Exciting progress with app development and user testing

Since I last wrote, I've crossed the second major hurdle in my thesis project: the first round of user testing!!

For the first round of user testing, I visited Dr. Juilee Decker's Visitor Engagement class to gather feedback from a general audience. They evaluated the general design, general functionality, and general content of the app. I got a lot of positive feedback, as well as some helpful constructive criticism, and I'm excited to move forward with the next round of user testing.

My next round of user testing is scheduled for March 9-10, which is very exciting! So far, I only have one confirmed and scheduled volunteer, but I plan on putting out another invitation in the next day or so. I want to keep my user-testing pool small so as to get more in-depth, qualitative feedback, and I have a lot of people who have offered to help me recruit potential user testers, so I'm not too worried. 

The last notable update I have is that I've been awarded a COLA Student Research Fund Scholarship to help compensate my partner and app developer Peter! I'm very excited to finally be able to give him something beyond simple credit for all the hard work he has done for me and my thesis. 

I'm excited to keep moving forward both with my user testing and with the development of my thesis.

Getting closer to user testing!

These past few weeks have been very productive for me, but not necessarily because I got a lot written for the body of my thesis.

Next Tuesday, I'll be conducting my first round of user testing! I'll be visiting Dr. Decker's visitor engagement class and people will be able to download and use the app so they can provide feedback on the content and functionality of mine and Peter's prototype. To get prepared, I've collaborated with Peter and Dr. Decker to develop a user testing survey and met with them to discuss how we are going to conduct the user testing. We are hoping for some good responses and feedback regarding the app, so wish us luck! Even if they hate it, at least we have feedback on what we should do to improve the user experience.

As far as additional updates, I've decided to narrow my focus for user testing with my contacts at Autism Up. Rather than getting as many families as possible to participate, I'm hoping to get 3-4 families to test the app. With a smaller focus group, it expands my opportunity for more in-depth feedback beyond the initial user testing survey. Since the success of my app is based on improving the quality of visitor experiences at a museum, I should be better able to assess that quality by conducting longer-term, more in-depth interviews.

I'm excited for my first round of user testing, and I can't wait to update you all on the progress!

Getting ready for winter break

Instead of wasting my days with Netflix, I hope to be very productive over this winter break!

I have several goals that I hope to accomplish before the end of the break. First, I want to polish off my literature review. I want to add a few more sources that I couldn’t include because I ran out of time, and I’m sure that I will have a lot of feedback to work with after the museum studies faculty review my thesis proposal (yikes!!). Secondly, I would like to schedule a meeting with my thesis advisers so I can make sure I have a good plan of action to complete my thesis and begin a more in-depth outline for the rest of my paper. Hopefully, I can bribe them with coffee so they will meet with me before the semester starts! 

The largest goal I hope to accomplish over break is completing all of the elements of my app. My partner Peter and I already have a timeline in place, and thus far we’ve been meeting all of our goals, so I don’t see this being an issue.

Thankfully, I will be working on campus over the break, so I plan to spend at least an hour on campus doing work after I finish my shift. Once I’m in work-mode it’s easier to keep the ball rolling, so I think that this will end up working really well for me. I get out of work in the early afternoon and could easily be home before 5pm every day even after staying to work on my thesis. I also set personal deadlines for myself and use a daily planner, so that organization should help me keep on track and put me in a good place to start the spring semester. 

It’s hard to believe I’m essentially halfway finished with my thesis. It’s exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time!

The evolution of my thesis

Since the first time I voiced my thesis idea, my project changed significantly. Originally, I thought I wanted to create a sensory-friendly toolbox that one could use in any museum across the country. I had a very large, vague and well-intended idea to provide sensory-friendly games on an app that could enable people to experience a museum without having to go during special hours or on certain days of the week. After a lot of discussion with my adviser and app consultant, I realized that making a large, general app containing only games and music wouldn’t be able to accomplish my end goal, and I may not be able to accomplish it period because of the large scope. Now, I’m focusing on creating an app for one area of one museum, Strong Museum of Play, that not only provides games and music, but also a social narrative, a sensory map, and other helpful information about the museum. I also now plan to go beyond just making the app and hope to conduct focus groups where individuals with autism and their family members can interact with the app and give me feedback so I can make suggestions for further improvements.

While much of my project is set in stone and concrete, my final stage, the focus groups, is where I see the project truly evolving. Based on my research, this app should be successful and helpful for people on the spectrum, but I won’t truly know that until I actually have people interact with it. I hope it won’t, but the app could be a failure. As the project moves forward and evolves, this determination will steer my paper in one of two ways: creating an outline of what a successful app for individuals with autism looks like and evaluating the effectiveness of personal technology in helping increase accessibility, or outlining what didn’t work and provide insight from my personal experience on how apps aimed at making museum experiences accessible can be tailored to best serve the intended audience.

The research never ends...

One thing I’ve learned through working on this project is that the research process truly never ends. Every time I think I’m close to being done, I find a few more things that could be improved with more research and more sources.

So far, I've learned a lot through my research, one of the most important things being the intricacies of autism spectrum disorder. Because of my experience interacting with my little cousin Leo, I thought I had learned a lot about what autism spectrum disorder was. However, I truly had no idea about the finer details. I knew that Leo had trouble with communicating, staying focused on the appropriate tasks, and sitting still for too long, but I didn’t know why he has difficulties with these things. Learning about the difficulties people with autism have with sensory processing gave me a concrete answer as to why Leo, and other people on the autism spectrum, have this issues. Knowing why people with autism react negatively to certain stimuli is the only way I can effectively craft an app that helps individuals cope with these negative, overwhelming feelings. Without this knowledge, my project would fall short and seem incomplete.

I still need to learn more about what museums, in particular, are doing for individuals with autism. Thus far, I’ve found a lot of information about sensory friendly days and pre-visit materials the museum provides for families of individuals with autism, but I haven’t found much on the use of technology within a museum to increase accessibility. I’ve found a lot of information about apps and online programs that help facilitate communication and interaction for individuals with autism, but only one of them can specifically operate within the space of a museum. As I continue researching, I hope to find more sources discussing accessible technology for people on the autism spectrum within the space of a museum.