User eXperience Research

Exploring UX in Musei Capitolini

Just a brief sketch to frame our work

● Why to research Users?

● How do we explore UX?

● How do we analyse the data?

● How to proceed to design?

UX Research: Why?

Early focus on Users and Tasks

“ First, designers must understand who the user will be. This understanding is arrived at in part by directly studying their cognitive, behavioral, anthropometric and attitudinal characteristics, and in part by studying the nature of the work expected to be accomplished ”

[Gould and Lewis, 1985]

Why research Users

Users are observed in their own environment, in order to understand the context of their daily practices.

We have to pay attention to struggles, difficulties, needs and expectations.

Why research Users

We observe because

● Users are not able to make a clear distinction between their needs and their desires

● Users are not able to explain something they know nothing about

● Users will try to conceal their problems if asked directly

● We are somehow biased into finding problems and the last thing we want to do is to suggest problems

How do we research UX: Activities

We used different strategies to explore and define the UX in the Museum Capitolini:

1. Fieldwork○ on Ourselves

2. Shadowing (observation)

○ on Tourists3. Interviews

○ with Tourists○ with Museum stakeholders○ with Museum staff

How do we research UX: Fieldwork

1. We visited the Museum impersonatingtourists with different behaviours.

2. We used all the technological supports the museum provides: Map, Audioguide, NFC.

3. We tested different information paths.

4. We took field notes and discussed them.

How do we research UX: Fieldwork

We observed Ourselves

Since we're "acting" as tourists

We observed each other...even though ...

We are not the average tourist, because we are savvy about our objectives and we had targets to reach and tasks to accomplish.

How do we research UX: Shadowing

We observed tourists

Using the SHADOWING technique which allows us to understand how tourists behave inside and outside the museum by observing them "over the shoulders".

We focused our observation on time, hot-spots, orientation, favorite exhibits and paths...

Shadow Stalking is a tough job...think it like a Safari...

How do we research UX: Interviewing

The museum management and staff

We looked at the management leading goals:● to spread art by making tourists the real

owners of the oeuvres and by providing quality services for the visitors.

We compared our own experience with:● the ones of unsatisfied tourists reported

either by the Museum staff, by direct complaints or by the Customer service.

Tourists on site

1. We interviewed tourists of different genre and types from all over the world.

2. We get to know them a little by asking how they got there and their motivations.

3. We asked what did they expect to find before they enter the museum.

4. We asked how was their experience of the museum once their visit was over.

How do we research UX: Interviewing

We asked ourselves 2 (simple) questions

● Who is our User?

● What do We know about him?

...and We found out that these questions are not simple at all...

How do we analyze data

We gathered meaningful excerpts from our interviews and start seeing patterns and behaviours, along with unexpected user needs.

"We just love to walk around and see local people"(couple, 20 y.o., RU)"We are interested in Ancient Rome history" (couple, 30 y.o., RU)"I just wander around the museum"(visitor, 30 y.o., USA)"It seems that the museums of Rome have not a clear historical path" (couple, 30 y.o., ESP)"I only know there's the Shewolf inside the museum" (couple, 30 y.o., RU)"We read information stands to know the name of the exhibit" (3 girls, 20 y.o., GER)"They would like to have more information about orientation inside" (2 friends, 20 y.o., USA)"We don't understand how to use this map to visit the museum" (3 girls, 20 y.o., USA)"The visit path was ok, but i would like to have had some more light that would improve the fruition of the paintings" (visitor, 83 y.o., ITA)

Time to frame these data into a valuable tool to assist our analysis!

How do we analyze data: the UEM

The User Ethnographic Map (UEM) is a specific tool for analysing extremely heterogeneous data that works as a bridge between the ethnographic research and the design phase.

How? It highlights specific categories related to how the user acts in his natural context which are crucial for the design thinking.

The main difference between the classic designers "Empathy Map" and the "User Ethnographic Map" is the strong focus on research data.

How do we analyze data: the UEM

What are the categories that are meaningful for design?

● SAY: What does the user says?● DO: What does the user do?● MEAN: What meaning he attributes to his surrounding?● FEEL: How does he feel?● SEE: What does he see around that has an impact on his actions?● HEAR: What does he hear from people that may orient beliefs?● NEED/WANT: What does he need to improve his experience?● STRUGGLE: What kind of problems he encounters?

How do we analyze data: the UEM

All the excerpts are then placed inside one of the aforementioned categories, giving us a visual spectrum of all the thinking of our data-driven User.

Everything comes to sense when real data are framed into context and become representative and relevant for analysis.

How to proceed next

Next Steps are:

1. Inventory and Categorization of info bits which are a distilled chunk of information about our Users.

We are moving up from a detailed type of information to a lousy boxed one, because we need to reduce them in a more manageable form.

How to proceed next

Next Steps are:

2. Creation of Mental Models which are a representation of the mental space where the activities of our tourists took place.

Who are We

● We are the "UXL" Team

● Hoang C. Huynh● Chiara Muccitelli● Elena Nemilova● Francesca Romano● Chiara Tortolini

● Barbara Mellini (tutor)