Day One — October 17
For my first Ironhack group project, our team was tasked with discovering how we may help museums and other public institutions fulfil their mission of preserving cultural heritage while making it accessible to a wider audience.
We started our UX research process by listing our certainties, suppositions and doubts in a CSD Matrix format and referenced any important articles that provided valuable statistics.
During this brainstorming process, we also discussed our initial ideas for improvements (which we placed in the “parking lot of ideas” section). Our group instantly saw virtual reality as a potential solution to this problem; however, we would still need to conduct additional research via surveys to support this idea.
Turning to our lean survey canvas, we further examined how our team should proceed with the initial researching stages.
First, we identified what we needed to learn from our users. Our main focus here was determining how people currently feel about museums currently and their thoughts on these institutions incorporating technology in the future.
We then discussed who we need to learn from (museums visitors, tour guides, artists/critics, etc.) and how we could potentially reach these people (Facebook groups, Ironhack slack survey channels).
We proceeded to compile a list of 15 questions and worked to consolidate this down to fine-tune the information being collected. During this process, we learned to avoid any questions that appear to “lead” or create a negative connotation.
Day Two — October 18
We received a total of (19) survey responses. For additional insight, we were asked to perform a verbal interview to collect information in a different way.
I conducted an interview with my mom who provided great insight into the questions our team was asking. I felt instantly comfortable due to our relationship and felt that I was able to effortlessly come up with additional inquiries due to the natural flow of conversation.
After two days of working on this project, I had the potential idea of how to minimize the current gap between art and people.
Potential Idea:
Celebrities/influencers promote museums/public institutions (have a personal connection in the topic/interest).
When walking through the museum, visitors can listen to a guided audio tour that tracks you via GPS to provide personalized experience (solo or with friends) along with providing you with educational facts/conversation starters voiced by your favorite singer/movie star/historian/influencer.
The mobile app will also show you upcoming VR concert/live experiences in themed environments which can only be accessed from the museum/public institution (after-hour events — wine tasting, show).
With this idea on my mind, we will see how the group will respond or how this may alter the direction of our project.
Day Three — October 19
We then focused on organizing the data into an affinity map. Using the information collected in our surveys, we divided the data into the following groups: Pains, Gains, Features, Possible Solutions and User Type
We also further broke down the user type by analyzing the following details: age, location, interests/motivations
This process took some time as our group collectively worked together to ensure the information was being added in the appropriate categories. We reviewed each of the main groupings and verified that we were all aligned.
Day Four — October 20
After finalizing our affinity map, we turned to our HMW (How Might We) statements. Our group collaborated on potential problems we might solve in relation to the data we received.
For example:
o How Might We allow users to experience museums affordably?
o How Might We create experiences for those who don’t have access to see museums?
We then turned to our Problem Statement and Hypothesis statements to help us further fine-tune the problem and resolution at hand. In this exercise, we outlined the user’s needs, the business needs, and the overall goal.
As a next step, our group utilized an empathy map to further connect with our target user. The empathy map highlighted what our user might be thinking, feeling, hearing, seeing, doing, and saying.
The empathy map helped us curate a user persona based on all of the information we received through our research. We all felt aligned in who our end user was along with their common frustrations/wants. Meet Adriana! An introverted and ambitious law student who loves to go to museums to experience art and culture.
Day Five — October 21
After developing the user persona for Adriana, our team proceeded to create a storyboard, emotion board, and user journey map.
When creating the storyboard, we enhanced the visuals by using Bitmoji to digitize Adriana. We outlined the challenges Adriana could potentially face when attempting to visit a museum exhibit. This was a great exercise for our group to collaborate on a single plotline.
The emotion board further helped us see the various emotions the end user could experience when going through the current user journey. Finally, the journey map allowed our group to utilize emojis and determine open opportunities where enhancements to the current process could be made.
Day Six — October 24
On our last day, we utilized the Worst Idea and Crazy Eight to determine which solution we would be implementing.
We agreed that in order to solve our problem of making heritage accessible to everyone (while increasing overall museum interest), we would focus on:
- Creating a product that tracks your pathway through a museum via GPS, provides fun facts on artifacts/exhibits, and alerts you when high crowded areas are less populated
- Including an interactive, online tour hosted by your favorite historian (or celebrity!)
The Eisenhower Matrix was the final step in the process of deciding the final features to implement into our product.
DO FIRST:
- Search for museum exhibits and tickets
- Accessing the guided audio via GPS (in-person experience)
- Accessing the online guided tour (virtual experience)
SCHEDULE:
- Virtual reality experiences
- Membership offerings
We then finalized our project by creating wireframes, conducting usability testing for our lo-fi prototype and putting together a presentation to share with our cohort.
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