Use Cases

The following use cases (“user stories”) have been drafted (by Sarah, Oct 2025) to help us compare alternative platforms and understand how well they might need Merri-bek's needs for digital spaces.

Suggestion: select a couple of use cases, one simple and one more complex, and work through them while you try out a candidate platform. Make notes about how the use case is met, any limitations and challenges, any other notes. You can use the 3 questions to organise your notes, but you can also think more broadly.

Consider also: What additional use cases should we consider for emergencies, and for business-as-usual?

How might our digital spaces be used in the case of state-wide rolling blackouts, extreme floods that impact mainstream utilities and services, or other disaster scenarios?

Community emergency announcements.

As a SES representative, I want to post announcements highly visible to all users (e.g. a “pinned” / sticky post) so that everyone sees important safety information - e.g. “don’t drink the water”

• How this can be achieved:
• Ease of use for average FB user:
• Limitations and things to consider:

Coordinating volunteers

As a coordinator of a community organisation, I want to be able to post jobs that I need volunteers to do, see their responses re. availability and assign jobs, so that I can coordinate volunteers for existing services (e.g. our food bank) and emergency response (e.g. distributing food and material aid)

• How this can be achieved:
• Ease of use for average FB user:
• Limitations and things to consider:

Requesting and offering assistance

As a citizen, I want to be able to request or offer loans and donations of essential items, and help with e.g. repairs or transport in my local neighbourhood, (e.g. my street or <0.3km radius), so that I can be useful and get help that I need.

• How this can be achieved:
• Ease of use for average FB user:
• Limitations and things to consider:

Being used regularly as part of everyday community activities will mean that the platform is familiar and useful to many in an emergency / blackout scenario.

Advertising community group activities

As leaders of a local community organisation, we want to be able to advertise our events, fundraisers and projects to the local community, to expand awareness and broaden participation beyond existing supporters.

• How this can be achieved:
• Ease of use for average FB user:
• Limitations and things to consider:

Offering and requesting items per e.g. Freecycle / Hard Rubbish Groups

As a citizen, I want to be able to offer and request unwanted household items, (including e.g. food and clothes) so that useful items don’t go to waste and I can get things I need.

• How this can be achieved:
• Ease of use for average FB user:
• Limitations and things to consider:

Sharing information with my neighbours and wider networks

As a citizen, I want to share important and interesting information with my neighbours, friends and community network, to contribute to success of activities and causes I support

• How this can be achieved:
• Ease of use for average FB user:
• Limitations and things to consider:

Moderating and dealing with bad behaviour

As a citizen, I want online misinformation, trolling, scams and other bad actors to be minimised and removed, so that digital spaces are safe and trusted, and contribute to thriving communities

• How this can be achieved: Consider the who as well as the how - perhaps different roles for different types of users, moderators, admins?
• Ease of use for average FB user:
• Limitations and things to consider:

Facilitating and supporting volunteer engagement.

As leaders of a local community organisation, we want to enable discussion and information sharing between our members / volunteers (without other members of the public), to support engagement and social involvement.

• How this can be achieved: Can closed groups be created?
• Ease of use for average FB user:
• Limitations and things to consider: Consider how leaders can help non-tech savvy volunteers who might struggle with e.g. creating user accounts; typing passwords, remembering or resetting passwords; mobile-only users.

Information for volunteers

As leaders of a local community organisation, we want to provide highly visible information-only posts to our volunteers, to share important information where discussion is not needed.

• How this can be achieved:
• Ease of use for average FB user:
• Limitations and things to consider:

Moderating closed group conversations

As leaders of a local community organsiation, we want to moderate online conversations between our members / volunteers, to avoid inaccurate information and minimise tensions.

• How this can be achieved:
• Ease of use for average FB user:
• Limitations and things to consider:

Moderating closed group conversations

As leaders of a local community organsiation, we want to be able to remove or permanently ban members who repeatedly misbehave, to ensure that our online group is safe for our members.

• How this can be achieved:
• Ease of use for average FB user:
• Limitations and things to consider:

Requesting advice and recommendations per e.g. Good Karma Groups

As a citizen, I want to be able to request advice and recommendations regarding local businesses so that I can get the goods and services that meet my needs and preferences.

• How this can be achieved:
• Ease of use for average FB user:
• Limitations and things to consider:

See also In an emergency - Requesting and offering assistance

Seeking social activities and connections

As a citizen, I want to be able to find others in my local neighbourhood with similar interests, so that I can build social connections and friendships.

• How this can be achieved:
• Ease of use for average FB user:
• Limitations and things to consider: