Visitor Experience Research & Co-Design for National Museum of Ireland
Service Design | National Museum of Ireland
The National Museum of Ireland (NMI) is a trusted voice on Irish heritage, culture and history and is responsible for collecting, preserving, and archiving objects relating to the history and culture of Ireland. An important public facing aspect of NMI’s mission is to provide “real moments of connection”.
NMI provides visitor experiences at all four of its museum sites; Archaeology, on Kildare Street in Dublin, Folklife, in Turlough Park, Co. Mayo, Natural History, on Merrion Street in Dublin (temporarily closed for major renovations), and Decorative Arts, Design and Military History, at Collins Barracks in Dublin.
In 2023, Context Studio was selected to provide NMI with Visitor Experience Research services and we’ve been privileged to work with their teams since.
Setting our course
We started by reviewing a large body of previous research which had been conducted both by the museum and by other organisations. This gave our team a starting point, before we hosted a “North Star Workshop” with key stakeholders to plan our approach.
During that interactive session we identified and later agreed upon four key areas for investigation in our research. This was important, as it helped us align not just with the strategic plan for the museum but also with the goals and objectives of different departments.
Visitor Experience Research Sprint
Our initial research effort set out to investigate visitor experience across all four sites of NMI, under tight time constraints, while still allowing for rich, qualitative data collection. We mixed the qualitative methods of moderated in-person conversations and diary studies, enhanced through the use of quantitative digital surveys.
Context Studio researchers held 195 conversations with 349 people across all four sites. Visitors were politely requested to participate either on entering or departing the museums. These 10-15 minute conversations brought both rich feedback on the visitor experience, but also data on demographics, transport choices, group composition and more. Our researchers used tablet computers to capture both qualitative notes and quantitative data.
This research highlighted 6 key themes to inform NMI strategy and operations in continuing efforts to transform visitor experience. These themes were supported by qualitative evidence and by quantitative data detailing the preferences and demographic details of more than 450 individual visitors engaged in person or via digital surveys during the study.
The themes were brought further to life by the evidence provided in Visitor Experience Journals… paper diaries adorned with stickers that were used by visitors during their time in the museums to document their experience.
Digital Pulse Surveys
The digital “pulse” survey is a means by which NMI can continuously collect valuable visitor experience feedback as well as other data from visitors. An online survey can be completed by visitors who scan a QR code displayed at all four museums and distributed on flyers to visitors. Following an initial trial in 2023, it was clear that there were challenges with completion rates – visitors were starting, but not finishing, the questionnaire.
In keeping with our approach to “Build, Test, Learn & Iterate” the survey was redesigned with NMI stakeholders for deployment in 2024. A much shorter number of high priority questions were asked and a revised order was defined. The new version achieved a 100% completion rate in testing during early 2024.
This continuous feedback channel provides the opportunity to observe visitor profiles and experience over time. The surveys are always available but it is expected they will benefit from a co-ordinated promotion effort across all four sites on a quarterly basis.
Demographic Surveys Summer 2024
While demographic studies had been done before, the Museum had questions about the composition of their audience, especially across weekdays and weekends. To answer these questions, Context Studio provided 12 days of on-site demographic surveys distributed across the 4 NMI sites.
This work was conducted across weekends and weekdays, with our team providing 2 moderators at each location. Brief chats with visitors, under a minute long, allowed our researchers to politely explain the research objectives and ask key demographic questions.
In total, these surveys reached more than 1100 visitors across four sites, outside of key events which might have influenced the data. The questions captured country of origin, age, income bracket, education and group composition – vital data to inform the work of the museum on inclusivity and other strategic objectives.
Supporting Public Programmes with a Design Approach
Public Programmes at National Museum of Ireland are a diverse offering of tours, events, activities and experiences, both online and in-person. These offerings enhance visitor experience and foster a connection to with the artefacts and collections of the museums, as well as the stories that they tell.
NMI has a strong track record of delivering public programmes, running hundreds of events of different kinds each year, these are commonly offered to the visiting public free of charge. Our brief was to uncover ways in which Public Programmes might enhance the diversity of the audiences that they reach.
Groundwork – understanding the current state of Public Programmes
Our research investigated how these programmes are designed, delivered and marketed, as well as the level of public engagement, and evaluation of the visitor experience. Our team examined over 300 documents detailing attendance & feedback, planning, and promotional materials associated with Public Programmes and we looked at comparable programmes offered by other cultural institutions
We additionally conducted in-depth interviews with staff responsible for public programmes, and our team participated in programmes as “visitors” – get a sense of the current offering.
This work was valuable to our designers in that it provided a baseline understanding, but also to NMI as it produced important documentation of the “visitor journey” right through from first awareness of the programmes to signup, attendance, and what might happen afterward.
Exploration – working with visitors at NMI Collins Barracks
The NMI strategic plan commits to “prioritise opportunities to co-curate and collaborate with diverse communities through our public programmes.” At NMI Decorative Arts & History in Collins Barracks it is a key objective to better engage and reach communities in nearby Dublin 7 and Dublin 8 districts.
We embarked on a sprint of qualitative research that began with a digital survey within the communities, reaching more than 440 people. Through this survey we identified respondents who do not currently engage with the museum, and then invited some of these respondents to join us at the museum for in-person research events.
These interactive workshops, and service experience “safaris” enhanced understanding of the preconceived perceptions local people had of the museum, and their experience of the museum when they visited. Four key challenge areas were defined on the basis of this research, and brought forward to a co-design session with the teams from across the Museum at Collins Barracks.
Co-Design with NMI
That co-design effort involved 20 staff, from across the museum, bringing expertise and experience from many different functions. Together, in one morning, they created 356 sketched ideas which responded to the key challenge areas uncovered in research.
Moving on to the afternoon, groups of 2-3 people used those initial ideas to draft a total of 19 well considered concepts, which they presented to one another before together as a group we voted –with each participant choosing their top three possibilities for the future of Public Programmes at the Museum.
These concepts were further defined, tied back to the evidence uncovered, and are now being considered by the Museum teams for potential testing as part of future planning.
Bringing a Design Approach to Our National Museum
These examples shine some light on the ways in which NMI is using a design approach to better understand their audience, to turn that understanding into insight and opportunity, and to ensure those opportunities are shared within their teams and prioritised to align with strategy.
This work aligns with the Design Principles for Government in Ireland, and demonstrates involvement of the public in the design of the future of our public services. It is our great privilege to work with this incredible national institution, and the fantastic teams of passionate and talented people that work there.