Looking Down vs. Looking Around: Process design for mobile experiences

Ed RodleyMuseum of Science,

Boston@erodley

Looking Down vs. Looking Around

Process design for mobile experiences

I’d like to expand a bit on some of the process design points in the book and talk about examples of people doing interesting things with mobile experiences.

First, a question

What kind of mobile experiences are you

thinking of developing?

• In-gallery enhancements to physical experience?• (multimedia tour)• In-museum enhancements to physical experience?• (Tate Trumps, SCVNGR hunts, mystery walks)• In-museum wayfinding aid?• (AMNH Explorer)• At-large enhancements to physical experience?• (Stedelijk’s AR campaign)• At-large standalone experience?• (LeafSnap, Streetmuseum, Biblion)

What we call “mobile” today is really a collection of disparate kinds of experiences.

Being clear about what *you* mean when you say mobile is important.Right now, anything that isn’t nailed down is “mobile.”And that’s most everything.

Disambiguation

These people are all using mobiles to access

museum content.

They’re not the same

The first is the original kind of access, in the museum, where we control everything.

The second is the at home, at work, at school access, which the Web introduced. Here, most museums live, in between the first and second model.

Mobile’s killer app is that it opens up a whole new kind of access. It gives you something to do while waiting for the bus, or out in the world.

Be appropriate for the medium

A mobile’s not just a tiny desktop computer

In fact, I’d encourage us all to turn that thinking around completely start designing with mobile in mind and then desktop. Mobiles may be small in size, but they’re big in capability: dual orientation, GPS, text, voice, touch gestures, accelerometers…

Mobiles apps that take advantage of these capabilities will be the ones are most successful.

Biblion

Bostonglobe.com

Be relevant to your audience,

and then to your content strength

LeafSnap

Field Guide to Victorian Wildlife

Have a story to tell

Giskin Anomaly Scapes

Give it away(At least for starters)

What is your favorite mobile museum app?

Launchball Scapes

My faves this week are,

Do it now(Be responsive)

• It’s like a moving walkway. Getting on may seem like a big step, but once you’re on, it’s easier.

• Mobile isn’t going away. It’s not a fad.

• Waiting for a better time isn’t going to help.

Do what you can(Be realistic)

It’s better to launch this year with less than to wait for the stars to align.

Do it better tomorrow(Be strategic)

• It’s in next year’s budget In some way shape or form

• It’s on a regular update schedule Nobody keeps an app that’s never updated

• It’s giving you the tools for the next project. This means you’ve thought about what’s the next thing. All the good stuff you learn on this project is going to feed ___?

Thanks!