The Monterey Bay Aquarium
•
Lead UI/UX Designer
•
April 2024
Designing a Database Management Tool for Aquarium Artifacts
UI/UX Design
UX Research
The Team
Julie Wang
Project Manager
Christy Seguritan
Lead UX Designer
UX Researcher
Jesse Fan
Lead UX Researcher
Catherine Gu
UI/UX Designer
UX Researcher
Context
For my capstone project, I partnered with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and designed a new management tool to help them oversee their artifact collection. As the lead UX designer, I was responsible for the entire design process—shaping our strategy, establishing the design vision, translating research insights into actionable design solutions, and orchestrating additional user research activities as needed.
Problem
The education lab relies on one person and one spreadsheet to manage all of the artifacts in their lab. As their collection continues to grow, the team has become burdened by an outdated and un-scalable system.
Solution
Our application streamlined the entire borrowing process for team members, by creating a searchable catalog where users can find the best artifacts for their workshop, add to cart, and select dates for pick-up and return that are then integrated into their work calendars.
Results
We solved the lab's artifact management issue by designing a management inventory system. We tested with actual users in-person, and streamlined their entire borrowing and lending process into one web platform.
Research Approach
We conducted a literature review to understand the landscape of artifact management, answer our research questions on categorization, technology, and digitalization. We used a competitive evaluation and UX audit to identify early on, what potential usability issues to be wary of, as well as what are essential features to include in our product requirements.
Categorization Methods
There are 2 main ways to categorize archaeological artifacts: analytical classification and taxonomic classification
Technological Advancements
AR, IoT, and digital interfaces in inventory management systems boosts efficiency and interaction
Benefits of Digitalization
Implementing a web-based system can enhance accessibility, eliminate paperwork, improve search functions, and enhance the user experience
Challenges of Digital Libraries Face
Difficulties to be wary of include balancing cost and quality during digitization, content selection, and maintenance
"Digitizing artifacts is not just about preserving artifacts, but also “producing and shaping cultural heritage”
Dahlström et al. (2012)
Competitive Evaluation
It was difficult to evaluate current item management tools because institutions keep their databases private. So we used a competitive analysis to broaden our options and include indirect and niche competitors in our evaluation.
One example is Amazon— an online shopping catalog. By learning how organizations manage large collections of items, we translated and applied these insights to designing a novel tool for that helps the Monterey Bay Aquarium to track their artifacts!
Company
Brand Positioning
Product Detail
Strengths
Weaknesses
A mobile app of eBooks and audiobooks, providing virtual access to your local library.
App where users can stream ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines
Strong filtering system
Compatibility with most libraries
Limited accessibility
Challenging Navigation
Focuses on conservation, education, and community engagement through diverse animal exhibits
Online catalog that showcases art events, and educational community events.
Diverse collections
Strong community engagement
Financial and spatial limitations
Limited accessibility
A museum with the mission to inspire, educate, and cultivate curiousity
Interactive and wildlife experiences that emphasize conservation and community engagement. Online catalog provides information on the animals.
Diverse collections
Strong community engagement
Financial and spatial limitations
Outdated system
World's largest museum, education, and research complex with 21 museums and the National Zoo.
Digital database of artifacts in paleobiology collection that provides information on specimen.
Strong filtering system
Detailed categorization
Outdated system
Display limitations of its digital platform
Online retailer for products and digital entertainment. Previously an online bookstore.
Digital database of artifacts in paleobiology collection that provides information on specimen.
Strong filtering system
Detailed categorization
Outdated system
Display limitations of its digital platform
UX Audit
We conducted a heuristics evaluation to help identify the usability issues commonly found in item management platforms or adjacent technology.
We found that many item management tools suffered from:
limited accessibility,
financial and spatial limitations,
outdated design,
poor error prevention, and
unsustainable upkeep mechanisms.
Ethnographic Field Research
For this study, we conducted a contextual inquiry to observe how our users worked and interacted with their environment. We also did user interviews to further understand our users, and what pain points each team member was facing.
Key Insights
No distinct organization methods for artifacts.
Everything is organized and labeled in various jars, shelves, and boxes, using tape and sharpie.
Members borrowed artifacts internally, for educational workshops or employee training.
Different employees experienced different pain points depending on their role.
Currently, only a spreadsheet was being used to track their artifact inventory, and what was being borrowed.
Bryant
Bryant manages all of the aquarium's artifacts. His current system struggles with security and efficiency; items can go missing due to inadequate storage. The lack of a searchable database complicates tracking and access. Bryant would prefer spending time caring for the animals than in his email inbox.
Erin
Erin highlights a significant pain point in artifact management: the absence of a centralized database makes it difficult to efficiently locate and use educational props, relying instead on inefficient and informal direct communications for borrowing items.
"It's kind of everywhere. The issue is there is not a super good cataloging searchable system. They have to schedule time with me to come in and I have to walk them around to see every item we have."
-Bryant (Animal Specialist)
Define
User Identities
We used insights from our user interviews to create 2 user identities. They highlighted the difference in pain points for each team member depending on their role on the team.
Storyboarding
I drew storyboards to help convey our new concept for the artifact borrowing process. We also created UI storyboards to showcase how they would interact with the tool at the interface level.
These helped us communicate our concept clearly and we were able to gain valuable feedback and buy-in from the client.
Designing
Initial Concepts
I had the team ideate without limits, and presented our ideas to one another with the intention of scaling down after.
Some initial ideas included:
video chatting features,
using AR to digitalize the size and shape of items into 3D models,
and AI chat bots to help users find the perfect item for their workshops.
Identifying Key User Flows
I mapped out the current user flow to identify key pain points in the borrowing process. I translated the process into something that is digital, seamless, and saves both user types time. Users stated the requesting process specifically, was laborious and burdensome due to communication and scheduling.
The literature and competitive analysis also revealed that catalogs and databases are easily susceptible to being outdated. To address this, we prioritized the administrator's user experience by ensuring catalog upkeep is easy and seamless in the long-term.
Wireframes
Requestor Frames
Admin Frames
How to Design for Animal Specialists?
During wireframing, we created our own design system, an came up with categories to use for our filtering system. I thought back to my bio days in college and realized we had limited knowledge on animal taxonomy.
Card Sort
I decided to use a card sort to test if our categorization method would work for animal specialists. We created an exercise where we had 4 specialists sort current and new artifacts into the filtering categories we developed. They also had the option to create new categories when they see fit.
Try it out yourself!
Artifact Bank
Sea urchin
Octopus in jar
Otter Pelt
Echinoderms
Starfish ossicles
Sand dollar
Molluscs
Squid beak
Mollusk shells
Snail shells
Chordata
Otter Fetus in Jar
Raccoon Fur
Dolphin Skeleton
Whale Vertebrae
We quickly learned our categories were too general for animal artifacts. Through the cart sorting activity we discovered that out of the 8 major taxonomic ranks to use, team members used phylum to classify the artifacts 85% of the time. We pivoted from our current filtering system to use phyla instead, with the ability to drill down further if needed.
"Most people will look at phyla or family, as opposed to bird fish or mammal. It'd be more useful to use the taxonomy, since it's a standardized way of categorization."
-Bryant (Animal Specialist)
Insights
MBA employees naturally used phyla to categorize animal artifacts
There is a need for additional tagging methods (ex: endangered artifacts, stay dry, fragile, security)
Bryant needs a way to know why borrowers are requesting a specific item for security reasons
Incorporate a feature for borrowers to request extensions for borrowed items directly through the system.
Employees need a way to identify preservation methods for the artifacts
High Fidelity Prototype
It was pivotal to meet back with our participants for additional user research. With these results, I translated our research insights into a list of design action items that we incorporated moving into the high-fidelity prototype.
User Testing
We conducted a second usability test with users to measure our success by bench marking with our initial wireframes. We gave them key tasks to complete within the platform, designed to test common user interactions, such as check out, managing loaned items, and utilizing search and filter functions.
New Filtering
After the card sort, we updated our filtering system with to use phyla as a categorization method. There was a 100% success rate for tasks— a +25% increase from last time.
Menu Labels
While initial feedback from administrators was positive regarding usability, testing revealed showed participants struggling with editing artifact information. User interviews uncovered that the primary issue stemmed from unclear menu labels in the management dashboard, making it difficult for users to navigate and complete their tasks.
We renamed the menu labels so it is more intuitive for users to view loaned items, which improved the success rates to be 100%!
Scheduling
For general users, the platform performed exceptionally well for most common tasks, such as checking out, returning items, logging in, and finding and viewing items. However, there is a significant usability issue with scheduling pick-up and return dates, due to the 2.7% misclick rate and 40% direct successes. In the post-survey, we found that users were confused about the multi-step of adding a return time, which could be clarified through UI adjustments.
Solution
Add error messages and indicators for missing inputs when users attempt to check out
Revisit pick up/return UI to use dropdowns instead of pills to clarify return time is the next step
Include a stepper for the borrowing process so users are aware of where they are in the process
Final Design
Overall, we received highly positive feedback from our participants. After making the final updates we had our final prototype! We delivered our design solution and process in a capstone presentation with an audience composed of faculty, the monterey bay team, cohort members, and other department students.
"I liked that it organized everything, with all of the information details too. The interface looks really, really nice and it felt pretty easy to use."
Closing Thoughts
Working for the Monterey Bay Education Lab was a unique opportunity for us to design a user-centered solution that is tailored to address a specific problem and user base. Direct collaboration with the MBA team, along with an on-site visit to observe their existing inventory system, provided invaluable real-world insights that shaped our design decisions. By prioritizing user research and iterating based on direct feedback, we developed a product that streamlined artifact management—allowing the team to spend less time on administrative tasks and more time caring for animals and delivering educational workshops.
What's Next for Our Design?
This project was chosen to be passed over to our Software Development Master's program and is currently being developed into an actual web app for the Monterey Bay Aquarium!
Next Project
GenAI Chat Bot
