User Studies Documentation

User Studies + Reflective Log



A note I’d like to thank my mentor, Prof. Devanuj K. Balkrishan for the guidance and support throughout this learning curve. Extending gratitude to all the researchers and designers who have worked in this context and have their work out there for public access, my family who enabled most of the primary research and everyone at Institute of Design. This is a documentation of an academic project completed during Aug-2022 over a period of four weeks. Kirthana Srinivasan

A compilation of dialogues, anecdotes, memories, experiences and images relating to navigation and wayfinding in Indian cities. Further, there’s analysis of this data, findings and insights alongside their machinery.

Contents (not an index) Classroom Discussions, Readings and introduction to research methods. Outside Classroom Actually talking to people, improvising and ‘gathering’ data. Vehicles Time to travel, and talk more with wide open eyes. Outside Vehicles More work for the eyes and ears. Inside the mind All the processes, road- blocks and destinations.

We began by trying to understand why a ‘human’ is central to any design process through questions, critical discussions and logical deductions. While this phase established the complex nature of people, the classroom eventually built into systems of thinking in order to address the complexity.

At this stage, the classroom brainstormed on multiple problem spaces to work with. We navigated towards our chosen spaces by observation and immersion in human experiences through stories, media and other forms of expression. The scope of understanding navigation began with contextually situated narratives of driving on Indian roads. Vivid visual experiences struck a visceral cord immediately, a long drive, a rush to the supermarket, a passenger on a rainy day, getting an Uber ride at your doorstep and many more. With a wave of a wrist in the cold waters of these experiences lie many questions that try to respond to efficiency, micro-conflicts, panics, and fatalities.

At this stage, the classroom brainstormed over multi- ple spaces to work with. We navigated towards our chosen spaces by observation and immersion in human experiences through stories, media and other forms of expression. arrows and lines just let me think better

Practices of Conservation, Mining electricity and environment Employment behaviour & Urban residents Aspirations in cities with Living Urban sprawls Conditions , Attitudes, Development & efforts, Strategies of behaviours, survival leanings & aligned decisions other areas of interest Idea of a Home Voting , the Democratic Young Adults process Sense of belongingness Attitudes, Identities & behaviours, Aspiration associations & experiences

We were introduced to ethnography through contex- tual inquiries as a research method in detail. To identi- fy anchor points for the contextual inquiry a focus group discussion was facilitated with stakeholders relevant to context. At this phase, feasibility of working with the chosen problem space was being evaluated parametrics it is. I like thinking like that.

The thing about choices which is indeed very prevalent in an academic setting, comes with a number of unseen responsibilities. A lot of decisions need to be made ground-up, from scratch which leaves room for skepticism and vulnerability to doubt. These decisions directly cause how and what we learn. With time, I hope to grow leanings towards entities I care about fiercely beyond values, virtues and their characteristics. And, the grass always appears greener on the other side

Exploration of the chosen context continued. In this case, navigation and wayfinding were lensed through logics and poetics of multiple frames of reference. Marine Migration Pixel pathfinding Hunter-Gatherer societies Wayfinding in Treks animals

Research Cycle I In this stage, I experimented with observational insights to make judgements over a hypothesis and interactions with people. Passive Participation “Familiarity is key to be able to navigate with ease.”

How long before? how long before the turns do drivers and riders switch on indicators? Are these signals of reliance on social understanding, customary knowledge, grasp of the routes and perhaps characteristics of the interface? I timed 3 random vehicles ahead of me and observed the distance left before the turns for a three turns. Perhaps, it was a more complex situation, enviroment and behaviour than the anticipated.

Meanwhile, a helpful method to validate and obtain produced knowledge in the field was to read through and consume research that has been carried out in the field with adjacent or aligning intentions. Hypothesis and theory article: Wayfinding as a social activity (Dalton et al., 2019) This paper highlights the It becomes particularly important for naviga- significance of human tioninbuilt-environmen- tal in the context of subjects in wayfinding emergencies where groups must navigate as an activity. The together.Asocialnaviga- tion, on the other end research broadly classi- of the spectrum can be simulated through com- fies human subjects into putational models of controlled and artificial three categories with environments or stud- ied through cognitive varying levels of influ- behaviours. ence as a co-decider, route instructor or an environmental cue. It further hints at the com- plexity of suggested categories for modelling through emergent behaviours and proper- ties of groups.

Research Methods Micro-Interactions They’re verbal interactions lasting for shorter dura- tions usually triggered by holding on to a dialogue that is already established. Led by curiosity and focus, they can be used for focused ‘how’s’ and ‘what’s’ of any experience, activity and phenomenon. Passive Participation Being an active observer and passive participant in an activity-centered context helps making momentary conversations based on the observations made paint- ing a rather holistic picture of the ecosystem. Cognitive Mapping A cognitive map is a mental representation of the envi- ronment surrounding us. It is used in contexts where thinking spatially, directionally and informationally is important. Cognitive mapping was used as a user research method to unfold insights in the areas of distance & layout perception, landmark effect, shape perception and experiential guiding abilities.

Relic Time A map made by a participant

Research Cycle II This stage centered narrowed and a semi-formal approach although it slightly started turning into a gap-finding approach through the days. Stakeholders Long-term drivers (Age 30 and above) Short-term drivers (Age 20 and above) Taxi & Rickshaw drivers 3 Women and 4 Men Datasets Verbatim Semi-structured interviews, Casual Conversations & Micro-interactions Observations Actions, Gestures and Behaviours

Coding Datasets Grounded Theory “ I've been on that route for “ We usually realize that three years now, it's a part we're on the wrong route of my muscle memory. after 30 minutes into that might be able to navigate route when we see the to the same location with- map again.\" out landmarks or changed landmarks.\" A dominating way of remembering and navigating routes is sequential turn-wise memory. Egocentric approach to navigation is commonly adopted amongst people using GPS.

Coding Datasets Grounded Theory \"As for land- \"I remember a \"If I'm riding route by its alone, I usual- marks, I usually landmarks very ly take a hint well. Apart from of my route remember only landmarks and through indicators, street names the ones that nothing can and land- really help in marks. \" appeal to me. On navigation.\" this route, I remember a dog that always sleeps outside a store, a food store that I go to, a badminton court that I Landmarks trigger subsequent associated memory acting as always look at switches for the navigation infor- mation further to be recalled. but never visit.\" landmarks employ the phenome- non of cued recall / recognition directly. Accessing information and hence retrieving from memory is more likely to happen when cues are given.

Cause & Effect Analysis \"It also feels lighter to navigate in an unknown city because you don't know it anyway.\" Landmarks trigger subsequent associated memory acting as switches for the navigation information further to be recalled. Partial awareness of the environment adds to the cognitive load of navigator Existing memory has to be matched, equated and confirmed with information obtained dynamically Some navigators build trust based upon completed tasks from the past. Trust over a particular action improves with witnessing the activity. Acknowledgement of a completed task is a positive asset of experience which is a trust building factor.

Cause & Effect Analysis “I take road-trips every year. We go to different unknown places. Youtube is of great help in this decision, vloggers visit and take videos of routes and places to visit. We sometimes just follow them.\" Visual recording of the route to be taken is equivalent to demonstration of an activity to be performed. Demonstration is the closest set of instructions to the actual activity. Captures the environment in which the activity is supposed to be performed causing a holistic understanding of the activity. Holistic awareness of the environment increases one's trust in choosing the path demonstrated The association of another human entity with demon- stration establishes the concept of trust.

Data Triangulation Primary Observations Interviews Archived accounts Fogg’s Behaviour Model Max Neef’s Matrix Tolman’s Place learning theory These frameworks and theories are referenced digitally at the end.

Insight Matrix

In Context

Steering integrated Re-routing Quick opportunities

Identified areas of plausible intervention Decision-making in the context of wayfinding is affect- ed by concrete factors like familiarity with the environ- ment, Experiences, perceptions of the space around and noised factors like time of the day, succeeding and preceding tasks and other environmental and cog- nitive influences. Decision-making can come by as a response to stimuli where there's a choice architec- ture demanding a decision to be made. The number of decisions to be made in the overall navigation affects one's state of mind negatively post-activity. Communication of turns and distance have standard representations through visuals, texts and voice assis- tance. Although, communication of environmental cues and specific landmarks can be communicated only through text. While some landmarks might have a label, some might not have a directly recognizable text element. For example, a big tree has a close asso- ciation but how would one navigate in the presence of more than one tree? How big is the big referred by the navigation system?

There are several ways to address these challenges caused by existing infrastructure, choices and deci- sions around navigation systems. Although, navigation and wayfinding have their roots seated in anthropology, psychology, cartography, physics and mathematics. Their occurrences and significance goes back to the age of hunter-gatherer societies and probably even beyond. They’re complex processes that have been mastered in different ways skilfully. Drawing from these observations, relation- ship between wayfinding as a capability and negotia- tion with the new roles humans have adopted with navigation assistance systems can be fundamentally challenged. This relationship can be reimagined for incorporating wayfinding as a conscious and rigorous activity for an individual, catering to their overall wellbeing, develop- ment in sense of direction and leveraging the senses and skillsets acquired by the virtue of being human.

Validation? Some of these insights were to be validated to be iden- tified as a source of problem(s). To rely on a simple sample set, a questionnaire was made.

While discussing the structure and feasibility of this survey, my mentor pointed out at a crucial factor that could significantly affect the study further. Relationships between digital navigation systems and formal literacy.

Beyond human-centered scopes, there lies a greater indication and responsibility towards systemic wellbe- ing of humans, biodiversity we live with and environ- ment. These vantages arise from a broad spectrum informed by people while performing user research. They’re often deep-rooted behaviours, positionality & sum total of experiences. Navigation & Wayfinding are not merely human-cen- tric activities but also play a significant role in urban planning implicating usage of sources and resources. While the temporality of a project undertaken at that scale is critical, the temporality of its implications are proportionately way huger. Find more extensive and clumsier information and resources gathered here

Fin.For Now. Thanks for reading through! Should you have more interest or working on something similar, reach out :) [email protected]