Group Evaluation of Parallell Designs

During today's exercise we discussed our two versions of parallell design. We made many decisions and came to good conclusions about how we want the prototype to look. The design is going to be both customized to the Museum of Medieval Stockholm, as well as simple so elders will understand the product easily. We took the best parts of each design and came up with a list of things we wanted to include in our product.

• There should be a language setting that is a one-time setting. It should be accessible when you start the app for the first time after installation. This is because we don't want the users to see the same screen over and over each time they open the app. However, it should be possible to change the language within the apps settings-menu. 
• Menues are rolled out on parchment-rolls when the user clicks the button for the menu. When the parchment-roll is rolled out there should be a small arrow pointing upwards that when you click it rolls up and closes the menu again. This is manily a esthetic design property to make the app fit to the museum of Medieval Stockholm. 
• There should be only ONE "menu"-button at the op of the screen. However, within the menu there should be more clickable buttons that lead to "more info about the exhibitions", "about the museum", settings". These buttons should also be placed pretty far apart so the user doesn't accedentally click the wrong button. This might be especially common for our target group since elderly people can have coordinations isses with fingers.
• When a picture/symbol has been scanned the audio track should be played automatically on a new "now-playing"-screen. This is because we want the app to have as few clickable options as possible, for the sake of the people of our target group, who may not be used to clicking around much in applications on smartphones. On this "now playing"-screen there should of course be a title of something like: "Now playing: XXX". Other things on this screen should be a "PAUSE"-button, a "BACK"-button that leads to the HOME-screen, a "MORE ABOUT THIS"-button that gives additional information about the exhibition the user is hearing about. 
• At the bottom of the screen there should be a small picture of a knight that helps the user understand where in the app they are currently at, since we want our app to have several levels. When moving deeper into the app the knight should move to the right. 
• On the HOME-screen, the focal point of the camera should have an outline that matches the objects on the wall that is going to be scanned. This makes it easier for the user to understand where/how they should hold the smartphone in order to scan the symbol on the wall.
• The colors and buttons in the app should be customized to the middle ages to make the app fit well to the Museum of Medieval Stockholm. However, they should be quite discrete so they don't take away the attention from the buttons that acctually have a function within the app. 

  

Parallell design session

During this exercise we worked with parallell design, so we divided our group into two smaller groups and each group started working on separate designs; one regular and one "wild and crazy". The regular one was created by Alva and Sofia, and the "wild and crazy" one was created by Carolina and Lovisa. 

When we created our design we thought it was important that the prototype would be easy to navigate, to fit our target group. We also tried to find research that would help us make a prototype that is user friendly to our target group. As mentioned in the research article "Motivations and obstacles to smartphone use by the elderly: developing a research framework" (link here) it is important that the main function of the product is the most central and visible one. So, for our product, whose main function is an audio guide, it is important that the audio guide function is easily found and that other, less important functions are there only to emphasize the audio guide function. Another essential thing that the article adresses is to make the application horizontal, with few levels of depth. According to the source, eldery people often have issues traversing multiple menu levels. So remembering where to go is a common problem. Therefore, our prototypes are mainly of horizontal design. 

Regular design

Besides the features mentioned in the research above, we also wanted our regular prototype to include large buttons and large text, since elderly people commonly have physical obstructions, such as coordination of fingers. The most important buttons on each screen should also be the most emphasized ones. We also thought about different interface metaphors, such as color coding different buttons to put extra feature on their different functions. For example, a red "pause" button and a green "play" button, since those colors are often associated with labels such as "stop" and "go". We used neutral colors, such as blue and light yellow for the buttons that were not the main functions for the application. We also used interface metaphors for using symbols instead of text on a few buttons in our prototype, for example an arrow for the "play"-button (se picture below). We also wanted to have small amounts of text on the screen, since the article mentioned above specifies that elders often experience difficulties with busy screens, i.e. too much presented at once in menus/on screen. 

"Wild and Crazy" design
 It is quite difficult to decide what functions to keep, when your primary persona doesn't have much technical knowledge regarding apps. In practice this means that the difficulty of navigation is directly linked to, if the prototype is of horizontal or vertical design.

After a long discussion mainly regarding the problem space, we decided that in order for us to fully embrace the "wild and crazy" design, a person from our target group would be more like our secondary persona (more technical), so that we could add one or two extra levels of depth in comparison to the "regular" design.

What should it look like?

That being said, we still tried to keep the interface metaphors relativly simple/universal so as not to compromise the usability.  For example we still make use of the typical "play" and "pause" buttons, but instead of making them overly clear eg green and red buttons, we choose to design them as medieval shields instead.
In this prototype we have a menu "scroll" at the top of the screen from which you can access different type of settings, information about the museum's exhibitions etc. Our intention is that when clicked, this menu will "roll out" as if you're reading a parchment roll.

 For our color palett we tried to use colors associated with the medieval times, eg light brown, purple, beige etc BUT we made sure that the background colors were of the the lighter type so as not to make the concept too dark and dreary and enable easy navigation (well visible buttons).
Since this version has more "layers" than the regular design, we though of a sort of "navigator" at the bottom of the screen. So when you move "deeper" into the app the navigator moves further to the right. And when you go back to a previous screen, it moves to the left.

Building.

Notes for seminar # 2 - Alva

For this seminar, the focus of the reading material was on prototyping and evaluating prototypes.

In order to eventually create a first design, it is important to first gather requirements that the product needs to fulfill. You need create an initial conceptual model, a model that takes interface methapors (metaphors that help the user understand the product), interaction types (which support the user’s activities?) and interface types into consideration.

A prototype is an early model that tests a concept or process. There are mainly two different ways of prototyping; low-fidelity prototyping and high-fidelity prototyping. There are pros and cons with both of them, and depending on what developing stage you are in, you should be careful of which to use. A low fidelity prototype has low development cost, so it is often possible to create multiple designs and chose the best features from each of them to use. However, low-fidelity prototypes are often not very detailed, thus they cannot be used for error checking. High-fidelity prototypes are more developed prototypes with more specified and complete functionality, very close to the final product. Since their functions and appearance are highly specified, they can be used for experiments and tests. The user can actually look and feel a high-fidelity prototype as this kind of prototype often have a physical design and is a concreted model of an earlier less specified prototype. It can be applied in scenarios to model situations that can test the usability of the design. The negatives sides are that high-fidelity prototypes are more expensive and time consuming to develop, thus they are also harder to alter if there is something that needs to be changed. High-fidelity prototypes are also not effective for requirement gathering. Consequently, they are not suitable to be used in an early stage of developing a product.

Evaluation is driven by questions about how well a design or a particular aspect of a design satisfy the requirements set for the product, and if the design offers appropriate user experiences. Mostly, is is about doing tests based on experiments and field studies that evaluates the design’s usability.

Question to discuss: How can we evaluate our current design in the best way? And how do we know if our current design meets the requirements we have set for our final prototype?

Notes for Reading Seminar 2

One very important part of developing a product is evaluation, which the book summarizes into four points. The first is called “quick and dirty” which means that designers informally get feedback from users or consultants to confirm that their ideas are in line with users’ needs. The second is called usability testing and gives information that is used to calculate performance times, identify errors and help explain why the users did what they did. The third is field studies which helps increase understanding about what users do naturally and how technology impacts them.

Another important part when developing a product is to use the right methods, i.e. the combinations of techniques used to develop a product. There are five categories. The first is observing users, which is commonly done by notes, audio, video, and interaction. However, there is a challenge for evaluators in how to observe without disturbing the people being observed. The second is asking users – an obvious way of getting feedback. Interviews and questionnaires are the main techniques for doing this. The third is asking experts, which is relatively inexpensive and quick to perform. In addition, experts frequently suggest solutions to problems. The fourth is user testing, where data is collected so that performance can be analyzed. The fifth and final is modeling users' task performance.

The book also bring up a term called the DECIDE framework, which is a list of things to think about during evaluation. The list consists of the following points:

• Determine the overall goals of the evaluation.
• Explore the questions that need to be answered to satisfy the goals.
• Choose the evaluation paradigm and techniques to answer the questions.
• Identify the practical issues that need to be considered.
• Decide on the ethical issues and how to ensure high ethical standards.
• Evaluate, interpret, and present the data.

A final thing which is good to think about is to draw up a schedule for your evaluation study in advance. You should also do one or several pilot studies. This helps to ensure that the study is well designed and likely to be successful.

My question: if you find it difficult to find access to the user group, how do you get feedback on your prototype?

Reading Seminar 2 - Notes

When thinking about your product and what you want to develop, it’s very difficult to just ask people what they want without pointing them in the direction of your own ideas, however if they use something, they fairly quickly know what they DON’T want. This is one of the main reason why prototyping is so very important.

   But before we start prototyping we need to have a sound understanding of our users, their needs and what goals our product should fulfil for them. The best way to do this is to observe the users in question and perform an evaluation, to ensure that our product is right for the users.

   First we need to break down and determine the overall goals with our product, which our evaluation should address. Secondly we need to break down the “Why do people want this?” question into several more pinpointed sub-questions. “Is it because of this/that?” This will give us the opportunity to test or confirm ideas, making the evaluation more detailed.

   In order to answer these questions we need to study the users in question.  Choosing evaluation paradigm and techniques is not easy. What may seem most appropriate may take too much time or cost too much. Sometimes the best solution is to combine several techniques.

   Usability testing is one way, but it should be pointed out that this environment is strictly controlled by the evaluator. We also need to take special care when forming the prepared task the users should perform, and how long it should take. The number of users are typically too small for a statistical analysis and the results are mainly quantitative.

   If we want more qualitative data, field studies may be a better option. But the problem here is how to observe without disturbing. Environment may or may not influence data which in turn may not be 100% reliable due to it sometimes being verbal. But compared to usability testing you will gain invaluable insight into how users “naturally” use our product.

   Both of these techniques raise several questions about practical issues. Such as what users are “typical” for our product? What type of equipment should we use? What type of environment should we study etc. Also don’t forget to analyse all these questions with time and budget constraints in mind.

   Of course if you do interact with users, ethical issues may arise as well. Common practice is to keep the users well informed and assert anonymity (no personal info will be shared unless permission is given). It is of vital importance that no person is identifiable through the research notes!

   Last but not least. All your data need to be thoroughly analysed. Is it reliable? Will it produce same (or very similar) result if the test was performed at a diff time but in the same environment? Does it measure what it was supposed to? Does the environment have any influence on it?

   All this is needed BEFORE we even start to think about our conceptual design or prototype AND it is something that probably will be used several times during the iteration cycle for the prototyping.

At early stages of development, it’s important to hold discussions and review meetings. It enables you to get diff perspectives and in case of low-fidelity prototypes, rapid feedback from colleagues. Also, informal feedback from users early on may prove invaluable when developing an interface metaphor or interaction paradigm.

   If you reach high-fidelity prototyping again it’s important to note the DECIDE framework. So that the prototype still is in line with the users’ needs.

Depending on what type of feedback you want on your product, sometimes it might be better to have a high-fidelity prototype with a horizontal prototyping rather than low-fidelity prototype. For ex if you want feedback on a design for an interface.

Question:

What would be more efficient for usability testing of an app, evolutionary- or throwaway-prototyping?

Notes for Reading Seminar II

Chapter 11 - Prototyping

Using for example scenarios and prototypes to simulate the user experience of our product will help us to reflect over basic user needs during our development pocess. Low fidelity prototyping fits our project the best; it is flexible, cheap in manufacturing effort and easiest if we want to iterative over both our conceptual and physical design. During this continuous iteration, we have found that the scenarios are very handy to apply. They really boost our discussions. We have also been disucssing the fuctionalities of our product and how these are related, so the initial conceptual model is well underway.

Chapter 13 - DECIDE framework

The DECIDE framework for evaluation describes how to go about evaluation of our system.

First we need to figure out what we want to find out from our evaluation - why do we want to evaluate? Then we must break down our questions (about users, their attitudes to the problem we are trying to solve and so on) into subquestions, to properly be able to explore these in our evaluation. Later we must choose a method to carry out the evaluation in a practical and effective way. Time resources, setting, number of participants - all of these must be taken into account.

Handling people is something of an art, as ethical issues always arise. Therefore, it's very important to properly inform the participants in any activity of what's logged and what may be publicized. Protecting privacy is important.

Lastly, all information can be analyzed, interpreted and presented. This information is what will help us to renew our designing process, so this is perhaps the most important part of the evaluation. However, faulty evaluation methods will inevitably reslut in falulty data and interpretation - so we should be very thorough.

Chapter 14 - Natural Setting Evaluation

This chapter first discusses evaluation in controlled (lab experiments) vs. uncontrolled (field studies) settings. For example usability testings can vary a lot depending on the location of the study. Testing mainly generates in quantitative results such as how long it took to complete a task, while observation of a user can generate more qualitative data. Field studies are very important, as they show us how our product would actually be used 'in the wild'.

Question

A more controlled situation, or less? How good should our physical prototype before we ean evaluate it with live participants instead of simulating scenarios? Is a more, or less, controlled situation better in our case. (And how do we effectively manage our time?)

Scenarios and PainPoints

PainPoints:

Issue/Oportunity	Primary Persona	Secondary Persona
General information about the museum	4	2
Easy to use application	5	3
Chance to get additional info outside the exhibition.	3	4
Translation to other languages.	2	5
Track progression in exhibition	1	3
Offline mode.	2	4
Exhibition in-depth material	3	2

Scale: 1-not very important, 5-very important

Scenario 1 (by Alva Liu): Ulla-Britt and José become separated at the medieval museum. Unfortunately, José’s (internet stops working about the same time) phone does not have any service at the same time. What should José do? What can Ulla-Britt do?

Goal: UB and José want to find each other again.

It was a Sunday afternoon and Ulla-Britt and José decided to visit the Medieval Museum of Stockholm. They took a nice walk along the Queen’s Street there and since Ulla-Britt have been there before, they found the museum without any problems.

At the museum, José followed Ulla-Britt to the reception where the receptionist showed them a new information/navigation tool they could use to get to know more about the different exhibitions. The receptionist told them that the tool was a replacement to the previous Audio Guides that the museum used. Ulla-Britt was at first quite sceptical to this new tool, but José was excited to try them out, especially since they had translations in English.

After having the functions of the tool explained to them, they continued to the locker room and left their coats there. Then, Ulla-Britt and José entered the first exhibition room. José was very fascinated by the different showcases and stopped to get to know each of them more by using the new tool. However, Ulla-Britt moved along the different exhibitions faster, and soon she had moved along to the second, much larger exhibition room. When José was finally done with the last showcase and went into the second room, he suddenly realized that he no longer was accompanied by Ulla-Britt. He started to walk around in the museum, looking for her, but soon he was lost. Unfortunately, when José finally decided to call Ulla-Britt, he discovered that he did not have any service on his phone because the Medieval Museum was underground. He was just about to find another museum visitor and ask for the way to the reception when remembered that the new tool had a navigation functionality. So he went to the closest exhibition and scanned the tool there, and with the help of the tool, he could find his way back to the reception. At the reception, Ulla-Britt was already waiting for him. Relieved that they had found each other again, they continued their museum visit.


Scenario 2 (by Sofia Jacobsson): Ulla-Britt is visiting the Museum of Medieval Stockholm with her two grandchildren Elsa, 7, and Daniel, 3.

Goal: She wants to know how to walk to the museum from the subway, whether the museum offers a guided tour specified for children, and if she will be able to walk around with the stroller in the museum.

It is the day before the museum visit and Ulla-Britt is at home, preparing for the visit. She tries to search the internet for information about how to get there and uses Google as a search tool, since it is the way one of her sons showed her how to find information about things. She finds the location on Google Maps, however, there is no description of how to walk there. There is only a map that points to the correct location. Even though Ulla-Britt has been to the museum before, she does not quite remember how to find its exact location. She knows it is beneath the ground so she wants to find a full description of how to get to the entrance of the museum. Last time she visited the museum she experienced difficulties when walking from the subway-station to the museum because there weren’t enough signs leading to the entrance. She does not want that to happen again now that she has her grandchildren with her.

Ulla-Britt uses Google search tool again and finds the museum’s website. She is confused about where to click to find the information she needs. Ulla-Britt finds information about some kind of program or application that is downloadable for her smartphone, which can give her information about the museum. However, she does not understand how to get the application onto her phone and gives up on that method. She goes back to the computer and the museum’s website. She then sees a symbol which could represent some kind of location and presses the picture on the screen. Now, a detailed description with information about how to walk there. Her first task is complete.

Her second mission is to find information about the guided tours at the museum. She tries to navigate her way around the website for information but after 20 minutes of not finding anything she gives up. But since Ulla-Britt is quite stubborn, she need to find this information and decides to call the museum. She finally receives the information she wants and her second mission is complete.

Her final mission is to find information about whether she can walk around with a stroller in the museum. This information is quite to find on the museum’s website, and she finds that it is possible to use a stroller in the museum.

Her final mission is to find information about whether she can walk around with a stroller in the museum. This information is quite to find on the museum’s website, and she finds that it is possible to use a stroller in the museum.


Scenario 3 (by Carolina Westlin): Jose is on one of his monthly visits, and he and Ulla are discussing what to do during the weekend. Ulla suggests that they visit the medieval museum again, since they had such a great time last time. Jose likes the idea but he doesn’t want to go if there is nothing new in the exhibition. Ulla starts up the app that they downloaded last time to find information about the exhibits.

The app seems much more complicated now that it’s not connected to the audio-guide system. There is a lot of information and a lot of reading to do, which Ulla finds difficult on the smartphone screen. She also has to click and swipe a lot, yet she can’t seem to find the information she want. After several trial and error, and some help from Jose she finally finds the info, and is happy to see that there in fact are some new temporary exhibitions.

Just when she closes the app, she remembers that they need info on how to get there because she doesn’t remember exactly what bus to take. Too tired to go through all that hassle again to find more info. She asks Jose to go to the website of the museum. Where it’s clearly stated on the first page.

Since they thought that the audio-guide part of the app was very helpful the last time, they rely on that it will be just as good for these new exhibitions, so they don’t have to stress to be in time to any guided tour.

When they arrive at the museum, the receptionist asks them if they know how the audio-guide works. Jose says yes but Ulla is insecure, after the encounter with the app earlier that morning, so she wants a short repetition. She also asks if it works the same way for the stationary and the preliminary exhibitions. The receptionist states it does but that the reception might be bad, so if they want they can use offline mode. Unfortunately this will give them less info, but it is all available in the app and can be replayed later. The guide on how to do that is in the app. Ulla want as much information as possible, and she also want some additional info on the stationary exhibit that she missed the last time, so she says she’ll be fine and they continue on into the museum.

When they get into the museum, Ulla is listening to some of the showcases in the stationary exhibition without problem, but as soon as she moves on to the stationary exhibition, she starts to experience problems. The playback stops working, halfway through the info. She starts to look for the offline mode, but again has troubles finding the right page. After a while she gets tired, and looks around for Jose to help her. He’s nowhere close by so she returns to the receptionist to get it fixed and then happily continues the exhibition.

When Ulla meets Jose at the end of the exhibition, she asks him if he didn’t have any problems. He says he did, but that he managed to figure out how to turn on offline mode through the guide that the app provided. But he makes a comment as well that maybe it should be placed so that it’s is easier to find.

Scenario 4 (by Lovisa von Heijne)
Ulla-Britt and José are visiting the museum together with Ulla-Britt’s grandchildren. Both grown ups have previously downloaded the app so they can listen to the audio guide, but the children who are three and seven years old, do not have phones and are a little bit too young to use the app even if they would have had phones. The children are instead climb the stairs and exploring the environments in the museum the situation is starting to be trying. As José doesn’t speak Swedish very well it’s hard for him to help, especially since he also wants to listen to the audio guide.

What he can do is either stop listening and go adventuring with the children, try bring the children in and make them interested in what he’s trying to listen to, or ignore the children and just listen by himself. He puts down the phone and goes after the children, to find them on the top floor of a recreated medieval building where families can rest. He sits down, with the phone in hand and the three year old starts showing interested in it. He turns on the screen and the girl starts poking at the screen.

Luckily, the app plays the audio guide even though the phone is used for other activities. So José and Elsa sit down and José continues to listen while Elsa can play a game and the seven year old goes to find Ulla-Britt. (José doesn’t really understand this but figures seven is old enough to move about by yourself.) In the end, the three year old I pretty tired and falls asleep. José takes control of the phone and sits down with the sleeping girl, continuing to listen to the app where he is sitting down as he had used the offline function and downloaded the audio guide playlist from home.

Primary and Secondary Personas

Primary Persona

Name: Ulla-Britt Andersen
Age: 68

Ulla-Britt Andersen is a kind, soft-spoken person with authority, who used to work as a teacher. She is currently 68 years old and have been retired for 3 years now and lives in a medium-fancy house about 20 minutes from central Stockholm. Her husband, Arne, died of cancer several years ago.

Ulla-Britt grew up in one of the more fancy suburbs to Stockholm. She was the youngest kid in the family and also the only girl. Her mom did not work, she was a stay at home mom. However, her dad worked as a teacher too, and it was from him that Ulla-Britt got the inspiration to become a teacher.

Ulla-britt and Arne had three kid together, two boys and a girl, and she now also have two grandchildren. She completely adores them. Elsa who is 7 years old and Daniel who is only 3.

After Arne died, Ulla-Britt felt that the big house became a bit empty. During this time her neighbours cat got kittens, and on a whim she decided that is was a good time to make room for a new member in the family. She named her new kitten, with fluffy grey fur Findus. Now, Findus is no longer a kitten anymore, but already 8 years old.

Now that Ulla-Britt is retired, she no longer have the noicy kids around her all day, and this makes her feel pretty restless. She tries to fill her days with different things to do to keep busy, for e.g. cleaning the house. She feels comfortable being occupied, and when she has to little to do, she often sits down and read a book or newspaper, solve sodukus and cross words. She thinks Scrabble is the best game ever invented.

Being this restless makes har always search for new things to learn. This is one of the reasons she likes museum so much. Even though it might be a subject she's familiar with she has the mindset that there are always new things to learn. This way she thinks of herself as pretty well educated.

Even though she likes to learn new thingsm she has never really put any effort into learning the new technology. She uses the computer if she has to. For ex to pay bills or send emails. And it’s basically only thanks to her previous job that she knows how to use google, word and have a limited knowledge of Power Point.

She does also have a smartphone, whith the main uses being calls and texts. Now in previous years she has learnt how to use the camera, in order to document all the adorable things her grandchildren do. The grandchildren are also the main reason that she has a facebook account, even though she's not sure how to use it.

Ulla-Britt speaks swedish, english and also spanish. She speaks enough spanish to move around in Spain without issues.

Secondary Persona

Name: José Lopez
Age: 64

José is a carefree, life-loving character currently working at a smaller company in Spain that he was one of the founders of, as a civil engineer. He is currently in charge of different projects of international character but sometimes he also takes on projects within the buisness development area.

José has grown up in a small rural town in the south of spain. Both of his parents were hard working, and rarely at home. As the oldest of 3 siblings he was often left in charge of the house when his parents were away. This taught him to work hard toward a goal in your life, but his parents also taught him that education is of utter importance.

Taking this to heart he worked heard to get a good education. Being a very social and generally happy person, he had a certain way with people and this naturally lead him toward the civil engineer career, mainly focusing on international relations.

José married quite young and due to his line of work, he and his wife travelled and moved around a lot. Later when they had kids they continued to travel. This resulted in his kids now living all around the world. José and his wife went seperate ways several years ago (on good terms). A few years later he went on a busness trip to Sweden and it was during this trip that he met Ulla-Britt.

The two has been a couple since then, and José regularly travels to visit her. He's starting to learn some Swedish, and Ulla-Britt knows some Spanish, but the nature of his work has made sure he's god with the English language so they mostly communicate that way.

Thankfull due to his high position in the company, he is now able to work only half-time in preparation for his retirement.

Having grown up doing a lot of physical work, Jose still doesn’t feel completely comfortable with sitting behind a desk all day. That being said, he loves all the new technology. Not only does he find it intriguing that the development has rushed forward in such short amount of time, he also loves that it makes his work a lot easier.

Keeping in touch (or getting in touch) with his international clients has become less of a problem over the years.

To let of some steam after a long day at work, Jose does wood-carving as a hobby. He also likes to take long walks but some days he just likes to relax in front of the TV.

José has the latest smartphone, and a laptop that he carries with him everywhere in case he needs to work or call one of his children. He's very at home with technology and likes to personalize both his computer and his phone. He is currently trying to teach Ulla-Britt how to use skype, so that they can talk more often :)

José speaks spanish and english and knows a few basic swedish words and scentences but not enough to move around in town.

Primary prototype's features

We decided that Audio Guide would be our prototype's main functionality. This decision was mainly based on the fact that The Medieval Museum's Audio Guide was very expensive and not working according to interviews with the staff. Furthermore, an Audio Guide would help us solve many of the problems we identified in the problem space regarding our target group and contemporary technology.

We also decided that the audio guide should be available on smartphones and tablets in an application since they are cheap to maintain and easy to download. Moreover, through our interviews, we found out that many elders do have smartphones, however, they did not use it for any advanced tasks often.
It is also easy for the museum to buy a few cheap tablets to lend out to people if they do not have a smartphone.

For the next session, Parallel Design, we needed to decide upon the most basic features, a.k.a the visibility of our prototype.

The features our low fidelity prototypes should have are:

• A scanning screen: We decided that the Audio Guide function should be initiated by scanning a QR-code. Thus, we need to have a camera/scanning screen.

• Play/Pause screen: When the code has been scanned, the users need to be able to pause or play the tape again. We wanted some kind of play/pause screen that managed this. 

State-of-the-Art Analysis - Group Summary

We visited the Medieval Museum of Stockholm for our interviews and state-of-the-art analysis. The aspects we have analysed are Light and Sound, Video monitors, Audio guides and Nationalmuseet@ - an audio guide app belonging to the exhibitions at Nationalmuseet.

Good tech implementations

• When having a well lit space at a museum it is easier for elderly people to read the exhibition texts. This means they can access the information which provides a better visit at the museum.
• With customized lights and sound the visitors also have a more realistic museum visit.
• Audio Guides are effective since they can guide a lot of people at different places in the museum at the same time, which a human guide obviously cannot.
• The Nationalmuseum@ audio guide app benefits the users in the regard that they can display the guide in different ways - as text, audio and sign language
• An audio guide app is beneficial its capacity to include extra information abut the exhibition, and the possibility to include interactive functionalities regarding the exhibition
• Video monitors provides a possibility to convey easy to access in-depth information

Technical implementations with room for improvement

• It is not possible to ask Audio Guide devices questions the way you can to a human guide. And it is generally more difficult to interact with an apparatus than a human being.
• An audio guide app (such as Nationalmuseum@) is not very accessible to people without phones, such as the elderly or children.
• An app targeting elderly people needs to have a larger font and utilise icons and colours in a much clearer way than Nationalmuseum@.
• Video monitors have to be height and sound adjusted to not be physically straining
• Relevance of video monitor content in relation to the exhibition was unclear at times - they did not successfully interest people in the material.

 

State of the Art Analysis - Lights and Sound

At the Museum of Medieval Stockholm (Medeltidsmuséet), one thing they seem to work a lot with is lights and sound. There are several displays where they incorporate appropriate music with the content of the display. One example is a display called “the tavern”, where real size dolls are the different characters at a tavern during Medieval Stockholm. What is amazing is how the museum works with the sound for that display. It consists of recordings similar to that of a real tavern back in the middle ages. This is something that really helps the visitor receive a sense of reality at the museum.

Unfortunately, the Museum of Medieval Stockholm is quite poorly lit. This is something that affects out specific target group, elder people, a lot. In many cases they might have poor eyesight in dark spaces which means they can experience difficulties with reading the texts associated with each display. It might also cause people to trip when walking around the museum.

State-of-the-art analysis: Video-monitors

The monitors that we encountered at Medeltidsmuseét were quite simple in design. They consisted of a monitor (varying size) placed in a faded metallic-grey housing with one well visible button at the front. The monitor was usually in close connection to a showcase or another point of interest. If you pushed the button it played a video. Either with or without sound with no chance to pause or rewind.
  These monitors didn’t seem to be aimed at a specific target group. Their position and shape seem to suggest that instead it turns to those who have a deep interest, and want to get additional information regarding the specific showcase.

At Medeltidsmuseet

 Some pros and cons regarding our target group.
Pros:

• Easy to use/understand.
• Easy access to information
• Less straining than reading.

Cons:

• Difficult to hear if a lot of people, or not close enough
• If no sound - difficult to comprehend what they were watching.
• Some of the monitors were very small which will strain their eyes.
• Position was too low (or screen not angled) which resulted in the listener having to bend down in order to see the video.

The usage varied. Mostly it seemed to be people who took their time to read the information or study the show-case. But also people who seemed "less interested" pushed the button. One important thing I noticed was that a large part of those who pushed the button didn't stay to watch the full length of the video.
  Sometimes the monitor was placed between two show-cases, this is where another minus became evident. Since there was no information on the monitor itself (eg label stating what it will show) it was difficult to know which one it was relaying information about.
  So in short, if we were to make theses monitors better toward our target group first or all the screen would have to be larger and angled, (or placed in higher position) so as not to strain their backs. Secondly the sound could maybe be connected to separate headphones so that it would be easy to hear the information. Finally, if the videos are complements to the text it’s important that there is no duplicate information, or that the video is too long, else the visitor might lose interest.

State of the Art Analysis - Nationalmuseum@

Quite a few museums in Stockholm have recently replaced their for-loan audio guides with apps that the visitors can dowload. One of these museums is Nationalmuseet, whose app is very handy as an enhanced version of the audio guides most museum visitors are used to.

 

The functionality is pretty basic and the main features are listed below. The app is built so that picture/bullet 1 takes you to number 2, and 2 takes you to 3 from where you can choose to enter 4.

1. Choose a "playlist" depending on which exhibition you are visiting. There are playlists for children, hearing impaired and so on - very nice.
2. Choose a "track" depending on which painting you want to know more about (the playlist is not automated, just as in a regular audioguide). Here all the tracks can be downloaded for offline access.
3. An audio track with information about the picture you chose starts to play and the picture is displayed. The picture can be clicked on and zoomed into - an extra feature that maybe was not really needed.
4. By clicking the speaker icon you can shut the soud off, and by clicking the text (or usually "menu") icon to the lower left you can display the same text that is read aloud.

There are some clear benefits with this app. For some groups, it is much more accessible and for hearing impaired it is bordering on revolutional. It can be accessed from home (great for school projects) and the museum do not have to buy expensive technology that do not pay off to loan out. However, for people with no phone (children or some elderly), or maybe without internet (tourists, and changing the language of the app seems complicated) the accessability is far less.

Considering our target group of people aged 65+, there could also be some issues with the graphics - mainly with icons and colours. Interface metaphors could have been used better in the menus to make the functionalities clearer - for example the options read and listen and picking a playlist or track. There are also a few functionalities that could be ignored, and if we consider making a similar app, maybe some of these cound be replaced with features regarding enlargening of the text (a source for the positive effects of this can be found in the theory post) and better control of the audio. Some functionality rearding questions, or further information about a piece, could also be implemented; as in said in Multimodal audio guide for museums and exhibitions, "if the Audio Guide supports the audio comments with textual representation... this helps for navigation... and for presenting the content more closely to the visitor".

State of the art analysis: Audio Guides - Alva

The Medieval Museum had audio guide systems installed at the different exhibition stations. They did not work while we visited the museum but according to the staff, the devices used to work, and there were people who wanted to use it.

An Audio Guide is an alternative to a real human guide. They basically contains voice recordings that describe different exhibitions at the museum. It is usually easy to implement an Audio Guide system; the visitors just need a pair of headphones to make it work.

Audio guides are not the perfect solution, especially not for elder people. This is due to several things. First of all, elder people tend to have poor hearing, and this causes a problem when many Audio Guide devices do not have adjustable volumes. Secondly, it is not always easy to keep up with the pace of the recordings and understand all of it. In those cases, you can not pause the taping, or rewind it. And if you do not understand something from the recording, or want to know more about some of it, then, it is not possible to ask questions to the Audio Guide and get them answered. Consequently, it is reasonably more difficult to interact with a Audio Guide device than a real human being. Thus, Audio Guides are not as flexible as human guides. However, they do save the museum resources; Audio Guides can guide a lot of people at the same time at completely different places in the museum, which a human guide obviously cannot. And if the systems could be improved, perhaps so their volumes and paces can be adjusted easily according to the user’s preferences (by the staff or by the user), they would be better fitted for different types of users.

Interview at the Museum of Medieval Stockholm

The interviewee of this interview is an employee at the Museum of Medieval Stockholm. The following questions are asked:

• What types of technical devices/applications do you use at this museum? 
• Are you planning on making any changes within the area of using technical devices/applications at this museum? 
• Are there any common problems that elder people usually complain about? 

The interviewee says that they use audio guides at the museum. The visitors receive a small device (looks like a little flashlight) to carry around during their visit. This small device can be held close to an electronic receiver next to each display, which starts the correct audio track. Unfortunately, many of the small devices are broken and new ones are very expensive, so the system cannot be used anymore. However, when they did work, many people appreciated the audio guide system. This includes elders, who, in general, are known to not be very good with technical devices.

He continues to speak about making some changes within the area of using technical devices/applications at this museum. Since their current audio guide system does not work properly, they are planning on switching to a more modern system, perhaps an already working smartphone application, which is currently used at many museums around Stockholm. This system is much cheaper, he explains, but the problem is that many elders do not own a smartphone which means they may not be able to use of the audio guide system. If you want to know more about this system, please read the state of the art analysis posted on this blog, where this system is analyzed.

Finally, the interviewee says they do not receive many complaints about technical problems at the museum. The main problem for the museum right now is the fact that their audio guide system is out of order and they need to decide on which new system to use.

MedeltidsMuseet: Interview

Couple (Male,Female) age: between 65-75 

Was there any specific reason for your visit?
M: Not really. I have actually never been here, even though I live in Stockholm, so we thought it was about time we went.

Do you visit museums often?
F: Not as often we would like to (looks over) well at least I would like to go more often.

Why don't you?
M: Well... mostly I think we feel we have other things that need doing...
F: … and most museums and exhibitions take a lot of time. I feel you shouldn't stress through them.

Could you fully "comprehend" the exhibition?
M: It's difficult to tell... I mean it is very interesting, but for one to fully understand it and maybe see deeper connections (refer to other historical happenings), I guess you would have to have a much deeper knowledge than we do.
F: (nods in agreement) We are kind of "amateurs" when it comes to History. 

Is there something that you missed, to more easily "absorb" the information? Or maybe something that could be improved?
M: Actually we saw now... and of course we should have checked that before we came here. But the guided tour is a very good thing. You miss so much if you only walk around by yourself. Or maybe an audio-guide...
F: I think they do have them here(?) But he (the receptionist) didn't say anything about them.
M: Aha... well what a shame, that would have been good.
F: Ah! and also... there shouldn't bee too much text to read. I would prefer if it was short and to the point, so that you get it immediately. 

Do you use any technology at home?
M: Yes, we have a computer, our phones...
F: The TV is quite new as well... 
M: But we don't use a lot, just "lagom" for everyday stuff. 

Your phones, are they smartphones?
Both: Yes. 

Where they difficult to learn?
M: Njaeee, not very. But I can't say that I use all it's functions.
F: I use mine a bit more.
M: Yes you are a bit more technical than me :)

What do you use them mainly for?
M: The usual I would say, for calling...
F: … play games! An then to google things and maybe sometimes the map function.
M: I also take some photos, I'm quite interested in that. And the new phones all have quite good cameras.
____________

Notes:
When asking for the reason of their visit most people claim to have none. Mostly the arguments brought up "being close by" or "because it's free". I heard no reason that related to a specific exhibition or interest in the museum itself.
  The general view that I got from my interviews was that most people were missing some kind of "tool" that would have helped them to more easily absorb and find the information in the exhibition. Everyone that I talked to confirmed that they would rather have information relayed via sound, rather than text. Audio-guide and normal guided tours were often mentioned. 
  Note: the audio-guide at the museum wasn't working properly so therefore the visitors weren't informed about it.  
  The complaints were mostly about the length of the texts. The projections and different monitors found in the exhibition were met with positive response, as they presented something "new" not just standing and reading.
  Regarding the technical knowledge: most people seem to have a base-knowledge of how a smartphone works and how to use a computer. Knowledge above the basics seem to come either from a genuine interest or because of a hobby. I noted this in particular because a lot of people were saying that they "weren't using too much technology" or "just enough".