User Stories

1. As Adam (a frustrated resident) I want to send in a complaint via SMS about my apartment's problems by following the instructions on ACORN's pamphlet. I want to warn others about the problems in my building and to pressure the landlord into dealing with the issues.

From conversation with Judy: 'Users will send in their complaints via SMS or by filling out a form on the website'

2. As Adam (a frustrated resident) in my SMS complaint I can specify the category my complaint falls under, so that others have an easier time finding it.

From conversation with Judy: 'Each complaint falls into one of 8 categories.'

3. As Jane (a frustrated resident) I want to send in a complaint via the ACORN website about my apartment's problems. I want to warn others about the problems in my building and to pressure the landlord into dealing with the issues.

From conversation with Judy: 'Users will send in their complaints via SMS or by filling out a form on the website'

4. As Ken I want to use the ACORN website to search for an address and to see if it other users submitted any complaints, so that I can make a smarter decision when choosing a new home.

From conversation with Judy: 'Users can use the website and the interactive map to see what buildings were complained about'

5. As Ken I want to use the interactive map on the ACORN website to learn about areas that have many reported problems so that I can make a smarter choice about finding a place.

From conversation with Judy: 'Users can use the website and the interactive map to see what buildings were complained about'

6. As Aliya (ACORN Organizer) I want to use the interactive map to discover which areas of Toronto have the most complaints, so that I can help ACORN focus their resources on the most problematic areas.

From conversation with Judy: 'We will use the data represented on the map to make internal decisions about how ACORN Canada functions'

7. As Aliya (ACORN Organizer) I want to use the category filters on the interactive map to only display the problem categories I am currently interested in.

From conversation with Judy: "The map on the website should display the type of complaint the user submits"

8. As Ken I want to use the ACORN website to use the interactive map to find an address and to see if it other users submitted any complaints, so that I can make a smarter decision when choosing a new home.

From conversation with Judy: 'Users can use the website and the interactive map to see what buildings were complained about'

9. As Aliya, I want to see only the most recent complaints on the interactive map, so that I can get a clearer picture about what the current situation is.

From conversations with Judy: 'We want apartments or houses that solve their issues to slowly disappear from the interactive map.'

10. As Aliya, I want to view the issues based on their priority level, so that I can help the extreme cases first.

From conversations with Judy: 'We want our map to be prioritized in order to alert ACORN employees on the more urgent issues.'

11. As Aliya, I want to be able to limit my searches to addresses and neighborhoods so that ACORN can tackle the problems based on geographical areas.

From conversations with Judy: 'The website should contain search options so that we can limit the complaints to certain areas of the city.'

12. As Ken, I want to find out any previous issues that have taken place in certain areas, so that I can choose a home in a more reliable location.

From conversations with Judy: 'Users should be able to check if a location has had a history of maintenance issues.'

13. As Jane I want to be able to search the website for complaints made by me, so that I can find my complaints later.

From conversations with Judy: 'The website should contain search options.'

14. As Aliya (an Acorn employee), I want the website to have information about different government departments I could contact regarding a specific type of complaint so that I don’t have to leave the website to find helpful resources.

15. As Adam (a current resident), I want to be able to increase the priority of a compliant, so that if my house issue has not been solved in 3 months, I want to get Acorn employee’s attention.

From conversations with Judy: 'Users should be able to notify us if we haven’t noticed their issue for a long period of time'

16. As Aliya (an ACORN employee) I would like to see the contact information attached to the complaint, so that I can reach the person who submitted the complaint in case I need more information.

17. As Adam (a frustrated resident) I would like to receive an SMS response when I submit a complaint via SMS, so that I know that my complaint reached its destination.

18. As a frustrated resident with a smart phone I would like to be able to access the website from my phone, so that I don’t have to find a wifi connection in order to submit a complaint.

From conversations with Judy: 'Some users will have smartphones, and will want to submit their complaints using mobile browsers.' -- not a priority

19. As Aaliya (an Acorn employee), I want the interface to resemble a common map interface that I have used before like Google Maps.

From conversation with Judy: 'We want our website to have an interactive map that uses Google Maps.'

20. As Jane (a frustrated resident), I want to be able to submit a complaint anonymously via the web interface, so that I can avoid a confrontation with my landlord.