year
2023
Role
Research Collaborator Co-designer
timeframe
3 months
tools
Miro, Figma, Pot-its
Service Blueprint was a co-created service design project in partnership with FICA (a nonprofit providing safe, affordable housing to underserved communities). Over Zoom we worked with FICA staff and tenants to map FICA’s housing service using service blueprinting, tenant interviews, and stakeholder workshops. The result was a comprehensive blueprint of the tenant experience that clarified FICA’s processes and highlighted opportunities to improve equity and tenant satisfaction.
This map visualizes the layered network of stakeholders involved in FICA’s housing service, from core users like tenants and their families to direct collaborators such as staff and service partners, and indirect actors including policymakers, funders, and community advocates.
Our work built on FICA’s deep community ties and existing tenant relationships. Rather than extract insights, we approached each session as a space to listen, reflect, and align. Co-creating with tenant leaders and FICA staff helped surface nuances that often get overlooked, while grounding the process in the cultural and social context of those most familiar with the system.
The blueprint helped visualize how FICA’s internal processes, partnerships, and policies intersect. By laying out the full service journey, we could explore where external constraints (like funding requirements or partner availability) shaped internal operations. This broader view helped FICA identify tensions that weren’t visible in day-to-day problem-solving, and opened up strategic conversations across teams helping us to ideate for an array of toolkit ideas.
Rent Readiness & Onboarding Pack
Helps you to: Support new tenants in understanding rights, responsibilities, and FICA’s community model
Type of tool: Onboarding visual cards co-created with former residents
Outcomes: Clear expectations and stronger tenant onboarding
Time: 30–60 min
Decision Transparency Blueprint Pack
Helps you to: Make visible how decisions are made about tenant selection and maintenance prioritization
Type of tool: Live service diagrams with tokens and cards
Outcomes: Transparency and shared understanding of resource allocation
Time: 1–2 hours
Household Tools Discovery Pack
Helps you to: Explore what furniture, appliances, or storage needs are truly missing from each tenant’s space
Type of tool: “Room Remix” layout maps with priority stickers
Outcomes: Clarity in procurement and dignity-centered support
Time: 1–1.5 hours
Apartment Ecosystem Evaluation Pack
Helps you to: Evaluate how current services (e.g. maintenance, support) are perceived across stakeholder groups
Type of tool: Collaborative wall map and sticker heatmaps
Outcomes: Honest multi-lens insights into current service performance
Time: 30–60 min
Community Touchpoints Activation Pack
Helps you to: Reimagine how informal networks and neighbor-to-neighbor support could be integrated
Type of tool: Card sorting and story-led neighbor sessions
Outcomes: Map of trust-based services to enhance community life
Time: 1–1.5 hours
FICA-to-Future Scenario Pack
Helps you to: Invite stakeholders to envision future service directions and policy alignments
Type of tool: Futures role-play and service backcasting
Outcomes: Long-term, resident-rooted strategic alignment
Time: 2–3 hours
