Here’s an interview in Civic Quarterly about the CUTGroup. Snip:
Part civic duty, part solicited opinion, Smart Chicago’s CUTGroup is comprised of “regular Chicago residents who get paid to test civic apps.” This, in turn, allows developers to get citizen feedback on demand and learn how well their civic technology works when put through its paces.
In the Fall of 2014, O’Neil published a book chronicling the creation and execution of Smart Chicago’s CUTGroup. After giving it a read, I reached out for some clarification. As a formerly private-sector user experience designer turned public-sector advocate, I wondered how Smart Chicago’s approach differed from the design research methods I was more familiar with.