UX/UI/Team work
My role: Research, Research synthesis, Taskflow, Prototype
Instructor: Alex Chang and Scott Ichikawa
Team: Jinnan Chen, Jiayi Tang, Julia Chao, Annie Xu
Problem Statement
The Burke Museum is a local natural history and science museum located on the UW Seattle Campus. Given that the Burke Museum has undergone a major renovation and changed the way it approaches personal interactions with staff, there is an opportunity to create a mobile experience that enhances its newly existing structure.
Our Solution
Burke Museum Explorer is an app that aims at one of the main target audiences of Burke, families with youth. Use fun activities that correlate with actual museum exhibitions to encourage family discussions, and evoking curiosities about different topics.
Our Process
Research
User Interviews
We talked to a total of 15 groups and individuals. Some of them are parents, some of them are children ranging from 8 to 12, and some are the staff and volunteers at Burke. In addition, we also interviewed the Director of Interpretation and Visitor Experience.
Secondary Research
In addition, to better understand a good user baseline, to further understand the user mental model, and to understand the best way youth would learn, we interviewed a middle school math teacher and two moms. We looked at other educational apps for kids, and educational essays on youth learning and behavior.
Synthesis Summary
As we discovered throughout our interview and observation stages, we found that there are many problems with the current Burke Museum, and there are many things that they wanted to achieve but are not quite there yet.
We first confirmed that the museum is trying to make families with kids one of their main target groups many renovations done at the Burke had children in mind when designing them.
So to dig deeper, we found that some core pain points involve patrons, museums, and children. Where the problems and pain points interlocked is where we wanted our solutions to be.
We first confirmed that the museum is trying to make families with kids one of their main target groups many renovations done at the Burke had children in mind when designing them.
So to dig deeper, we found that some core pain points involve patrons, museums, and children. Where the problems and pain points interlocked is where we wanted our solutions to be.
Interview Synthesis
User Journey Map
Design Principle
How might we facilitate the Burke learning experience of families with young kids by igniting their curiosities?
Ideation + Iterations
Concept Mapping + Task Flow
Since we have many first and secondary research, we have many insights into children's learning, parents’ experience, and finally museum’s goal. We tried to cover as many insights as possible, and it resulted in our app design becoming way too complex.
The new flow is more straightforward and easier to understand
Iterations + Visual Directions
In this phase, one of our biggest problems was to design an interface that was appropriate for both kids and parents. We had several different visual styles, in the beginning, our visuals were either too childish or too adult. Finally, we found a good balance between child-friendly and adult-friendly.
Iteration 1
Iteration 2
Final Iterations with Taskflows
After previous attempts, we finally found a good balance for both the child and the parents. Maintain playfulness while maintaining a clean visual style.
Take Aways
Usability Testing:
- Missed Opportunity: Limited time led to relying on friends and family for testing, compromising data accuracy.
- Future Strategy: Prioritize guerilla testing with real users, even in tight schedules, to gather relevant insights.
- Quantitative Data: Supplement qualitative interviews with surveys, A/B testing, or heatmaps to strengthen design decisions.
Prioritization and Collaboration:
- Overenthusiasm Overload: Attempting to incorporate all user insights resulted in a confusing product.
- Prioritization Power: Focus on implementing the most impactful and feasible insights first.
- Transparency & Communication: Set clear expectations at the project outset, and share knowledge and updates regularly to foster collaboration.
Growth Mindset:
Learning from Challenges: Acknowledged shortcomings in usability testing and team communication as opportunities for improvement.
Developing Strategies: Formulated plans to address these areas and apply learnings to future projects.
Commitment to Excellence: Striving to contribute effectively as a UX designer and create user-centered products.
