2. 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?
3. 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]
4. 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.
5. 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
6. 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 Tourists
3. Interviews
○ with Tourists
○ with Museum stakeholders
○ with Museum staff
7. How do we research UX: Fieldwork
1. We visited the Museum impersonating
tourists 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.
8. 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.
9. 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...
10. 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.
11. 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
12. 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...
13. 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!
14. 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.
15. 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?
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. 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.
19. Who are We
● We are the "UXL" Team
● Hoang C. Huynh
● Chiara Muccitelli
● Elena Nemilova
● Francesca Romano
● Chiara Tortolini
● Barbara Mellini (tutor)
