02 Results
Residents encounter the most broken resources in the laundry room
Most respondents would like additional cleaning supplies in their dorm's shared spaces
Across all residence halls, study rooms have the least resources
Includes various questions with the format of multiple choice, rating, ranking, and open-ended questions.
Question Overview:
Logistics of residents' visits to various shared spaces
Communal bathrooms, Kitchen lounges, Laundry rooms, Study rooms
Determining spaces with the highest availability of resources
Frequency of broken resource encounters
Repair turnaround time
Suggestions and needed resources
03 Design Recommendations
Addressing residents encountering the most broken resources in the laundry room:
Implementing a proper maintenance report system for all resources in the laundry rooms.
Through an app or a readily available tablet
Addressing the addition of cleaning supplies in shared spaces:
Provide each space with an appropriate selection of cleaning supplies for shared use.
Spread awareness about cleanliness through posters, slideshows on TVs, and reminders during resident adviser meetings.
Addressing study rooms have the least resources across all residence halls:
Provide markers and erasers for the whiteboards
Include an extra stationery area with a 'use and return' policy
04 Survey Report
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Survey 📝
01 Setting
Purpose:
To analyze a larger sample size, collect quantitative data, include more diverse opinions, and verify previous findings.
Method:
Created a Google Form and sent it around the UW Housing and Food Service community as well as separate Slack and Discord channels for each dorm.
Replies:
15
Survey Questions
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02 Results
03 Design Recommendations
04 Interview Report
Negligence towards resources that are out of order:
There were several resources including laundry machines, vending machines, and outlets that were out of order, leading to an inconvenient shortage.
High traffic flow and lack of available resources:
Since there is currently no method of knowing whether or not a shared space is occupied, residents have to travel up and down all floors of their dorm to find a vacant space.
Difficulty transferring personal belongings to and from spaces:
If residents are going to the kitchen to cook, they will need to bring various ingredients and supplies, in the laundry room, they will need to bring their clothes, and in the study room, they will most likely have their filled backpacks with them.
Addressing negligence towards resources that are out of order:
Implement an interface directly within each shared space where residents can immediately send in work orders. This interface would be placed near the entrance of a shared space and would have options to report which resource is out of order, where it is located, and the severity of the damage.
Addressing high traffic flow and lack of available resources:
Create an application that would show the most updated status of each shared space's availability. The app can be downloaded by all residents and would be a quick and easy way to check whether there are empty spaces on any of the residence hall floors.
Addressing difficulty transferring personal belongings to and from spaces:
There should always be some sort of mini carts or baskets for those who need extra support transporting their belongings. This would especially be helpful when moving larger loads of laundry down to the lower floors where the laundry room is present.
Interviews 🎙️
01 Setting
Purpose:
To gain further insight into how undergraduate residents in college dorms interact physically and emotionally with currently established resources in various shared spaces.
Location:
Lander Hall (University of Washington), Zoom
Time:
Three 20-30 minute 1-on-1 sessions
Interview Inclusion & Exclusion Criteria:
Interview Questions
Field Study 👀
01 Setting
Research Questions
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Space availability:
When residents had to look for vacant kitchen lounges, it took almost 10 minutes to find one that was two floors above their floor of residence (4th floor). Residents occasionally had trouble identifying which machines were vacant or occupied in the laundry rooms, especially with the tinted doors.
Interaction with resources:
Many of the implemented resources in each of the three shared spaces were either broken or unavailable for use. Some resources that were taking up space did not provide much usage for residents.
Use of personal belongings:
Residents often had problems transporting their items both within the spaces and to the space from their rooms. For example, most residents who went to do their laundry were hauling around a heavy bag or basket filled to the rim with clothes.
02 Results
03 Design Recommendations
04 Field Study Report
Addressing space availability:
Add color-coded signs or panels to the doors of each space that present the current activity that is taking place.
Washing and drying machine screens can show a signal in a bright color to represent the current status including vacancy or remaining time.
Addressing interaction with resources:
Implement signage by placing eye-catching signs or instructions explaining the alternative options or the current status of accommodations.
Prioritize what is needed in each setting. For example, providing each kitchen with paper towels and rags around the sink areas.
Addressing use of personal belongings:
To alleviate the labor that residents have to go through in the laundry rooms by moving hefty laundry bags around the machines, the implementation of mini scooter boards can aid in smooth transportation. This can also help avoid any messes on the floor and can be stored in a rack at the corner of the space.
Always have small carts available on each floor of the residence halls.
Re-defined Design Question
Purpose:
To explore various interactions between residents and the currently established resources in the UW residence halls.
Location:
Three different communal spaces in two of the UW's residence halls: the laundry room and kitchen lounge in Lander Hall and the lobby in Maple Hall.
Time:
Completed over the course of three days with observations being taken each day for 30 minutes between 12 pm to 2:15 pm.
How can we support and improve the use of resources in shared spaces for undergraduate dorm residents?
"There is an overflow of 933 residents for 9-month housing this academic year" (UW HFS 2023)
"More than 40% of students reported feeling unsatisfied with the overall maintenance management of their dorm due to out-of-service facilities, lack of rules and regulations, and congested spaces" (Wei & Chen 2019)
Motivation: Secondary Research 🌟
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☹️
🏠
I conducted user research on the interactions and experiences of using resources within shared spaces at the UW Seattle campus residence halls. This research was conducted to reduce any frustrations that come along with using a communal space.
During the user research, I conducted a field study, semi-structured interviews, and surveys to collect both qualitative and quantitative data of my participants.
Duration: 10 weeks
Role: User Researcher
Tools: Google Forms, Google Spreadsheet, MaxQDA, Zoom
Skills: User Research
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User Research: Shared Dorm Resources
Improving shared resources for residents at the University of Washington (UW)'s residence halls
Field Study
Interview
Survey
Reflection
Challenges/Limitations
The time and day of each observation were chosen at my convenience, meaning I could miss important details occurring at any other instance
No communication with the residents led to multiple assumptions
Learnings
Observational studies are a great way to catch a brief overview of how relevant my goals are to current situations
These studies do not manipulate any actions of the residents, leading to authentic results
Challenges/Limitations
Small sample to work with
Staying consistent with all of my interviews as the length and detail of each session varied
Learnings
There are often clusters within the sample that share similarities, which are worth investigating
The depth of my conversations increased as I gained more experience and knowledge by the final interview
Challenges/Limitations
Organizing data from all responses
Deciding how to present data
Learnings
Ensure that the motive of each question is clear to every participant
Get an approximately similar number of responses from every residence hall next time
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