All work and concepts presented in the following presentation are ©2010 Adam Howard, Jenny Shirey, Ruqian Zhou and Juliana Diaz Carnegie Mellon University, School of Design

1. Coping with
Information Overload
Concepts for the University Community
Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou

2. Concepts for the University Community - March 3, 2010 - 20Ten Graduate Studio II - School of Design - Carnegie Mellon University
Research Recap
Information distribution & life cycle
Methods
»» Five»Touchstone»Tours
»» One»Survey
Results
»» People»spend»a»great»deal»of»time»»
managing»communications»and»information
»» Most»prefer»e-mail,»but»many»find»»
that»it»is»a»burden
2 Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou

3. Concepts for the University Community - March 3, 2010 - 20Ten Graduate Studio II - School of Design - Carnegie Mellon University
Positioning Statement
Information overload in
higher education
University faculty, staff and students
all experience information overload.
Each of these groups needs a better
way to manage information through
feedback, filtering and timeliness.
3 Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou

4. Concepts for the University Community - March 3, 2010 - 20Ten Graduate Studio II - School of Design - Carnegie Mellon University
Additional Research
Information overload
2nd Survey
» 65%»of»people»say»
less than half»of»e-mails»
are»» elevant
r
»» 53%»say»e-mails»about»
events»are»“hardly ever”
of interest
»» Campus»bulletin»boards:»
“cluttered,” “messy,”
and “crowded”
4 Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou

5. Concepts for the University Community - March 3, 2010 - 20Ten Graduate Studio II - School of Design - Carnegie Mellon University
Generative Stage
Creating a concept matrix
tions Familie
s tion tion
O rganiza Educta Educta
) (Highe
r ed) ry ed)
(offices (Prima
1 to
dy
Everybo
1 to
d Group
Targete
1 to 1
5 Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou

6. Concepts for the University Community - March 3, 2010 - 20Ten Graduate Studio II - School of Design - Carnegie Mellon University
Generative Stage
Getting some clarity
Axis 2
6 Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou

7. Concepts for the University Community - March 3, 2010 - 20Ten Graduate Studio II - School of Design - Carnegie Mellon University
Generative Stage
Evaluation of concepts
Looking over what we had
»» Using»evaluation»worksheet,»we»looked»»
at»each»concept»separately Concept Evaluation
»» Ranked»ideas»using»two»primary»criteria:»»
Potential and Difficulty Idea
»» Initially»our»idea»was»to»evaluate»individually
»» Decided»to»leverage»group’s»collective»»
Difficulty Potential
experience»to»obtain»more»balanced»evaluation
6 4
7 Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou

8. Concepts for the University Community - March 3, 2010 - 20Ten Graduate Studio II - School of Design - Carnegie Mellon University
Generative Stage
Mapping & selection
8 Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou

9. Concepts for the University Community - March 3, 2010 - 20Ten Graduate Studio II - School of Design - Carnegie Mellon University
Concept I
Campus information cloud
Touchscreen terminals allow communication across
a campus as well as a means of tapping the university
knowledge ‘cloud.’
»» Immediate»RSVP»or»feedback»for»event»announcements
»» Pose»research»questions»to»the»campus»community
»» Ask»fellow»students»for»advice»or»directions
»» Watch»real-time»video»of»events»and»post»»
a»response
»» Follow»information»trends»on»campus
9 Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou

10. Concepts for the University Community - March 3, 2010 - 20Ten Graduate Studio II - School of Design - Carnegie Mellon University
Concept I
Campus information cloud: story
Tom is doing research in the
university library and can’t find C
u
the information he needs. He gets m
u
l
u
s
frustrated and packs his things
to leave. On his way out, he
notices the Cumulus screen and
stops to write out his question
before he leaves.
10 Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou

11. Concepts for the University Community - March 3, 2010 - 20Ten Graduate Studio II - School of Design - Carnegie Mellon University
Concept I - Story
Campus information cloud: story
Professor Baker is researching a topic closely related
to Tom’s, but works in a different department. He sees
Tom’s question on another Cumulus screen and decides
to answer. The Cumulus system notifies Tom about the
answer, and he is able to finish his research. He keeps
in touch with Professor Baker and becomes a research
assistant later that year.
11 Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou

12. Concepts for the University Community - March 3, 2010 - 20Ten Graduate Studio II - School of Design - Carnegie Mellon University
Concept II
Research hub
Proactive linking
»» When»research»is»being»conducted»it’s»hard»to»know»
what’s»available
»» Knowing»who»is»also»working»on»this»is»equally»difficult
»» Looking»for»local»faculty»with»the»correct»type»»
of»expertise
»» Multiple»departments»tackling»similar»ideas»»
but»isolated»by»departmental»barriers
12 Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou

13. Concepts for the University Community - March 3, 2010 - 20Ten Graduate Studio II - School of Design - Carnegie Mellon University
Concept II - Story
Research hub: story
Mark has spent various days researching
a topic for a paper. He’s found too much hub
literature to sort through and wants to discuss
his ideas with someone who is also working
in this area. When Mark downloads material
from the Research Hub, the hub tells him
who else is engaging that material. The hub
can also point Mark to faculty within his
university or at other universities.
13 Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou

14. Concepts for the University Community - March 3, 2010 - 20Ten Graduate Studio II - School of Design - Carnegie Mellon University
Concept III
Bright board
Gain control over information overload
»» Relevant,»filtered»information
»» Tangible:»people»can»interact»with»and»move»
elements»around
»» Upcoming»events»are»highlighted
»» Self-updating:»old»information»fades»away
14 Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou

15. Concepts for the University Community - March 3, 2010 - 20Ten Graduate Studio II - School of Design - Carnegie Mellon University
Concept III- Story
Bright board: story
Linda is walking by the Bright Board.
She is attracted by a live lecture.
Linda uses the touchscreen to
br
interact with the lecture, and finds a ig
ht
workshop next week. She sends the bo
ar
d
details to her online calendar.
15 Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou

16. Concepts for the University Community - March 3, 2010 - 20Ten Graduate Studio II - School of Design - Carnegie Mellon University
Possible Next Steps
Next: analyze current systems
Bulletin boards
»» Time-lapse»film»to»see»how»people»interact»
with»bulletin»boards»on»campus
Research hub
»» Try»out»systems»that»currently»exist»online»
(zotero,»for»example)
16 Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou

17. Concepts for the University Community - March 3, 2010 - 20Ten Graduate Studio II - School of Design - Carnegie Mellon University
Possible Next Steps
Next: participatory design
1. Collages (ways of visualizing experiences)
»» Visualize»current»experience»vs.»ideal»
experience
»» Example:»“describe»your»current»experience»
with»CMU»bulletin»boards,”»»
and»“describe»your»ideal»experience»with»»
CMU»bulletin»boards”»
17 Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou

18. Concepts for the University Community - March 3, 2010 - 20Ten Graduate Studio II - School of Design - Carnegie Mellon University
Possible Next Steps
Next: participatory design
2. Paper modeling»»(participants»use»components»to»come»up»with»a»concept)
»» Participants»visualize»what»their»ideal»research»hub»
would»look»like
»» Participants»visualize»way»to»share»questions»and»
interests»with»campus»community»(“Campus»Cloud”»
concept)
18 Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou

19. Concepts for the University Community - March 3, 2010 - 20Ten Graduate Studio II - School of Design - Carnegie Mellon University
20Ten final words
Thank you!
»» Questions?
»» Comments?
19 Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou