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User Data

Even if you have a clear idea of what you want to build and why, spend some time gathering data from your users. Maybe you have a full-fledged usability team and you don't need this advice, but if not, I have some recommendations for easy and effective ways to gather user data.

Don't skip this step! Your spaces have their own unique challenges and your users are different from ours. I guarantee that you will GREATLY improve your product if you spend a little time talking to your users. Here are some easy ways to get started.

Talk to your Colleagues​

If you don't have a UX Team, I highly recommend that you engage your colleagues, particularly those who work directly with students. I know, they are BUSY, but here are some strategies to get them engaged.

Ask for their opinions.​

Everyone has an opinion, and they want to share it, and they want you to listen.

I started by asking my colleagues for their thoughts about the main challenges students face in navigating our spaces, and if they had time, I asked to give some structured feedback about the initial site.

Email idea:

Hey folks, I’m working on a new tool to help students navigate our gnarly maze of a building and I’d love your feedback about some of the problems our students face navigating our spaces. What do you think is the biggest problem our students face in navigating our spaces?

If you have time, take a look at the site and answer any or all of the questions below.

  • is the purpose of this site clear?
  • Is it clear how to use filters?
  • Look through the filters -- do they make sense? Is it intuitive how they work? If not, what would work better? Are there additional filters we should consider? NOte that there are only 12 spaces on the site at this time so you might easily get 0 results, but that should be unusual once all the spaces are entered.
  • Once you choose a space, what do you expect to see? A few of the areas have maps with a walking path to the site-- the styling is a little clunky here -- but ignoring that, how could / should the maps work more effectively?
  • Look through the details about the space -- what other information, features, etc. would someone find useful about our spaces?
  • Other thoughts, ideas about what could be done differently / better ?

Share results – and more information about the project​

After I got the feedback, I invited everyone in the library to come to an information session. I targeted the supervisors in circulation and the Studio (our reference desk variation), and they in turn encouraged their staff to attend as well.

Share the results of their feedback – here’s what you all said are the biggest issues.

Here’s the site and some of the changes I made based on your feedback.

Make the results interesting and get them interacting again – do a usability project with them.

Write a love letter to your favorite space in the library – or a breakup letter to your least favorite space in the library.

Ask them for Resources​

Now that your colleagues know what you're doing and are engaged with the work, it's easier to ask them for resources.

I asked if I could work with their student employees to do some initial interviews and usability testing. Then I ased if I could use their spaces to recruit additional students, and set up a box for love letters. I'm working my way up to engaging a few of their students in helping me do ongoing usability in the future. Again, now that they are aware and engaged with jy project, these asks are all that much easier.

Student employees for interviews / usability testing This is a new resource, so they aren’t familiar with it.

Engage your Students​

Interviews​

  • Do you usually study on campus?
  • What is the most important thing about a study space for you? What do you look for?
  • [Show them ad for Find a space] If you saw this, would you check it out? What would make you scan the QR code or not scan it?
  • [Have them scan code and look at Find a Space]: Describe what this is and how you think it works?
  • If you were looking for a space that met your needs (from first question above) how would you go about doing that? If not clear, what would you expect to see to help you locate that need? -vNow that you’ve found a space that looks interesting, how would you get there?
  • Are the direction clear?
  • Is the map clear?
  • What else would you recommend or like to see?

Results​

No one knows what a “carrel” is – though we have lots of them and students love them! First student said her favorite study area was those desk things – I assume she meant tables. Second person asked me, “what is a ‘carrel?’” Third said, “The only people that I’ve heard use the word ‘carrel’ are my parent’s age or older!” Realized the first student actually meant her favorite study spot is a carrel! Helped determine format of maps – used two for different floors rather than trying to stack Couldn’t see filters, so change placement and colors before continuing interviews. Positive feedback let me know I was going in the right direction

Accessibility​

Had the luxury of a blind colleague who provided feedback throughout the process. Had one student employee with mobility issues, realized we needed more feedback about physical accessibility. Asked for permission to hire a student in a wheelchair for 5 - 10 hours. Recruiting in summer was difficult, but eventually found a student. Actually only took 3 hours total. Less than $100 = accessibility improvements

What we did:​

Feedback​

Most directions were usable Several recommendations for different elevators to make route easier One case the directions provided were inaccessible Lots of great feedback about facilities themselves – some easy to put into play Showed us the importance of rolling chairs Recommendations about footstools Restroom doors propped open

Results:​

Added accessibility details to Find a Space Improved problematic directions Passed suggestions on to library administration for implementation