Boston 2005 - Example of a succesful event

World Usability Day 2005, Boston USA

The Boston UPA Chapter put on a highly successful World Uability Day 2005 event at the Museum of Science.

In June this year at the UPA Conference in Denver, the chair of the chapter, Chris Hass, talked about what made their event so successful. Here are the key highlights of his presentation.

World Usability Day Boston USA 2005

Event Hosts:

Museum of Science, Boston USA

Boston UPA Planners:

Chris Hass
Susan Robison
Chauncey Wilson
Susan Rice

Usability R.A.C.E.

Rolling Accelerated Contextual Examination

Team Activity Description:

First thing that morning, two teams set out to study Boston and its inhabitants
One team of practitioners, novices, and the public went on a "usability walk" through Boston seeking object lessons and cautionary tales
One team was given a set of interview protocols, pens and stopwatches and interviewed passersby at a local train station about their cell phone usage

Goals & Outcomes:

Introduction to and practice conducting field research
Knowledge sharing from seasoned to less experienced practitioners
Foster public awareness of UCD techniques
Teams collated their findings that afternoon and were interviewed in a very successful "open focus group" format with Museum visitors

Usability LabFest

Bringing the public together with Usability

10 + area non-profits and commercial companies helped
Museum visitors encouraged to observe and participate
50+ practitioners involved during the day

Team Activity Description:

During the course of the day, 2 teams of 10+ usability professionals met with scheduled volunteers from area non-profits and commercial companies
Discussions were held in an open format on the Museum floor
Websites, software were projected for all to see
Companies got 1 full hour of detailed feedback on their products each
Both parties educated ahead of time

Goals & Outcomes:

Companies were "thrilled" and "immensely grateful" for the structured and unstructured advice they received
Practitioners volunteered to follow up on their own time, free, to ensure companies weren't "stranded"
Companies considered it "eye opening" and a "true bargain"
Sessions were captured in audio and video formats and given to the companies for later review

Interactive Exhibits

Bringing the public together with Usability

Stand-alone exhibits/activities for 1000 visitors
Engaged over 75 usability volunteers
Some created by the Museum of Science, others created by UPA Boston, Boston CHI, Boston-IA volunteer teams

Exhibit/Activity Description:

Alarm Clock Alley Rally
Doors to Usability
Experimental touchscreen voting
Household Tool Usability Examination
Open format focus groups
Robot-building activity

Goals & Outcomes:

Visitors rated these as highly enjoyable, stated they were educational
Kids and parents continued discussions on related topics all day
Museum staff were like kids in a candy store
Buzz among staff escalated until VP of Technology attended
Local TV press covered the event and gave us lead story, 7 min. overall

Alarm Clock Alley Rally

Hands-On Usability Introduction

Stand-alone exhibits/activities for visitors created by UPA Boston
Six stations offered simultaneous exploration
Usable data collected during the day

Exhibit/Activity Description:

Usability volunteers interviewed visitors about how long it would take to set the time on six different alarm clocks
Visitors then were timed while they set the alarms and interviewed about the outcomes
Visitors were encouraged to discern what specific factors affected speed and accuracy

Goals & Outcomes:

Visitors rated these as highly enjoyable, stated it was educational
Kids and parents continued discussions on related topics all day
Actual data findings collected and analyzed
Results were surprising
Visitor interest surprised Museum staff
Museum stated "We need more of this - permanently"

Doors to Usability

Hands-On Usability Introduction

Stand-alone exhibits/activities for visitors created by UPA Boston and Mitre Corporation
¼ scale doors created from digital photos and foam core
Machine Dreams voting devices

Exhibit/Activity Description:

Visitors saw photos of real-world doors and used hand-held voting equipment to vote on which way the door would open
Voting results were tabulated in real time and shown to the group
Usability volunteers then revealed "the answer" and led discussions about ergonomics, design, and human perception cues

Goals & Outcomes:

Visitors rated these as highly enjoyable, stated it was educational
Kids and parents continued discussions on related topics all day
Kids did not try to "game" the system but parents did
Actual data findings collected and analyzed
Visitor interest surprised Museum staff
Museum stated "We need more of this - permanently"
Machine Dreams thrilled to get feedback, exposure and advice

Touchscreen Voting

Real-World Usability Introduction

Stand-alone exhibits/activities for visitors created by MIT Media Lab
Research-based touchscreen voting devices set up onsite
Visitors cast ballots and were interviewed

Exhibit/Activity Description:

Visitors used full size prototype touchscreen voting machines to cast ballots in hypothetical elections
MIT students and volunteers collected data and interviewed visitors
Data used to inform Federal recommendations for touchscreen voting

Goals & Outcomes:

Older visitors especially enjoyed this
Visitors stated it was educational
Participants stated "I had no idea what the fuss was about until I accidentally voted for the wrong guy. NOW I know what the fuss is about!"
News teams covered this exhibit extensively

Museum of Science Activities

Hands-on Activities and Learning

Stand-alone exhibits/activities for visitors created by Museum of Science
Some activities culled from upcoming Science of Star Wars exhibit

Exhibit/Activity Description:

Visitors were invited to examine household objects and identify them as appropriate for "kids, adults, and elderly people"
Visitors were encouraged to build a "robot" out of provided pieces that could stand on a variety of terrains

Goals & Outcomes:

Kids spontaneously began to pair up household objects into age-appropriate sets based on composition, handles, "slipperyness," and other on-the-fly factors
Museum staff reported pleasant surprise that the object activity was more popular than the Star Wars-themed activity

Open Format Focus Groups

Analyzing the events of the day

Originally intended as practitioner-to-practitioner information sharing
Each activity team met with two "moderators" who interviewed them and facilitated data/lessons learned analysis

Exhibit/Activity Description:

Activity teams sat at a long table on the Museum floor and were interviewed about their experiences
Moderators captured findings electronically and created quick PowerPoint presentations
Teams got the chance to share and digest their day's activities
Some interviews more data intensive than others
RACE participants shared sign photos

Goals & Outcomes:

Museum visitors found this fascinating and went to great lengths to attend
Open Focus Group format has a lot of potential
Practitioners were surprised at how eager visitors were to hear about activities they hadn't participated in
Visitors reported these sessions as "very educational"
Activity was advertised by word of mouth only

Sponsor Booths

Sponsoring the events of the day

Sponsors were offered tiered donation levels
Sponsorship returns included logo placement on materials/website, on-site booth
Museum dictated the nature of some give-aways

Exhibit/Activity Description:

Sponsor booths/tables on the main floor of the Museum near WUD activities
Lycos advertised the event to 2M people the month leading to the event
Lycos provided a costumed "mascot"
Staples gave away "Easy" buttons
Sponsorship monies added up to $5000+
Bentley College introduced its HFI program

Goals & Outcomes:

Sponsors enjoyed interacting with the participants
Sponsors deemed the event successful
Sponsors were interviewed by TV crews with kids
Visitors remarked learning about careers they had never heard of before
Teens reported interest in usability-related fields

Evening Reception

Sharing the events of the day

To reward the volunteers and inform practitioners who couldn't attend
Dinner/reception held at Museum as a catered affair
Two lectures followed by WUD Findings

Exhibit/Activity Description:

Volunteers, members, and public invited to a catered evening reception
Lectures given by Elizabeth (Worldwide WUD events) and Ted Selker (MIT Media Lab)
PowerPoint presentations from Open Focus Groups shared with the group
Event lasted from 5:30-9 pm

Goals & Outcomes:

Volunteers were exhausted
Lectures were interesting, but perhaps too much
Findings were deemed valuable, but hard to put together quickly
Fun was had, but it was a low-key crowd!

Event Summary

Very successful

Museum of Science, Boston provided: space, staff, equipment, volunteer parking/admission, PR
Learning happened
Teen visitors excited about HF careers
Sponsors paid to attend and were happy
Media coverage was limited, but successful
Museum of Science wants to partner for permanent large-scale exhibit
UPA Boston and partners invited back for 2006
Museum "pleased and surprised" at visitor interest
Equipment costs minimal, thanks to Museum's generous support
Financial costs for activities were a few hundred dollars, spread across volunteer organizations
The evening reception only significant cost
It's a lot of work!
Interoperability possibilities with other events