewBucks Currency acts as a digital, virtual currency that can be used for a wide range of programs and initiatives.
Part events tool, part loyalty platform, City Points aims to bridge the gap between engagement and promotion.
The solution provides not only relief to the Town’s strained parking resources, but also motivation for citizens to become more active.
This group imagined a Town where you can cash in on your civic involvements.
P AGE # 6
OUTCOMES & Next Steps Based on the proposed solutions, the Town of Newmarket is looking at next steps to take some of the concepts from the prototypes to reality.
“We are looking forward to exploring how to bring some of the ideas from the workshop to life. It was a fantastic way to get the right conversations going with a few key technology providers.” Mark Agnoletto, Senior Manager Public Works Services at the Town of Newmarket The Town is considering building out a solution that combines key aspects from the brainstormed solutions. The solutions feed into key areas of priority for the Town including finding new ways to increase citizen engagement, change behaviors around mobility and parking, and collect and aggregate data in an efficient way.
CURIOUS HOW DESIGN Thinking Could Work for You? The Internet of Things is complex and requires a variety of perspectives to generate meaningful new solutions. For anyone looking to leverage best practices for solution ideation, rapid prototyping or connecting with the right stakeholders, using the principles of design thinking and an Agile approach can help. As an intermediary between technology providers and enterprise looking for new solutions, Wavefront is uniquely positioned to deliver workshops that intersect essential players in the ecosystem and tackle tough problems. Contact us if you would like to explore how this approach could work for you.
CONTACT US: Phone Number MAIN: +1.416.648.9330 OFFICE: +1.778.331.2002 Christian Magsisi VP, Enterprise Solutions
Address 300 – 500 King Street West Toronto, ON M5V 1L9 1055 West Hastings Street Vancouver, BC V6E 2E9
Website Wavefront.ca
