Ann Arbor City Hall in the Metaverse
Problem
Young Adults (18-34) in Ann Arbor need a way to understand and feel connected to the goals and values of city government that is immersive, collaborative & interactive.
Solution
Conduct UX Research to address the client’s goals and understand the key aspects of civic engagement between Ann Arbor City Hall and its residents.
Interviews
In order to discover more about user needs and desires, I conducted a semi-structured user interview to explore the respondent's individual experience with the city’s government, their perception of immersive technologies and their relevant background.
I conducted several pilot interviews around the city in order to identify which questions elicit the best responses from interviewees as well as questions that seemed redundant for the final interview script. The final interviews were conducted with interested individuals in a session approximately 30 minutes in length. We referenced the user interview findings throughout the entire design process.
Interviewee A
Interviewee B
“I have absolutely no idea where that [city hall] is. I’ve never been there to be honest. I don’t think I’ve ever even paid a parking ticket in person.”
“City Hall is a very neutral, dry, and boring environment… I perhaps went there two or three times in the past 15 years.”
Surveys
To gather quantitative and qualitative data from a wide audience, surveys were employed. This method allowed for developing data visualizations to collectively communicate users needs and expectations. Distribution primarily took place on multiple social media platforms including Reddit, Twitter, and Facebook.
They aim to instead focus solely on the respondent’s experience with the Ann Arbor city government, their value and connection to Ann Arbor city government, and their familiarity with immersive technologies.
The survey is approximately 10 questions, formats ranging from binary, ranking, and free response
135 responses were collected
Survey Age Distribution
Analysis
Affinity Maps
We ordered qualitative information from user interviews to identify arising thematic categories
Journey Maps
We articulated what we knew about a particular type of user to craft shared understanding of the needs of our users
Empathy Maps
We visualized the process that a user goes through in order to accomplish certain goals that relate to interacting with Ann Arbor City Hall
Affinity Mapping
Affinity Mapping
Empathy Mapping
Journey Mapping
Data Visualizations
Insights
01
Connected Events Lead to Positive Experiences
02
Participants don’t feel Connected to City Government
03
Participants Seek Information to Engage in Topics of Interest
04
Participants value Efficiency in Undesired Obligatory Events
05
Immersive Experiences are Not Tied to a Particular Technology
Recommendations
01
Presenting individuals with the opportunity to engage with immersive technology during a positive experience
02
Clearly communicate the role of city government and the benefit of their engagement with it
03
Utilize existing technology to assist participants in finding connections to topics of interest
04
Optimize online experiences for efficiency. (personalization, data storing)
05
Become a presence in the immersive spaces users already feel connected to
Takeaways
This project allowed me to gain more knowledge in UX Research skills and methods, such as journey mapping, affinity mapping, empathy mapping, and design thinking and analytics. It challenged me to use empathy and user-centered design thinking. In addition, working on a large team of students taught me the importance of communication, time management, and collaboration.
If I had more time, I would have:
additional research about immersive technology and costs
created a prototype of the potential AR or VR product
conducted usability testing