User-Centered Approaches

Assignment: User-Centered Design
This assignment addresses, not just user-centered design of electronic resources, but the underlying concepts of user-centered approaches in general.

Here is the hypothetical scenario. You are working in a library that has a reputation for incorporating user-centered approaches to create and evaluate information services and resources, and you have been very involved in these processes. You are attending an event such as a conference (the Louisiana Library Conference, for example). You are having lunch with a group of colleagues from other libraries, and they begin to ask you about your library’s experience with these approaches. How would you address the following questions?

Question 1:
I talked to someone in your library about the new website you all designed and how you really got your users involved in that. My director is talking to me about revamping our website, and I started telling her about how we could get users involved in this, but she’s not buying it. She’s really more interested in getting something done really quickly. And she’s concerned about how we’d find the time to talk to large groups of users about this, and whether we’d need to start buying special equipment and software to do things like usability testing. Any suggestions on what I could tell her that might change her mind, and let us do this right?

Question 2
I was reading an article where a library did focus groups to figure out why people weren’t using some of their services, and the things they found out were pretty impressive. You did some focus groups, right? So how does that work? I guess I have the same kind of questions. I’d like to suggest to my director that we do this, but it will never fly if we have to spend money on things like a professional moderator and paying people fifty dollars just to show up. And how many people do you have to talk to, anyway? I mean, how is this doable on a tight budget and with staff who don’t have a lot of extra time for something like this?

Question 3
Well, I’m just not sure I get it. This kind of thing might make sense for something like coming up with a website, but our library dean is starting to talk about doing some kind of patron evaluation of reference services. We’re the experts, right? I know how to do reference, we all do. If somebody has a question, they’ll come and ask it, and we’ll answer it. So what does talking to them about what we’re doing accomplish? I just think it’s a waste of time.

Question Set Instructions
The first line in your word-processed file must be your name.
The file you submit must only contain your answers. Do not repeat or copy the questions into this file. Do clearly identify the question being answered.
The responses should be thorough, well-organized, and well-written. A sentence or two will typically not be enough to adequately address the questions. Although I will not impose a length requirement, I will tell you that that a response to a question of fewer than 250 words rarely meets expectations, and would certainly not exceed expectations.
File names should be YourLastName_FirstName_Module7 and may be submitted in .doc, .docx, .rtf, or .pdf formats. Assignments must be 1.5 spaced, in 12-point font, with 1-inch margins.