Or why we changed our user strategy
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this…”
Georgina Cronin User Experience Librarian
Cambridge Judge Business School
Why the Star Wars theme ?
At work we kept calling the conference R2D2 so we ran with it
Overview of our Users
• High-fee paying• High expectations• Time-poor• Competitive• Confident• Tech-savvy• Demanding
Are we stereotyping?
• High-fee paying• High expectations• Time-poor• Competitive• Confident• Tech-savvy• Demanding
Some paying more than others, some paying substantially less
UG students very low expectations
Varies between user groups
Not all. Exaggerated personality type
Perhaps more confident than most students but again varies considerably
Not as many gadgets or as much awareness as you’d imagine
Some users don’t use our services no matter how hard we try
Designated Support Librarians (DSL)
UGMBA MFinEMBA MPhils PhD
MEG ANGE CLAUDIA NATASHA SARAH
Identify user group traits and assign each a designated support librarian...
Why DSL missed the target...
• Some didn’t like a single point of contact
• Some groups didn’tnotice the difference• Too many emails
• Too generic
• It’s not their course that defines them
Next: User Experience (UX)...
Apply UX principles/approach
• Usability• Observation/Ethnography• Service & Space Design• Personas/User Types
Personas/User Types
Benefits• Better understanding of
our users• Visualising a concept • Empathising with a real
experience• Offering a framework that
can be updated to suit new needs
Drawbacks• Personas can be too
simplistic• Creation of a stereotype
rather than a “real” person• Over-reliance on theory
rather than IRL experience• “Hidden” users can be
forgotten
values, beliefs and priorities which underpin our UX strategy...20
We represent the real face of the library service…and must constantly act as its
(galactic) ambassadors1
99% of people still think we just ‘Stamp, Shelve and Shhhh’
We must seek to dispel these stereotypes!
2
We are living in ‘the age of the individual’ so we must respond with a highly tailored service3
Our approach to customer service must incorporate choice & flexibility…and sweets!4
Users expect greater personal control and autonomy, so we must help them seize that5
Our users will try to find rogue droids themselves,so when they do ask us for help
we must be as visible and approachable as possible when they need help
6
We need to get better at selling a few planets rather than the whole galaxy (far, far away)
7
We can learn a lot from tabloid newspapers, in terms of content hooks, images and headlines8
We need to be present on each and every communication platform, as all the individual
communities add up to our user base9
We must offer seamless access to services wherever our users are and whatever device they’re on10
We must target as much communication as we can and avoid generic emails 11
Broadcasting does not lead to engagement We must promote our services regularly
through having conversations12
We should continue to develop true awareness of the real needs of our users rather than
assuming that we know what they need13
When teaching our users, we must tell stories in preference to delivering facts14
Hang out where our users are and deliver services at the point of need15
Offering a responsive, agile service is key – itcreates expectation, but also engaged users 16
‘Embrace the informal’ – if we dress too formally it promotes the impression
of barriers and discourages interaction17
Our content should make an emotional connection with our users to foster learning and prompt them to think about us/engage with us more
18
We should always seek to innovate and improve our service –
for the sake of our users and our reputation19
We have an exciting opportunity to engage with our users more effectively, and to earn
recognition and respect (maybe even gold medals?) from our users and our employers
20
“Do... or do not. There is no try”
Thank you!
Georgina Cronin
@senorcthulhu
Image credits
All Star Wars characters and images owned by Lucasfilm Ltd. No infringement is intended and images are being used for educational purposes only. We will comply with any requests to remove content.
Other images:http://www.flickr.com/photos/st3f4n/4229524412/https://www.flickr.com/photos/st3f4n/8601954407/http://www.flickr.com/photos/st3f4n/3951143570/NASAFamous Monsters of FilmlandFan PopNokiaArt StreiberJeffrey Brownhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/jdhancock/3842546304/Chris McVeighhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/jdhancock/4354438814/https://www.flickr.com/photos/st3f4n/4333068306/NASA/ESA