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A Usability Study
Cooper Hewitt API Site

Objective
Understand how to make an API Documentation site usable
Perform a usability analysis of the Cooper Hewitt API Documentation site in order to guide future feature prioritization.
Skills
Survey Design
Personas
Heuristic Eval.
UX Research
Product Strategy
Tools
Excel
Zoom
Adobe Illustrator
Team
Ali Cifti - UX Fellow
Duration
Three Months
Client
Cooper Hewitt
Cooper Hewitt's API Documentation Site
The goal of the API documentation site produced by Cooper Hewitt was to enable developers, researchers, and students to interact with the museum's vast collection as well as tie in with the rest of the Smithsonian.
The API documentation site needed to be usable for those unfamiliar with APIs while also allowing flexibility for those looking for more advanced features.
Objectives
Computer Expert / Museum Novice

Museum Expert / Computer Novice

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Understand how easy it is for non-familiar users to learn about museum science
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Understand how the documentation will help users understand how the API might serve different needs
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Understand how users see themselves using the API & how straightforward it is to start these projects
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Understand how easy it is for non-familiar users to learn how to use the API
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Understand how the documentation will help users understand how the API might serve their different needs
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Understand how users see themselves using the API & how straightforward it is for them to start these projects
Research Methods
Heuristic Evaluation
Understanding Current State
Usability inspection method where evaluators examine the interface and judge its compliance with recognized usability principles
Persona Development
Understanding Users
Development of unique set of user personas intended to understand how different users might interact with the API.
Usability Testing
Understanding User Objectives
Usability research with different persona groups intended to test how these different personas use the documentation to achieve their goals. Each round of usability testing will align with one or more of the objectives outlined above.
Personas

Kathy Miller - Curator
I'm a curator trying to keep up with the technologies that keep being introduced to my industry.
My Wants & Needs:
Create new visitor experiences
Create search tools, design custom tours, generate VR environments
Push exhibit information seamlessly to museum website
My Knowledge:
Museum Studies
Collections
Technology

Sarah Parker - Museum Student
I'm a museum and digital culture graduate student who aspires to work as a digital analyst for a museum.
My Wants & Needs:
Learn how APIs can be used to better understand museum collections
Use the API to create data visualizations for my portfolio
Explore trends across museums
My Knowledge:
Museum Studies
Collections
Technology

Joseph Gomez - API Vendor
I'm a data scientist who has been contracted to work for the Smithsonian to develop an app that helps visitors decide which exhibits to see.
My Wants & Needs:
Train artificial intelligence models
Find trends in artwork and generate new connections between objects
My Knowledge:
Museum Studies
Collections
Technology

Nancy Williams - Computer Science Professor
I'm a computer science professor who has been looking for an API to use as a class example to teach students how to work with Python and JavaScript.
My Wants & Needs:
Find an engaging API that students want to work with
Work with an API that is well documented so students can work with it
My Knowledge:
Museum Studies
Collections
Technology
Findings
Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed For Matrix
The Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed For Matrix was used to condense study data and inform development which new features should be prioritized before the API site was shipped. Study topics were placed in their respective categories, and the number of participants that supported each topic is counted.
Liked | Learned | Lacked | Longed For |
---|---|---|---|
Fri., June 20 | Book It | The Academy, L.A | |
Thu., June 19 | Book It | Bamboo, Santa Barbara | |
Sat., June 28 | Book It | Cheers, Santa Cruz | |
Wed., July 6 | Book It | The Roxy, San Francisco |