The Research Methods class has come to an end β with the final output being four different concepts for a smart phone app for the Museum of Modern Art. The four student teams presented the concepts to each other, as well as to representatives from the MoMA. However, we needed quite a lot of input to get to the point where we could present something worth the MoMA representative’s time… This is where our 6 week process with testing out various research methods comes in. I’ll take you through my team’s journey until we got to the presentation of our smart phone application called MoMENT.
Because the journey was long, I have divided it into three phases:
MoMENT (I) Analysis
Museum observations, analysis of our observations, developing personasMoMENT (II) Concept
Brainstorming, sketching, choosing the very best ideaMoMENT (III) Prototype
Low-fi paper prototype, usability testing, refining prototype
Click on the phases to explore each of them further, to get the visuals and all that.
Our final 20 minute presentation went well, and it was great to get the MoMA’s perspective on our concept. It was very interesting to hear that they already had thought of many of the ideas that the groups presented, but because of other constraints (budget, technology, the architecture of the building etc.) developing such apps is not necessarily feasible just like that.
It’s wonderful being a student and just come up with ideas without having to think about all these constraints. At the same time, I would definitely researched the business and technology aspects further before prototyping too much, if I were to develop such a concept in “real life”. I agree with the MoMA panel that a concept involving some new, innovative technology has to work well – it can’t let the user down. Ever. Which means that our sensor idea definitely would have to be tested further to be sure it would be helpful rather than frustrating for the app user.
As mentioned in the Analysis-post, I did feel that some of the methods were a bit “forced”. Just observing and not ever talking to the visitors felt very wrong to me. I definitely would have spent some time conducting qualitative interviews with some of the visitors, as well as staff at the MoMA, if the time allowed it. Not talking while doing the grouping in the KJ analysis also felt very weird, and I am not sure I got why we had to be silent.
I’m generally in favor of researching before concept development, and don’t think the kind of research we conducted hindered the creative process in any way. If I were to do this process over again, the analysis part is probably where I would consider adjusting our approach a bit.