Research

The team needed to plan, discover, and explore in order to develop a deeper understanding of the priorities of the client and begin to dive into the experience of the video kiosk users.

Discovery

Goal: Learn of the priorities and goals of the client and evaluate existing products within the market.

Research Methods Used

• Project Plan

• Landscape Analysis

• Stakeholder Interviews (n=4)

• Demonstration of Video Equipment

Findings

Provided vital information regarding target audience, process of utilizing the video kiosk, and goals of Gather Voices. This drove insight moving forward and allowed the team to gain a deeper understanding of the landscape.

Exploration

Goal: Examine the motivations, pain-points, and provide contextual clues to the Gather Voices video experience.

Research Methods Used

• Ethnographic Observation

• Guerrilla Interviews (n=12)

• User Testing with Video kiosk (n=10)

Findings

Supplied the team with firsthand knowledge of users needs, motivations, feelings, and opportunities for improvement. The comfort level, or lack thereof, for the participants as well as the importance of the operator in facilitating a positive experience began to emerge. The whiteboard was our best friend. Multiple whiteboard sessions were held to extract motivations, feelings, patterns, incentives, pain points, and opportunities from our discovery and exploratory research.

Define and Synthesize

The team needed to make sense of the mess. We organized the information into logical groups at a broad level. Four major players emerged from our research:

• Gather Voices

• The client (who purchases Gather Voices platform and kiosk)

• The operator or point person (employed by the client) who facilitates the kiosk recording experience

• The participant or subject of the video

We first used affinity mapping to categorize the patterns, incentives, pain points, and opportunities. Out of this we developed empathy maps and a user journey to illustrate the experiences of all stakeholders and to better convey our findings.

The motivations of Gather Voices and the client are clear. To collect high quality video content and provide a platform to do so. However, through our research, the reliance on the kiosk operator emerged as well as the hesitation of the subject of the video. Therefore, the importance of the operator to facilitate the video kiosk became apparent. While the comfort level of the participant and their willingness to approach the video kiosk appeared as a major roadblock.

Design Principles

Once we compiled a more thorough understanding of the Gather Voices video experience. We developed our design mandates. The video operator is imperative to the success of collecting high quality content for the client. Therefore, the design solutions should:

• Empower the operator to create a seamless user flow at an event with any experience level

• Bridge the gap between the goals of the subject and the client

• Make users comfortable while recording and consenting to the video upload

Solutions

Ideate and Sketching

It was time to sketch. The team began to ideate concepts. First, we completed a design workshop. We each sketched 8 broad concepts in 8 minutes. Each concept was rooted in our design principles. After the exercise we threw the sketches on the wall and began to categorize, discuss, and prioritize based on the scope and constraints of the project. We then focused on specific solutions for the interface and how those concepts would solve the opportunities identified. After categorizing the concepts, and utilizing our principles as our guide, we began a series of more detailed sketches of what the solution could look like.

Wireframes

Build, Test, Iterate

We built a clickable prototype. The team wanted to incorporate the training material and streamline the interface so the operator could focus on the participant’s comfort level (which we deemed essential to collecting quality video). Our prototype also attempted to bridge the gap between an experienced operator and beginner operator (which we also identified as a major roadblock in collecting quality videos). The team conducted 3 rounds of usability testing, with 5 participants in each round.

Our takeaways from testing which guided our solutions were:

• Streamline the on-boarding process for the operator

• Simplify the home screen to provide operator with three main actions needed when collecting content

• Incorporate training materials to bridge gap between experienced and not so experienced operators

• Reconfigure the recording page so the participant is looking at the camera

• Upload, retake, or preview (the three main wants from a operator and participant on one screen

• Streamlined agree to terms page

The streamlined interface and incorporation of training material allows for the operator to focus on the comfort level of the participant. Which translates into a delightful experience. We provide the building blocks for Gather Voices to develop a more robust experience around the kiosk moving forward. Check out the prototype:

Project Takeaways

Further Exploration

Print Instructions: Developing a pocket size guide for the operator of the equipment.

Client Touch-Points: A stylized guide to provide direction to clients for best practice in recruiting and collection content.

The Event Experience: The focus of this project was building a streamlined on-boarding process as well as incorporating training material within the design. This provides a strong foundation for building a more holistic approach. However, our research highlighted ways to enhance the event experience. For example, our team would conduct further research and test placement of kiosk in order to design and build a best practice manual for clients.