National Park Trail Activity
UX Methods usability testing, surveys, field observation
Stakeholder(s) The research learning center scientists at Rocky Mountain National Park
End Users Park-goers using the trail at Lily Lake
View publicity of the project published in the paper.
Planning
1. Walked through the trail with the original questionnaire and made notes on what needs improvement.
Field Notes: I looked around and saw what potential users were doing and how they already interacted with the space. I imagined what the questionnaire activity could add to enhance their experience.
2. Brainstormed with my supervisor new questions to add to the questionnaire that would help the scientists with their environmental studies. We decided to add questions about wildlife as well as flora because both can add more context for the scientists.
3. Took pictures with professional camera to add to the new questionnaire and then added questions and photos to the new questionnaire.
Testing
4. Conducted usability testing with volunteer staff members who have been on the trail before but never used the questionnaire. We wanted to know if cell service was good along the trail and if the questionnaire needed improvements. The results of the tests showed that cell service was spotty for certain carriers, which we noted. We also found that most people enjoyed it and wanted more activities added.
To address the spotty service, we requested two tablets for people to obtain at the trailhead to use if their phones didn't have service.
5. One of the participants noticed that there was no sign to help people find the start of the activity, so we put in a request to the park's sign makers to construct a sign at the head of the trial asking people to take the questionnaire on their phone as they walked the trail.
6. Made a feedback survey with Google Forms that popped up at the end of the questionnaire.
Feedback Survey Questions:
What did you like most about the questionnaire?
What did you like least?
What was your favorite part of the trail?
Would you recommend this trail to a friend?
How would you rate the questionnaire? (1-5, bad-great)
Are there any parts of the trail that you would add to the questionnaire?
How would you rate your overall experience? (1-5, bad-great)
General comments.
Results
7. After seeing the results of the surveys, there were many positive reviews, such as "This was fun for me and the kids! Thank you!" and "Glad to help! Felt like a real scientist today!" We also saw some reviews that helped us improve like, "Would've loved to know more about the species I was studying" and "Couldn't find the the flower I was looking for. Might've been user error."
8. Repeated iterations of usability test, surveys, and prototyping. Launched the questionnaire the next season.
9. After my time on the project, the Park decided to add wildlife to the surveys based on my recommendations. People were able to enjoy the trail with a variety of sites to see, while the research scientists gained more data points.
Lessons Learned
I learned that there is a delicate balance between working with the end users of the application and the scientists who are benefitting from the users' experience. Throughout the process, we wanted the park goers who would use the app to find value in it and for it to be intuitive for them. And at the same time, we wanted the questionnaire to give valuable data to the research scientists.
