Ryan Beckemeyer
NASA JPL Eyes Research
Problem, Process, Conclusion
RoleDesignerTeam1 Partner, 1 NASA JPL Producer, 1 Designer, 1 Research ConsultantTimeline1 MonthYear2018
Problem

NASA Eyes products were originally developed as kiosks for science centers. How do we optimize them for the web?

ProcessI established a research practice at Moore Boeck to identify key opportunities across the Eyes properties. This included:

  • Hiring a research consultant to aid in recruiting, moderating, and synthesizing the data
  • Setting up ad hoc usability research labs, complete with remote monitoring capabilities
  • Recruiting participants, including clients, enthusiasts, students, and teachers
  • Moderating qualitative studies
  • Synthesizing data to use in discussions with stakeholders



Heuristic Analysis


There are physical differences between how a person uses kiosks and web experiences that are simple to consider. Working through the touch vs. click standard led us through more interesting discussions about which use cases were worth leaving behind. Optimizing the experiences for touch was one of the bigger considerations that didn’t impose too much one way or the other.


Qualitative Studies


I worked with our research consultant to facilitate moderated studies of the Eyes products. Together we interviewed more than a dozen participants over two days and discovered many differences in how people use them.

They’re fun. All participants enjoyed how discoverable the science was while using these interfaces. This was interesting as it went against my best recommendations as a UX professional, but keeping the fun is usually a good thing. This led to a filter-based navigation to allow the experiences to scale and the discoverability of the science to remain intact.









 

These studies proved that presenting data in a way that younger students and enthusiasts could understand was valuable in keeping the science accessible to everyone. These findings led to enhanced image galleries, data visualization, and information graphics for major discoveries and features.











Conclusion

These studies uncovered multiple areas for improvement and provided insights tailored to different audience segments. It was the first time the team engaged in moderated user research at this scale. While the insights were valuable, budgetary restrictions led to scaling back these efforts. Had we continued, navigation of the solar system would have been a candidate for continued improvement.