City of San Antonio - 311 Customer Service

311SA: Designing a Better Way for Residents to Connect With City Services

Role: UX Researcher and Designer

Skills: Interviews, Focus Groups, Low & Mid-Fidelity Wireframes, Mid-Fidelity Prototypes, Usability Testing

Tools: Figma, Zoom

Executive Summary: 

In 2023, I worked with RedSquared Consulting as a researcher and lead designer for the City of San Antonio’s 311 Next Generation Project, collaborating with a primary researcher, project manager, and city stakeholders to enhance the 311SA App and explore a unified city services platform. 311 is a vital service for residents, enabling them to report issues like potholes, graffiti, and waste collection concerns, and connecting them directly with the departments that can help.

Through user interviews, focus groups, and usability testing, we identified opportunities for real-time case updates, clearer service request tracking, and stronger communication between the City and residents.

I led the design of a conceptual prototype focused on usability, accessibility, and seamless navigation. This work enabled the City to respond more efficiently to resident needs, streamline internal processes, and improve transparency, while also inspiring immediate app improvements. It helped shape a resident-first vision for a centralized digital platform that strengthens trust, boosts operational efficiency, and deepens long-term engagement with the community.

ABOUT THE CLIENT AND PROJECT

The City of San Antonio launched the 311SA App in 2018 to provide residents with a new user-centered mobile platform for requesting city services. Over the years, the City gained valuable insights into user needs and expanded its resident-focused digital initiatives, including a redesign of the City’s website. As technology and resident expectations evolved, new research was needed to assess how well the app met current user needs and to identify opportunities for enhanced functionality, usability, and design updates. I was involved in the app’s development, initial launch, and subsequent updates, as well as this project to assess its effectiveness and explore opportunities for improvement.

PROJECT GOALS

The goals of the project were to:

  1. Provide user insights on the digital adoption of the 311 app. 

  2. Recommend new functionality and features for the 311 app based on feedback from residents and stakeholders.

  3. Envision a new all-in-one mobile application for City Services.

RESEARCH

 The project was divided in 3 main phases: 

Phase 1: Previous Research & Foundations

In this phase we:

  • Reviewed existing user research from 2018-2022 and consolidated our key findings on residents’ needs, expectations, pain points, and desired functionality on City web and mobile platforms. This helped us to identify gaps in existing research findings and shape the focus of our current research project.

  • We collaborated with City of San Antonio stakeholders to finalize our research approach and the recruitment criteria for user research participants.

Phase 2: Updates to 311SA App 

A moment from a remote focus group session I facilitated with 311SA app users in San Antonio. Faces are blurred to maintain participant confidentiality.

In this phase we:

Focused on understanding 311 app users' needs and gathered feedback on design concepts for an integrated city services app through user interviews and focus groups.

We used user interviews to gain deep, personal insights into how individuals were using the 311SA app and where they encountered issues. This helped to uncover needs that might not emerge in broader surveys. We paired this with focus groups to observe how residents responded to each other’s experiences, which helped surface shared concerns and community-level themes that informed design priorities.


User Interviews: 


We remotely conducted one-on-one interviews with 15 app users.

The goals of the interview session were to better understand and gather feedback on four main areas: 

  1. Residents' perceptions of City services

  2. Residents' preferred channels for City information

  3. Residents' unmet needs and desired features for the 311 app

  4. Residents' feedback on design concepts for an integrated city services app

Focus Groups:

We remotely conducted 2 resident focus groups, each with 6 app users—one session in English and the other in Spanish. 


The goals of the focus groups were to:

  1. Gather feedback on residents' unmet needs and desired features for the 311 app 

  2. Gather feedback on residents' unmet needs and desired features for other digital interactions with the City

  3. Gather feedback on residents' feedback on design concepts for an integrated city services app

  4. Compare digital interaction trends across San Antonio resident segments

  5. Assess the impact of language (Spanish/English) on City interactions

We also conducted a focus group with City staff representing all Council districts in the City of San Antonio.

The goals of this focus group were to:

  1. Identify desired features for the 311 app from Council constituents.

  2. Understand broader user needs for digital interactions with the City.

  3. Document additional feedback from Council representatives.

DESIGN

Phase 3: Future All-In-One App Concept

Based on the insights gathered from the user interviews and focus groups in Phase 2, I created a mid-fidelity prototype including the features and functionality that users indicated they would like to see in an integrated app with access to a variety of city services. I utilized Figma to create the prototype and followed the design guidelines in the City of San Antonio’s brand toolkit.


Homepage

Homepage - Scrolled Down - Main Menu

Resources Page

Live Chat with City Representative

TESTING

A moment from a remote usability test session I facilitated with a San Antonio resident. Face is blurred to maintain participant confidentiality.

We conducted usability tests remotely with 7 San Antonio residents to gather feedback on the proposed features and functionality included in the prototype.

We tested the following forms/sections:

1. Homepage and Main Menu

2. Service Request - Aggressive Animal Form Submission Enhancements and Follow Up

3. City Resources section

4. Applying for a Garage Sale Permit - Completing application, payment, and receiving approval


The goals of the usability test were to:

  1. Understand residents’ perceptions of additional functionality and information in an integrated 311 app.

  2. Identify residents’ preferred methods for interacting with City information.

  3. Determine the information residents expect to provide when reporting specific issues.

  4. Gather feedback on proposed methods for providing updates and follow-ups for service requests.

  5. Identify recommendations to improve the 311 app’s usability and navigation.

ANALYSIS

Key Takeaways from Resident Interviews & Focus Groups

  1. Residents want more detailed information about their requests.
    While the app already supports a wide range of services, users are asking for deeper insights—such as clearer status updates, timelines, and next steps on submitted cases.

  2. Residents expect timely updates and communication.
    Timeliness matters. Users want to know the City is actively working on their request and appreciate regular updates that build trust and confidence.

  3. Residents seek connection and community, not just transactions.
    Beyond reporting issues, residents want the app to foster a sense of community. They value proactive outreach from the City and support for underserved and disadvantaged groups.


Key Takeaways from Usability Testing of New Prototype Features

  1. Users like having all City services in one place.
    Participants responded positively to the integrated approach, finding it more convenient to access a variety of services from a single platform.

  2. Navigation and labeling need improvement.
    Testers found some categories—like News, Events, and City Services—unclear or confusing. Better organization and naming are needed to reflect user expectations.

  3. Residents want content that’s local and relevant.
    Users expect neighborhood-specific updates. Customizing content like news, events, and traffic based on location would make the app more engaging and useful.

IMPACT

App Updates & Shaping Strategy

Research findings informed targeted 311SA App improvements and guided the City’s future digital strategy, helping residents get clearer updates and enabling staff to work more efficiently.

Enhanced Usability

Improved clarity of service updates, navigation, and communication features made the app easier for residents to use while supporting faster, more coordinated responses from the City.

Foundations for a Unified City Platform

Laid the groundwork for an integrated city services platform that expands access for residents and equips the City to deliver services more efficiently and equitably.

REFLECTION

This project was especially meaningful to me, as I had been involved with the 311SA app from its development and initial launch through several updates and eventually, in assessing its effectiveness and exploring opportunities for improvement. Being part of the app’s full lifecycle gave me a unique perspective on how it evolved and how resident needs changed over time. Hearing directly from users in interviews and focus groups revealed a strong desire for more transparency, clearer communication, and a deeper sense of connection with the City. These conversations reminded me that public-facing tools aren’t just about functionality, they’re also about trust, equity, and access.

Usability testing with the updated prototype offered a fresh wave of insight. While participants appreciated the all-in-one approach and new features, they also pointed out challenges with navigation and labeling, reinforcing the importance of clarity and user-centered structure. The project as a whole deepened my understanding of how small design choices can shape user perception and impact engagement. It was a valuable reminder of the importance of designing digital tools that are not only functional, but also intuitive, inclusive, and grounded in the lived experiences of the people they serve.

City of San Antonio's official Facebook post from the 2018 311SA app launch event. I was proud to be part of the development team pictured above.