Debra Nygren

Portfolio ⮞ Grohmann Museum Foundational Research

Grohmann Museum Foundational Research

Project Goal

Our goal was to gain an understanding of any problems with the basement space while also taking note of features that are appreciated. Our findings would be delivered in a short presentation and an email report written for an executive audience.

Personal Contributions

I completed an even amount of work as my partner. I contributed to the success of the project by:

• Created interview guide: I collaborated with my partner to decide what we wanted to ask our potential users about and worked with them to write an interview script/guide. I made sure to tailor the questions to avoid potential biases
• Conducted user interviews: I found two users who frequent the space and interviewed them using the script. I then transferred my notes into the shared document with my partner and noted any big deviations from the script that the user wanted to talk about.
• Analyzed findings: I worked with my partner to find patterns in the data we collected and brainstormed possible short term and long term solutions to improving the space
• Created a slide deck: Again, I worked with my partner to create a slide deck with the goal of tailoring it to an executive audience. We only included information that they audience needed to know, keeping the presentation short and to the point
• Individually wrote an email report: A portion of this project was to be completed individually, being an email report of our findings to the same audience as the slide deck only in written form.

Project Results

My partner and I were commended by our classmates for our straightforward presentation and choice of theme. The professor commented on our choice to share short term and long term solutions, and how easy of an implementation they are.

Interview Guide

Introduction

Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to talk to me today. During this discussion, our goal is simply to understand how you utilize the space in the Grohmann museum basement. There are no right or wrong answers, so you can speak freely. If you need to step away or take a break, let me know and we can do that. It will take no more than a half hour. We can get started…

• “Tell me…”
• “Explain….”
• “Describe….”
• “Walk me through….”

Questions

• Is it okay to record the audio of this interview?
• What buildings do you have classes in? (n/a for museum staff)
• Do you have classes in the museum? (n/a for museum staff)
• What do you go to the basement to do?
• How often do you go to the basement to do that task?
• What’s something you keep in mind when you go to the basement?
• Are there other people in the basement when you go down there? Who do they appear to be?
• What are your favorite/least favorite things about the basement?

Conclusion

Those are all the questions that I had for you today. I want to thank you for your time, your feedback was very helpful. If you don’t have any questions, I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!

Presentation Slide Deck

View the slide deck as a PDF here here or click the image below.

Email Report

The museum basement is a space for students to work and has amenities for professors who have their offices in the building. Two students who frequent the museum basement and two professors who have classes and/or an office in the museum were interviewed to discuss how they use the space.

Key Findings

What's working well

Interviewees mentioned that the respectful and quiet atmosphere of the museum is kept while in the basement making it easy to get to work. Professors mentioned that they use the amenities like the microwave almost every day, and like that the open space is close to their classrooms.

It was mentioned that the museum basement has a unique style compared to other study spaces around campus that interviewees enjoy, and it’s a convenient place for them to go in-between classes.

What's not working well

The number one complaint was that the lighting options are sub-par. The current dim lighting gives more of a relaxing vibe, but sometimes that’s detrimental when a student needs to focus on their work. Additionally, the stART lab is in the basement, and the Art and Design Club has meetings there. Dim lighting is not the best for trying to create art.

It was noted that there are only two outlets for the entire space, one in the stART lab, and one in the seating area, and it becomes a problem when a student needs to use an outlet but there are no available seats near one.

Another thing that interviewees mentioned was the temperature. The classroom in the basement can get very stuffy and uncomfortable, and the more open seating area of the basement is no different.

Recomendations

• Get different lighting options for the space
• Floor lamps (less expensive, faster to do)
• Ceiling lights (more permanent, time and cost consuming)
• Get more outlets
• Standing power strips like those in Dierck’s Hall (less expensive, faster to do)
• Add additional outlets to the space (more permanent, time and cost consuming)
• Get some air flow
• Fans, either wall mounted or standing fans (less expensive, faster to do)
• Investigate different ventilation options/get the A/C down in the basement (more permanent, time and cost consuming)

Thank you for your time,

Nancy Ismail and Debra Nygren