Helping users get help
Background
I worked with an academic library to improve its user services across three campuses. Users frequently need to contact the library, however, the contact details were not findable.
Objectives
Understand the pain points of users seeking help from the Library.
Ideate and prototype solutions to meet users’ needs.
Process
I led a team of library staff to conduct pop-up research with users across all three campuses. The research activity doubled as a training opportunity for staff who had no UX experience. 74 interviews were conducted with users over two weeks. We even got an Incentive Donut Budget to entice our users to tell us what they really thought.
Applied expertise & methodologies
Service Design | UX research | UX prototyping | Journey Mapping | data analysis and synthesis
I conducted training sessions with staff, supplied an interview script and data recording template, produced 12 prototypes, and created a Google spreadsheet for interviewers to input their findings.
I synthesised and analysed the research findings, and created a final report consisting of journey maps, personas, and user stories.
Outcome
Changed the Library homepage to include a help icon and clear text ‘Get help’.
Next steps
Follow up research is scheduled for July 2023 to gain insight into the usability of the new ‘Get help’ icon.