Running Head: UX PROJECT REPORT

UX Project Report
Rob Morgan
James Madison University

UX PROJECT REPORT

For my User Experience (UX) project I have been analyzing the study habits of students
at Carrier Library on the campus of James Madison University. My initial perspective was that
there was a lack of study space available for students and that students were repurposing
materials, locations and furniture within the library to make up for the lack of study space or the
students would get upset and walk out of the library.

Methods
I analyzed students use of space in the library on three different occasions for
approximately thirty minutes during each session. No identifying information was recorded for
any of the participants and the study required that participants act as they normally would
therefore no information was provided to the participants that a project was being completed.
Throughout each occasion I focused on three primary study areas on the first floor. These three
areas consisted of the main entrance and learning commons area, the reference collection area,

Area 2

and the lobby area in the back of the building as depicted in the image below.

A
r
e
a
3

Area 1

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I initially went to the three locations and sketched each one without taking into account
any of the individuals who were there. I created just a base sketch of each one. For the main
room I ended up creating two base sketches since it was too large. After I sketched each room I
made copies of my sketches and went back for my three visits and recorded where students were
sitting on my original sketches. I also made notes of what the reactions were of the students as
they approached an area and could not locate adequate seating. The three base sketches I made
for each location are shown below.

Area 1: Main Room

Area 1: Main Room

Area 2: Reference Room

Area 3: Back Room

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Observation One
My initial observation occurred on a Thursday at 10:30am. The library was not as full as I had
seen it in the past. As evidenced in the sketches below there were plenty of open seats available in the
main room. I did notice a few trends though. The comfortable seats which are padded were all filled up
and the ones closest to Starbucks did not remain open long when they were vacated. I also noticed that
the window seats were primarily filled up and that is where an approaching student would initially look
when they showed up. The seats at computers were also at a premium as those went much quicker than
a desk chair at a table. While I was watching I compiled notes of how many students approached and
appeared to be looking for seats. It should be noted that during this viewing I was both seated in one of
the comfortable chairs near Starbucks for a while and standing near the bookshelves for a while.
Students that approached

Seats found?

Reaction to not finding seating:

A few students walked in and
after realizing there were no
comfortable seats available they

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left my area. One student came

in and stood at a table and
waited for a student to vacate a
window seat.

Below are the sketches that I had with the filled out areas for where students were seated. I realized
quickly that I could not draw people well so I used my highlighter to mark each person.

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In areas 2 and 3 there were not enough students to make many observations. All but 2 seats were
available in area 2 and all but 1 seat was available in area 3. In both areas no students approached while
I was waiting.

Observation Two
Observation two occurred on a Tuesday at 4:30pm. The library was very busy at this time with
primarily students but a few possible faculty and staff as well. In the main room (area 1) when I arrived
there were very few seats remaining. I noticed that once again all of the comfortable seats were filled in
addition to all of the window seats in the Starbucks area. In addition, all of the computers were being
used as well. There were a few observations that I made that stood out. There was a student seated
alone at a table for four. When two other students approached to sit down he told them he was
reserving the seats. The students did not appear to be happy based on body language and left the area. I
did note that about ten minutes later he did have two other friends show up and sit with him. There was
a group of three girls that arrived and upon realizing that there were no seats for the three of them they
decided to sit together on the ground near the bookshelves and appeared to be happy with the
arrangement.
Students that approached

Seats found?

Reaction to not finding seating:

The reaction was surprisingly
neutral. Perhaps they have

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grown accustomed to the

problem or it is not much of a
problem to them.

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Areas 2 and 3 were a little different than area 1 during observation two. There were some
comfortable seats available in both sections. In area 2 there seemed to quite a few seating options
available. In area 3 all of the seats at the large table were taken but there were a few comfortable seats
available. I was able to stand in the entry way between areas 2 and 3 and watch both consecutively. I did
find a few students that I saw leave area 1 had found seats in area 2. The comfortable seats did seem to
be taken more often than a table and chair however many of the students who appeared to be in groups
were seated at tables.
Students that approached

Seats found?

Reaction to not finding seating:

Most students came in and
found a seat quickly. A few
walked out of area 2 and into

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area 3 only to find it mostly

filled so they went back to area
2. Three students kept walking
out of area 3.

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Observation Three
Observation three occurred on a Friday at 12:30pm. I expected this to be a relatively quiet time
at the library but I was incorrect. Starbucks had a line out the door and the main foyer was very crowded
with students. I noticed a theme once again in the main room. All but one of the comfortable chairs
were taken. Although, surprisingly, the one chair that was not filled when I got there never did get filled.
It was in the middle of other chairs and I wondered if that had anything to do with it. The window seats
also were all filled and as previously the computers were all taken. I did see my most hostile encounter
of the report. A group of three young men entered the main room (area 1) and approached two
students who were seated at a table for four if they could move to two other open seats (seats that
were not window seats like they had) the two students said they could not because they already had
everything set up. The three men walked away upset and one of them said so stupid! I also noticed
seven people who decided to sit on the floor. All of them happened to be woman and all of them were
either seated directly with friends or on the ground next to friends.
Students that approached all
three areas

Seats found?

Reaction to not finding seating:

There was a lot more turnover
of seats than I had seen in the
past so seats became more

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available than normal. I also

saw a student give up his table
to a group of three girls when
they arrived. He claimed he was
just finishing.

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Implications
There are a few points that stood out with this data collection. The first is that the padded
lounge chairs (comfortable chairs) are typically much more desired than the wooden desk chairs. The
second is that students seem to desire window seats more than non-window seats. There also appears
to be two distinct groups of students. Those coming as part of a group 2+ who seem to favor seating for
the entire group over comfort and those coming as individuals who appear to favor location and
comfort over access to multiple seats. One area that I did not notice that I was expecting was seating
around power supplies. I expected that students would flock to the seats near outlets but that seemed
to have no significant impact. Seats at computers were at a premium though, which was slightly
surprising considering the number of students who have person mobile computers. The data seems to
suggest that there is a weakness in the User Experience and that there may be some unique areas of
opportunity that require further exploration.