Project Vasari aimed to create an online community for user research beyond Facebook and Twitter by delivering content using the cloud to move fast, reach new audiences, and foster discussion through expert blogs, videos, and profiles while learning through early experiments, user interviews, and refining the approach to focus on a centralized hub, video tutorials, and user engagement over passive consumption.

1. Creating an online community
for user research
Moving beyond Facebook and Twitter
Boston UPA Mini-Conference May 25, 2011
Tom Vollaro
Sr. Principle Interaction Designer

2. Outline
What, why, and who
Early experiments
Refining our approach
Lessons Learned and What’s Next

3. Agile Manifesto
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan

4. Wearing many hats
Designer
Developer
Scrum Master
Product Owner
Product Owner
Scrum Master
QA Analyst
User Researcher
QA Analyst
Developer
Social Mktg Mgr

5. What are we building? Project Vasari

7. Why?
Deliver using the cloud
Move Fast(er)
Reach a new audience

8. Who? Gabriel the Grad Student
Name: Gabriel
Age: 24
Company Type:
Master of Architecture student and intern at local architecture firm
Location:
In school in Philadelphia, but often travels home to Brazil
• Entering his second year of MArch
• Interning at MULTICO Corp. internal design department for the
summer
• Introduced to Vasari during his first year – as well as Rhino and
Grasshopper
• Becoming less cautious and more excited about technology –
specifically the intersection of parametric design and energy
analysis.
“I hear a lot about Revit, but that is for construction
documents, right?”
“I am stressed and busy during the semester and don’t
have a lot of time to learn a new tool.”

9. How?
Deep Knowledge
Ethnographic
Effectuation
VOC Interviews Probe + Learn
User
Mining Communities
Co-creation
Site Visits
Limited User Deep User
Involvement Engagement
Brainstorming
Surveys Focus Groups
“Easy” Knowledge Dr. Gary Schirr, Social Media Marketing

10. Early Success
10K views within first three months. Over 130K views since launch

11. Early Challenges: Forums

12. Early Challenges: Facebook

13. Early Challenges: Facebook

14. Reassessing
A space for discussion
A space for team generated content
A space for user generated content
A space for user research

16. Shared Login

17. Fostering Discussion
Support

18. Fostering Discussion

19. Sharing Images
David Light

20. David Light

21. David Light

22. Kenneth Walton - NCPC

23. Kenneth Walton - NCPC

24. Kenneth Walton - NCPC

25. Do Tuan Han

26. Do Tuan Han

27. Fabio Palvelli

28. Fabio Palvelli

29. Fabio Palvelli

30. Fabio Palvelli

31. Francesco Felicetto

32. David Light

33. Central Hub
Expert
Blogs Videos Facebook
Wiki Help ProjectVasari.com Twitter
Autodesk Starter
Labs Content

34. Next Chapter: User research
Vet designs early and often
Persona and scenario development
Traditional recruiting

35. 50 Next Chapter: Data Mining
Date Joined 2/18/2011
45
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35
30
25
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15
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5
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Facebook and Ning - weekly new members

36. Next Chapter: Participation
Wiki help
Contests
3D Content
In-product social

37. Present essential
skills for first n uses.
Then switch over to
the “advanced”
playlist
Gabriel notices a new first experience
window. He clicks on “More”

38. Basic Box T-shape Barrel vault L-Shape Gable
Voids Angled Roof Angled Facade Twisted Tower how to make a Dome
Learn twisted
tower watch the video

39. Key Takeaways and Lessons Learned
Wearing many hats over specialization
Conversation over broadcast
Centralized space over twittering walls
Video over text
Transparency over secrecy