Report in response to and in support of IT -created iPhone app.

1. Fairfax
County
iPhone
App
Feedback
Engaging
the
Public
With
Mobile
Customer
Service
&
Information
February
2011

2. Introduction
DIT
has
developed
a
great
basis
for
a
county
iPhone
app
to
meet
the
changing
customer
service
and
information
needs
of
our
residents.
OPA
is
providing
its
content
and
iPhone
experience
to
build
upon
this
new
platform
DIT
drafted
so
our
combined
expertise
provides
a
truly
value-­‐added
experience
for
our
residents.
Home
Screen
The
home
screen
is
the
most
important
element
of
an
iPhone
app.
People
need
to
find
relevant
information
very
quickly
on
their
mobile
device,
especially
as
they
are
on
the
go,
walking,
riding
a
bus
and
other
literally
mobile
activities.
While
the
beta
version
is
on
the
right
track
with
the
use
of
icons
next
to
the
words,
let’s
consider
a
grid
layout
as
shown
in
some
examples
on
the
next
few
pages.
A
grid
layout
resembles
the
actual
iPhone
app
layout,
so
people
are
familiar
with
that
navigation
on
this
(and
other)
devices.
With
a
grid
layout,
we
can
make
better,
more
prominent
use
of
icons
that
stand
out
more.
OPA
can
create
a
family
of
icons
that
match.
An
outline
of
a
new
home
screen
can
be
found
at
the
end
of
this
feedback.

3. Fairfax
County
iPhone
App
Feedback
3
A
grid
layout
like
the
Facebook
app
provides
more
prominent
use
of
icons,
which
makes
it
easier
for
the
public
to
choose
what
content
they
would
like.
Ideally,
like
the
Facebook
app
or
the
actual
iPhone,
we
should
allow
people
to
move
the
icons
in
whatever
order
they
prefer
based
on
their
needs.
Additional
examples
of
grid
layouts
with
icons:

5. Fairfax
County
iPhone
App
Feedback
5

7. Fairfax
County
iPhone
App
Feedback
7
News
In
the
beta
version,
Top
News
matches
fairfaxcounty.gov
home
page
news
packages.
A
list
of
RSS
feeds
is
then
presented.
But
since
the
creation
of
this
beta
product,
the
Fairfax
County
NewsWire
launched.
The
news
section
should
be
branded
as
the
Fairfax
County
NewsWire
and
we
should
present
news
in
this
order
(with
icons
to
the
left
of
the
text):
•
Two
or
three
Featured
Headlines
(managed
content,
such
as
homepage
package
links)
•
One
link
for
All
News
Headlines
(full
NewsWire
RSS
feed)
•
One
link
for
Headlines
by
Topic
(topic/location
RSS
feeds)

8. An
elegant
presentation
of
news
can
be
found
in
George
Washington
University’s
app.
We
could
create
a
NewsWire
banner
just
like
the
GW
Today
banner
and
then
for
the
two
or
three
featured
headlines,
a
picture
can
accompany
the
text
to
make
it
stand
out
and
appear
new.
The
“All
News
Headlines”
text
would
be
paired
with
the
NewsWire
logo,
while
the
RSS
logo
can
be
used
for
the
topic
headlines
link.

9. Fairfax
County
iPhone
App
Feedback
9
The
first
three
sections
of
the
NewsWire
can
link
to
pages
like
these,
but
based
on
observations
of
other
apps,
the
font
appears
to
be
a
large,
thus
cutting
off
the
headline.
Reducing
the
font
size
slightly
will
help
readers
see
the
full
headline.
Another
idea
to
enhance
the
experience
of
our
iPhone
users
centers
around
using
the
functionality
of
the
iPhone’s
Mail
and
other
apps
that
mark
new
content
versus
read/unread
content.
The
next
two
screenshots
show
a
great
example
from
Huntsville,
Texas.
The
little
blue
dot
indicates
an
unread
item.
People
can
then
choose
to
refresh
the
news
list
or
mark
all
the
items
as
read.
They
will
then
know
what’s
new
the
next
time
they
visit
the
app.
With
NewsWire
now
constantly
updated
throughout
the
day
with
many
headlines,
this
is
key.

11. Fairfax
County
iPhone
App
Feedback
11
It
appears
that
most
links
lead
to
the
mobile
version
of
the
county’s
website
at
m.fairfaxcounty.gov,
which
is
awesome
because
so
many
government
apps
do
not
–
they
lead
to
the
full
version
of
the
website,
which
is
pointless
for
an
app.
However,
to
further
enhance
the
experience
for
our
public,
we
should
integrate
the
ability
to
share
the
content
they
are
viewing.
Sharing
content
is
the
heart
of
the
social
media
and
Web
2.0
revolution,
so
let’s
provide
the
tools
to
share
our
content
easily.

12. Many
apps,
like
The
New
York
Times
shown
here,
provide
the
ability
to
share
content.
Let’s
use
the
functionality
of
the
iPhone
that
makes
it
different
than
a
website
to
give
people
the
ability
to
E-­‐mail,
text,
tweet
or
copy
the
link
to
their
clipboard
for
another
purpose.

13. Fairfax
County
iPhone
App
Feedback
13
Favorites
Some
apps
provide
the
ability
for
individuals
to
save
their
own
favorites
within
the
app
for
easy
access
to
key
content.
As
shown
in
this
example
from
Arkansas.gov,
a
user
can
add
Favorites
to
three
categories:
People,
Services
and
Agencies.
While
we
shouldn’t
copy
this
architecture
per
se,
the
idea
of
Favorites
is
appealing.
An
“Add
to
Favorites”
choice
can
be
added
the
menu
shown
in
The
New
York
Times
example.
Through
Favorites,
we’re
encouraging
our
diverse
population
to
save
the
pages
that
are
most
important
to
them,
be
they
parks,
libraries,
a
CSB
phone
number,
their
local
police
station
and
more.

14. California
government’s
app
allows
Favorites,
too.
When
someone
chooses
“Yes,”
they
then
see
the
screen
on
the
next
page,
followed
by
the
list
of
their
favorites:

15. Fairfax
County
iPhone
App
Feedback
15

16. Social
Media
Thr
iPhone
app
will
give
the
county
another
opportunity
to
promote
its
expanding
number
of
social
media
accounts.
A
home
screen
button
labeled
Social
Media
can
lead
to
a
page
like
this,
with
countywide
accounts
at
the
top,
followed
by
links
to
agency/department
social
media
accounts
underneath.
There
are
a
few
ways
to
consider
displaying
social
media
content.

17. Fairfax
County
iPhone
App
Feedback
17
On
Twitter,
we
can
include
a
link
to
the
mobile
version
of
Twitter.com,
which
is
preferable,
versus
using
a
simple
RSS
feed.
The
Twitter
interface
allows
people
to
follow
the
account
and
take
advantage
of
other
Twitter
features.

18. Facebook
also
has
a
mobile
version,
which
is
the
best
way
to
connect
people
to
our
various
accounts.

19. Fairfax
County
iPhone
App
Feedback
19
There
are
two
ways
to
display
YouTube
videos:
use
the
mobile
version
of
YouTube
or
create
a
separate
video
gallery
that
simply
links
to
YouTube
videos
that
open
in
the
YouTube
app
on
the
iPhone.
Texas.gov
uses
the
mobile
version
of
YouTube,
but
the
next
few
screenshots
so
some
other
ways
to
display
videos:

21. Fairfax
County
iPhone
App
Feedback
21
Contact
Information
One
of
the
most
important
elements
of
the
iPhone
app
will
be
contact
information.
While
the
Contact
us
database
will
need
to
be
managed,
pruned
and
maintained
with
vigor,
the
design
of
the
iPhone
pages
could
be
slightly
enhanced.
The
“Directions”
link
leads
to
an
experience
not
seen
before
on
an
iPhone.
There’s
an
intermediate
screen
that
counts
down
to
the
map
app.
Perhaps
that
screen
can
be
eliminated
and
a
quick
transfer
to
maps
(less
than
10
seconds)
can
happen;
that
seems
to
be
the
norm
with
apps.

23. Fairfax
County
iPhone
App
Feedback
23
The
City
of
Huntsville
has
a
nice
display
of
contact
information,
but
what’s
especially
helpful
are
the
little
“map,”
“call”
and
“send”
buttons
next
to
addresses,
phones
and
emails.
The
description
is
also
a
nice
feature
so
people
know
what’s
what.
We
would
need
to
populate
the
contact
database
with
this
information.

24. Enhancing
the
description
field
could
also
help
with
the
design
of
the
iPhone
contact
page.
Visit
Fairfax’s
iPhone
app
presents
this
info
in
a
visually
appealing
way,
too.

25. Fairfax
County
iPhone
App
Feedback
25
Huntsville
also
has
links
to
boards
and
commissions,
so
perhaps
we
can
also
tie
in
our
BAC
database
into
the
iPhone
app.

26.
Maps
Visit
Fairfax
provides
comprehensive
maps
that
include
all
parks
or
all
museums.
Perhaps
we
can
do
the
same
for
all
of
our
parks,
libraries,
RECenters,
community
centers,
Metro
stations,
police
stations,
fire
stations
and
more.
Partnering
with
GIS
could
be
an
option.
The
next
page
shows
the
State
of
California
plotting
its
parks,
both
on
a
map
and
then
as
a
list.
CA.gov
also
uses
the
phone’s
GPS
to
sense
your
location
so
you
can
find
what’s
closest
to
you,
again,
another
way
an
iPhone
app
moves
beyond
a
simple
web
experience.

27. Fairfax
County
iPhone
App
Feedback
27

28. We
could
also
sort
by
building
type
like
GW’s
app.
For
example,
when
you
touch
“Administrative:”

29. Fairfax
County
iPhone
App
Feedback
29
Board
of
Supervisors
Many
residents
do
not
know
their
district
Board
of
Supervisors’
member,
nor
do
they
k
now
the
district
boundaries.
We
could
turn
the
iPhone
into
tool
for
people
to
find
their
district
supervisor
or
to
know
which
district
they
live.
Working
with
GIS,
perhaps
GPS
coordinates
could
be
mapped
to
district
boundaries.
Once
a
resident
discovers
which
district
they
are
in,
they
can
call
their
representative
with
one
touch
of
the
screen.
The
GIS
MyNeighborhood
application
includes
all
elected
officials,
so
maybe
there
are
layers
for
BOS,
School
Board,
Virginia
legislature
and
Congress
with
one-­‐touch
access
to
at
least
a
phone
number.
But
at
the
very
least,
let’s
consider
the
Board
of
Supervisors
feature,
perhaps
modeled
after
the
New
York
State
Senate:

31. Fairfax
County
iPhone
App
Feedback
31
If
we
can’t
use
actual
GPS
coordinates,
then
at
least
a
static
map
with
boundaries
as
shown
here
so
people
have
a
sense
of
the
areas.

32. Public
Meetings
and
Events
In
the
interest
of
boosting
awareness
of
legally
required
public
meetings,
as
well
as
county
government
events,
we
should
include
a
section
for
all
events
published
to
the
web
calendar
application.
The
events
could
be
listed
like
the
Visit
Fairfax
app
with
approximate
location/directions.
Events
could
also
be
saved
as
Favorites
or
shared
using
the
functionality
discussed
earlier.
Hunstville
seems
to
use
a
similar
public
meetings
calendar
and
the
next
two
screens
show
the
iPhone
display:

33. Fairfax
County
iPhone
App
Feedback
33

34. The
“Fairfax
County”
App
Flickr
Slideshare
So
how
would
an
enhanced
beta
version
of
the
county’s
iPhone
Podcasts
app
look
in
light
of
the
ideas
outlined
above?
The
name
could
be
Links
to
audio
streams
changed
to
“Fairfax
County”
instead
of
“Fairfax
Guide”
to
avoid
brand
confusion
and
to
show
we’re
a
government.
There
could
be
Search/Web
nine
sections
in
a
grid
layout
with
content:
Search
Box
Mobile
Website
Link
Contact
Us
703-­‐FAIRFAX
Initiative
Maps
Emergency
Contacts
Police
Stations
Departments
Fire
Stations
Programs
Parks
Libraries
Alerts
Community
Centers
Emergency
RSS
Feed
RECenters
CEAN
Alerts
Connector
Emergency
Contacts
Recycling
Select
/emergency
Mobile
Pages
Emergency
Maps
Supervisors
Contact
Info
NewsWire
District
Map
Featured
Mobile
Webpage
All
Headlines
News
By
Topic/Location
Calendars
Public
Meetings
Social
Media
General
Events
Facebook
Links
to
all
county
accounts
Feedback
Twitter
E-­‐mail
to
DIT/OPA
shared
folder
Links
to
all
county
accounts
YouTube
Links
to
all
county
accounts

35. Fairfax
County
iPhone
App
Feedback
35
The
following
screenshots
show
county
social
media
sites
in
mobile
versions:

37. Fairfax
County
iPhone
App
Feedback
37