We've been talking to users of the site, and have come forward with a set of proposed changes to how Cyclescape works, which will make it easier to use, as well as ensuring that more issues get lodged.
Proposed Cyclescape changes - draft wireframes (version 1, 7th February)
Proposed Cyclescape screen wireframes (version 2, 23rd February)
Update May 2021: Due to the pandemic, work on taking these forward got paused, but we are pleased to say that the design work is progressing again at last.
When redesigning the system, please consider the following two changes to make it simpler for new people. All they would need to do is sign up and select a Group:
1) Locations:
When joining a group, automatically add the group’s area to 'my locations'
2) Subscription Preferences: Change defaults to...
‘Notify me of new issues and automatically follow all new threads’ for both Matters near my locations and My group’s matters.
Tick: Also involve me in my group's administrative discussions.
Enable email notifications: select ‘Email every message’
Planning applications:
At present there are over 450 pages of things like loft conversions in Barnet, most of which are not significant, making this unusable. We want to filter on larger schemes requiring a Transport Plan. A time period search would also be useful.
Provide a link to this map where appropriate:
https://issuemap.cyclescape.org/
Wireframes -
Option 1 looks good. I think the concept of adding an issue then having threads and posts below that still makes sense. It would be useful to allow Issues with the most recent posts to be sorted at the top of a list.
Not sure about Option 2 (scrapping of Issues). It could work for something general (like cycle parking), but less well for issues related to specific sites. It would rely on people remembering to tag and using the correct tags - that's hard enough for Issues, let alone Posts. If tags were cascaded down from Issues to Threads and Posts, maybe you could also start with tagged Posts. Better guidance on standard tags and a pick list would be useful here.
Option 3 - I like the idea of making it easy for the public to add stuff. Lots of members are daunted by the complexity of Cyclescape and only a few dedicated people in our Group use it. We need to tap into the local knowledge of members and others.
Option 4 - good if it can move admin discussions off email and onto the forum.
Option 5 - I fully support a much simpler sign up process. An Admin should be able to add a member and set them up - member just confirms via an email link.
Option 6 - useful for long Threads. Like the more flexible approach for Posting different types of content.