(Brainstorm notes from meeting on May 17, 2012)

Virtual

• understand how to use Google analytics (or other?) to inform decisions
• evaluate web analytics for ideas for improvements
• get the support we need for sys admin and Wordpress
• make a few new video tutorials and assess their effectiveness
• find low-hanging-fruit, small improvements anywhere that have big impact
• work with survey data & usability results to make changes to web site to improve user experience
• develop IAP: why is it so hard to get everything from a single search box?
• evaluate self-help pages to inform web design
• improve our own documentation
• new study spaces page
• have new site for our library spaces/locations
• solution for the individual library web sites
• standardize our processes for creating new web sites
• improve SFX menu
• improve UI of SFX menus
• improved library home page, make it more intuitive
• begin project to redesign libraries home page
• figure out best way to change our home page to accommodate the new discovery tool
• support in every way work to simplify discovery environment
• simplify and improve options for discovery of our stuff
• make libraries web site searchable via new discovery tool
• implement new discovery tool
• improved search tool, new or existing
• implement new discovery tool
• staff web? (what to do?)

Physical Space

• clarify UX role in space planning strategy
• clarification of UX's role in physical space planning
• develop another/more physical space betas
• work with survey and other data to make changes to space that matter to users
• from survey, identify actionable space improvments & implement them

UX organization & general items

• apply knowledge about our users more directly to our work
• have a new job title that indicates designer
• finalize and make public the assessment LibGuide
• remove tech web support from UX
• choose several idea seeds and develop products/services that will improve user experience
• consider sunsetting e-reading device loans to public (or improve and market this service)
• develop user personas
• continue explorations of how UX fits in with our organization
• find more ways to help all staff/all units understand UX and what we do
• establish effective work relationship with new web developer
• create a guide or workshop that helps users with personal info management
• do a micro-UX study of several services
• micro-studies - lifecycle study of some of our services
• collaborate with other libraries/AMPs groups to improve the user experience in general
• get more betas! and make betas program more sustainable
• add 6 new betas and assess them at year-end
• implement at least 3 far-out betas that bring attention to MIT Libraries

Marketing

• make some users go "wow, this is so helpful!"
• enrich our products and services with MIT culture (e.g. fix msgs for users, add easter eggs to Vera, etc)
• develop a storage container for stories, comments, flip charts that all staff can use
• if we maintain marketing within UX (?), focus on what do we have that users like (from surveys, data input) that we can advertise more broadly (budget needs)
• improve courtesy notices
• more interaction with users including usability testing, testimonials
• communicate with the subjects of our Digital Scholarship interviews and the outside world about results of our studies this past year

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Criteria for evaluating our ideas

1. is it on the big list from Library Council?
2. user impact: how many users does it impact? does it offer a "wow!" experience (look at quantity and quality)
3. feasibility: how difficult would it be? how many staff involved? how much time?
4. does it support our internal work practices?
5. does it solve multiple problems?
6. how much involvement from other groups would be needed?
7. who from UX would work on it?
8. is it part of a higher-level, cross-departmental initiative or project?