participatory museums: the user experience of creative...

PARTICIPATORY MUSEUMS:

THE USER EXPERIENCE OF

CREATIVE AGENTS BY ERIN CAMPBELL

HELP THE BROAD GAIN A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF VISITOR EXPERIENCES

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

• How can the Broad collect information on

their visitors (zip code, email, etc.) if they

are not required to pay or start/end their

visit at a front desk?

• In what format should this information be

collected (survey/interview/activity)?

• At what point in the visitor’s experience at

the Broad should this information be

collected (upon entering/leaving)?

APPROACH

• Discretely observe visitor patterns and

activities

• Survey visitors to gain knowledge about

their experiences

• Attend the Broad with a group of first time

visitors and interview them afterword

• Employ agile research methods throughout

DATA FROM OBSERVATIONS

• Affinity Diagraming

• Wrote separate activities on to sticky

notes

• Organized sticky notes into groups

• Assigned labels to the groups

• Stepped back and analyzed

ANALYZING THE DATA

• Affinity Diagraming

• Wrote separate activities on to sticky

notes

• Organized sticky notes into groups



FINDINGS

• Museum visitors use both the east and the

west entrances

• Most student visitors spend time in the café

area but do not explore the exhibits

• Families that visit the museum do so for the

exhibits

• The gift shop area is like a bookend to

visitors’ experiences at the Broad

NEXT QUESTIONS

• Why are families coming to the museum?

• How did they find out about the Broad?

• What were they expecting from their visit?

• How was their overall experience at the

Broad?

SURVEYS

• Picking a time

• Picking a place

• Asking the right questions

• Adjusting to the unexpected

SURVEY RESULTS

Where are visitors coming from?

How did visitors learn about the Broad?

How many times have visitors beento the Broad this year?

Why were visitors at the Broad that day?

How likely are visitors to come back?

How do visitors describe their experience in a word or short phrase?

ANALYZING SURVEY DATA

• Card Sorting

• Wrote each word on a notecard

• Organized notecards into groups



ENJOYABLE

SWELLLOVELY AWESOME

EXQUISITE WONDERFULPLEASANT

COOL LOVED IT!

GREAT

GOOD

GOOD

ENLIGHTENING

INTERESTING

THOUGHT

PROVOKING

REVELATORY

MASCULINE

INTERESTING EDUCATIONAL

MODERNINTERESTING

INTERESTING

INTERESTINGINTERESTING

INTERESTING

INTERESTING

INTERESTING

DIFFERENT

UNSETTLINGDISAPPOINTING SCARY

SCARYCREEPY

DISAPPOINTING

(3)

DIFFERENT (2)

CREEPY (3)

UNSETTLING (3)

SCARY

INTERESTING

(3)

INTERESTING

(4)

INTERESTING

(5)

ENLIGHTENING

THOUGHT

PROVOKING

REVELATORY

EDUCATIONAL

ENJOYABLE

SWELL

LOVELY

AWESOME

EXQUISITE WONDERFUL

LOVED IT!

GREAT

UNSETTLING (2) SCARY (1)CREEPY (3)

FINDINGS

• Visitors experiences are shaped by the

exhibits themselves

• The words visitors used to describe their

experiences were influenced by the

exhibits

• The number ratings visitors gave had to

do with visitors’ overall experiences at

the Broad (i.e. interactions with museum

personnel, guided tours, etc.)

NEXT STEP

• Recruit a family to visit the Broad

• Interview them after about their

experience at the Broad

• Use this information to create an

experience map

FINDINGS

• The Broad’s website is slightly difficult to

navigate on mobile and desktop

• Travel to and from the Broad does not

appear to be an issue

• Guests are intrigued by the building itself

and overall enjoy their visit

• Opportunities to participate are excellent,

but there is room for growth

OVERALL FINDINGS

• Museums are more than just storage containers

for eye catching items

• Museums are living spaces where people come

to interact with exhibits and with each other

• To enhance these interactions, museums need

to look to their social spaces to learn more

about their visitors’ experiences

• This knowledge will enable museums to design

effective invitations to participate and to tailor

their exhibits to their visitor demographic

RESOURCES

• Campbell, E., Lauren, B., Stoepel, W., & Kribs,

S. (2016). Case Study: Solving a Museum’s Business

Challenges.User Experience Magazine, 16(4).

• The Participatory Museum by Nina Simon

• User Experience Team of One by Leah Buley

• Photos by Paul Warchol, Iwan Baan, and The Eli and

Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State

University

THANK YOU

• Email: [email protected]

• Twitter: @erinmcampbell28

• UXPA MAG ARTICLE OUT THIS SUNDAY!

Case Study: Solving a Museum’s Business

Challenges

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