United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Client
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s online Collections Search is the primary method for searching and discovering its Collections. Its purpose is to provide comprehensive access to its catalogs.
Opportunity
Our objective was to improve its accessibility for the general public without losing the depth of the historical assets and the level of curatorial detail necessary for researchers to conduct their studies.
Outcome
We achieved this by incorporating simple yet effective changes that had a large impact, including visual cues, tool placement, and use of imagery and iconography. We created high-fidelity prototypes for desktop and mobile with annotated wireframes detailing new features, the research behind design decisions, and our recommendations for future iterations.
Project Details
Role: My teammate and I equally shared meeting with our clients, research, usability testing, scope definition, design, iteration, and prototyping. Working together throughout the whole process produced a more cohesive outcome, especially given the size of the project and the time allotted.
Tools: Axure, Google Docs, Adobe Illustrator, Keynote, Post-Its, Sharpie Pen & Paper
Topics: Client Relations, User Research, User Interviews, Contextual Inquiry, Usability Testing, Site Auditing, Affinity Mapping, Design Studio, Sketching, Wireframing, Prototyping, Presenting
Teammate: Bianca Stacey
Timeline: 2.5 weeks
Research
Landscape analysis
We researched several organizations with large digital collections to get a sense of how they catalogue their records and discover library science feature conventions. We created a landscape analysis with this information to see how the Collections Search tool compares and determine opportunities for improvement.
In addition, our clients sent us a list of relevant organizations with features and content management systems similar to their own, including but not limited to the Library of Congress, Georgia Institute of Technology, Tufts University, and Indiana University. We reached out to an information architect at the latter to organize a site audit.
Site Audit
We conducted a site audit with an information architect at Indiana University to assess the site's existing properties and identify potential design opportunities. Highlights included:
- Visibility and contrast issues
- Location of tools doesn't clarify or define their purposes
- Different filters appeared disconnected from the main search function
- Mobile view has 4 separate menus
Initial usability testing
Bianca Stacey (left) and I (right) conducting a usability test.
We conducted usability tests with the current USHMM Collections Search tool website to observe visitor behavior and identify pain points and audience needs. Key findings indicated that participants:
- Found research terminology unfamiliar
- Wanted ability to explore and browse items
- Were unaware of many of the tools available to assist in searching
- Found the main Collections Search page to be overwhelming
USER INTERVIEWS
We held user interviews with members of the general public and research fellows currently studying at the USHMM to learn more about their specific needs for the Collections Search tool and to receive feedback about their experiences with it. Main takeaways included:
Researchers frequently used advanced search and used attributes like “RG” or "Accession" numbers.
Researchers were very familiar with the tool’s terminology, but unclear on how the museum uses different archival methods.
Users think bookmarking would be great to simplify and aid in the searching process.
Users expressed a desire to see “related items.”
Defining Target Audiences
Based on the stakeholder interview and speaking with users, we determined that the main audience groups that use the Collections Search tool are researchers and members of the general public.
We reviewed these audience groups to determine their specific pain points and identify common needs so that we could begin developing cohesive solutions to address them.
Scroll through to view audience groups and their needs.
Ideation
Affinity Mapping
We took key findings from our research and organized them into behaviors, pain points, needs, and features and solutions to begin the process of narrowing our scope.
Then we did a second iteration, where we discovered patterns that emerged organically and drew connections between our audiences' needs from our research and their potential solutions. Based on those patterns, we learned where we should narrow our focus.
User Flow
Based on our research with our audience groups and the patterns we discovered in our affinity maps, we ascertained how users would navigate through the site, and at what points they could narrow or specify their search terms. This helped us determine which screens would be necessary for our design.
Design & Iteration
DESIGN STUDIO
We did a series of rough sketches to determine ideal layouts, features, and concepts for the site, apply the findings from our research to potential solutions, and ensure the cohesive integration of our ideas.
Sketches
We sketched the pages of the site in more detail to visualize specific audience needs based on our earlier research.
WIREFAMES & Prototypes
We combined our sketches to build our wireframes and prototypes in Axure.
Feedback & Presentation
USABILITY TESTING
We conducted usability tests with our prototypes and our key takeaways were:
Findings were consistent with previous research
Images made it easy to absorb information
Toolbox icons were intuitive
Further opportunities with Advanced Search and Filters could be addressed in next steps
Presentation & Client Feedback
Overall, our clients at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum were pleased with our prototype and appreciated the research we presented.
We delivered the prototypes for desktop and mobile along with annotated high-fidelity wireframes detailing new features and site behaviors, the research behind design decisions, and our recommendations for future iterations.
As of March 13, 2015, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum has already integrated our recommendation to create more contrast within the main search box:
As of 2/17/15
As of 3/13/15
Next Steps
- Feedback Form - Currently, when a visitor clicks the designated link to leave feedback, he or she is taken out of the USHMM website to an external Google Form. During usability testing, users found this to be jarring and confusing, so in the next iteration, the Feedback Form would be integrated with the USHMM visual design.
- "E-Shelf" - With the an account, a user can save their searches, search history, and bookmark certain items, but all of these are saved in separate tools. The "E-Shelf" feature would consolidate all of a user's searching data in one place, like a virtual bookshelf.
- Advanced Search - divide the text fields by theme to visually break up the amount of search fields. As data is entered, fields that are no longer applicable to a search would grey out to simplify searching.
- Filters - we would further explore how the filters are used and conduct A/B testing with the current filters and with filters constructed in the style of e-commerce sites, with the ability to sort and filter on the side of the search results page.
