Qualitative User Research on Foster Commons: Grounded Theory Approach

The user research I did this time is a grounded theory approach to Foster Common Lounge. I did not know what kinds of practices I would see, so I chose grounded theory approach and consulted the qualitative data to find patterns in behavior which turned into the practices I reported on in this memo.

I arrived at Foster Commons at Paccar Hall around 12:50 and left around 2 P.M.. The reason I chose to go there at this time is because I want to see how the place is different on rush hour (Rush hour is starts from either 12:20 or 1:20, for people coming out of classes or coming in for lunch at Orin’s dining place). I went upstairs, sitting at a corner of balcony with transparent glasses as fences, and put laptop on my knees so I can type my field notes while watching people. Since I am on top of everyone in lounge, I can observe them easily without being noticeable by others people around me.

The first problem I encountered is trying to figure out how people in Orin’s dining place work on pasta orders. The reason Orin’s dining place caught my attention so fast is that it was so crowded, people waiting for the pasta were basically taking the whole hallway. I had a hard time paying the same amount of attention to other places, so I decided to find out what is causing this busy situation.

I solved this problem by taking myself as a user. Since it was pretty hard to follow one person all the way from the very beginning to the end, I believe that in this user research, I am one of the participants as well. I went down to Orin’s place, ordered pasta for myself, and finally I understand why this process is difficult. This is the result: costumers need to complete these following steps to get their pastas: 1) Finding out they serve pasta by realizing there are two tiny screens with pasta information on sides of the register counter. 2) Finding the pasta orders, which locate at the other two sides. 3) Finishing check the type of pasta. Customers need to do this step before going in line to pay, otherwise the cashier would send them out to finish the order and wait for the line again. 4) Paying the pasta, getting number from cashier. 5) Waiting in the hallway until workers finishing cooking pasta and call the corresponding number so costumers can pick it up.

Wildcard Question: When unusual situation happens during observation, what can a user research do to find out what is causing this situation?

Answer: I believe as a user researcher, the most concrete and reliable data comes from real life experience. In other words, when things are not so clear, taking myself as a user is a good way to approach the issue. When I noticed the unusual situation at Orin’s place, I chose to be a participant, costumer, instead of just watching other people do it. After being a user myself, I got first hand data, which is more straightforward for me to work with.

Reflexivity:

What I learned from this sprint is that as a user researcher, one thing I have to keep in mind is that do not let my emotions and judgements affect the research and result. For example, if I simply love the pasta at Orin’s dining place, and I find all the troubles and waiting for it are worth it, then I might not be able to realize there is a problem in the pasta order system. Or, even if I realize getting pasta is hard, I might also not paying attention to it because I would believe this is how it’s supposed to be done. If that happens in the user research process, huge problems like this one can be ignored easily by researchers. As a user researcher, I should care more what design can improve user’s experience, instead of just telling myself “This is how it is supposed to be done. This is good enough. This thing works. Nothing else should make it better”.

What I found to be interesting in this research is how Grounded Theory Approach works differently than Experimental research. I used to design a experimental research environment, and watched people react and answer to different situations, and I found that enjoyable. However, grounded theory approach is field study. I do not get to control anything, which lead to everything unexpected. I think if I perceive certain feature of a product is not quite good, I should design a experimental research for it. If I do not know what might go wrong, like in Foster Commons, grounded theory approach would be a better idea.

Follow up:

I came in to severals days the user research, and I used the data and information I collected to design a solution to the tedious pasta-getting-problem. I present: Paccar Pasta Buzzer.

The problems with the current pasta getting system is:

1. The order sheets of pastas are far away from the sign of pastas.
2. Long waiting for the line, wasting time for costumers and cashiers.
3. Cooks have to shout out the corresponding numbers when pastas are ready, which disturbs people in lounge.

How Paccar Pasta Buzzer solved the problem:

1. Buzzers are right next to the entrance of the line and pasta signs.
2. It’s all touch screen, saving the usage of papers for pasta order sheets.
3. Magnetic card reader on the buzzer, so costumers can just pay on the buzzer, instead of going to the line. Saving time for costumers and cashiers.
4. When the pasta is ready, cooks can send signals, so the buzzer would start buzzing, indicating the costumers that pasta is ready. This makes the commons quieter, avoiding distracting people in the lounge.
5. There is a magnetic card reader inside of the buzzer as theft-detector. If someone trying to steal it out of the building by passing the door, the detector would start to make a sharp noise.