msu library digital sign project

The MSU library has digital way-finding kiosks that help direct visitors to their intended location. However, the library sought the help of User Experiences students because they felt there were notable issues regarding the use of these electronic investments.

Using research methods including card-sorting, A/B testing, interviews and surveys, my team and I had more information to work with than we could have dreamed of. In an effort to be thorough, we decided to introduce a heat map into our survey, allowing users to tap the most-visited areas of the library.

When transitioning our research into suggestions, I knew from the get-go that we had to prepare them according to the resources available to the business. I think in many cases the foot-in-the-door technique is incredibly important in forming a positive connection with stakeholders. When you can introduce a small but positive change to their product, they are more likely to ask for more input and service in the future. This being said, the user is also incredibly important in this process. When we were designing our suggestion to move a sign by the Cyber Cafe, we were moving it to this location primarily for the user.

It was after we made this decision that we started asking, is this plausible? Is there an outlet and ethernet port in the vicinity for an easy move? Does the library have the resources to do this? All of these we eventually answered so we could comfortably make the decision in a manner that is not too extraneous for our stakeholder.