Open AccessImproving the user experience of professional researchers: Applying a user‐centered design framework in archival repositories
Author(s) -
Meyerson Jessica,
Galloway Patricia,
Bias Randolph
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
proceedings of the american society for information science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1550-8390
pISSN - 0044-7870
DOI - 10.1002/meet.14504901208
Subject(s) - usability , user experience design , computer science , user centered design , persona , point (geometry) , quality (philosophy) , end user , process (computing) , user satisfaction , world wide web , knowledge management , human–computer interaction , philosophy , geometry , mathematics , epistemology , operating system
User‐based evaluation of archives has evolved significantly over the past three decades. However, existing frameworks rely almost exclusively on surveys and questionnaires, which address users' self‐reported perceptions of quality of user experience in the archives. In this paper we propose a user‐centered design (UCD) framework for the systematic improvement of the in‐person archival user experience for professional researchers that borrows from service design, user experience design and usability. Using existing archival literature on use and users as our point of departure, we will discuss building professional researcher personas, the application of usability performance metrics to encourage greater efficiency for infrastructural archival activities, and UCD tools for enabling professional researchers to take on active roles in the re/design process as experts of their experience.