Final Project: Part 2

As the Donor Base Gets Younger, Arts and Culture Institutes Must Shift Their Focus

Wireframes/Storyboard

This shows the high-fidelity, individual draft visualizations of the critical elements of the story. The storyboard shows the flow of the story, with the wireframes integrated. Part II1

User Research and Interviews

Target Audience

People who work in nonprofits, specifically in fundraising.

Sample group

All three members of the sample group are known to the author as professionals in the field of nonprofit fundraising.

Research Goals

Goal Questions
Evaluate if the message is clear. Who do you think this presentation is for? Can you tell me the problem being conveyed?
Determine if the call to action is clear. Can you tell me the proposed solution to the problem?
Evaluate the success of the data visualizations. Do you feel the data is compelling enough to motivate the viewer to follow the solution? Why or why not?
Prioritize what to fix. Did anything surprise or confuse you? Is there anything you would change or do differently?

Interview script

Intro: “Thank you for agreeing to do this interview with me. I’m a Master’s student at CMU and I’m taking Telling Stories with Data, a class on Data Visualization. For this project we are creating a story with a call to action using data visualizations. I want to see how effective it is, so I just have a few questions for you.”

Main (ask questions): “I’ll give you a few minutes to look over this wireframe of the presentation. This outlines the visuals and flow of the presentation.” (after a few minutes). “Now I just have a few questions:” (ask the following questions)

Wrap Up: “Do you have any follow up questions or suggestions for me?” (if yes, take notes).

Thank the interviewee for their time, end the interview.

Interview findings and planned changes

Question Key Findings Planned changes
Who do you think this presentation is for? All users understood that the presentation was for those involved in fundraising in nonprofits. I think that the target audience is clear, so no changes needed in regard to this.
Can you tell me the problem being conveyed? Users understood that the main idea was that wealth was changing to younger donors. However, one user didn’t make the connection that nonprofits would be reliant on young donors soon. The overall problem is well understood but might need clarification. I can state explicitly that “nonprofits will be reliant on young donors soon.”
Can you tell me the proposed solution to the problem? This was clear for all users. However, one user had trouble making the connection between the last slide listing potential events and the proposed solution. Clarify the final slide by referencing the findings to make clear how they connect to the proposed events. Also clarify that the proposed events are a method to enact the solution.
Do you feel the data is compelling enough to motivate the viewer to follow the solution? Why or why not? One user felt that the visualizations needed to be clarified and lacked context. I plan to re-visualize the second graph as a unit chart to make it clear that these are proportions being represented, not percentages. I’ll also label the graphs with darker colors so that the labels are clearer.
Did anything surprise or confuse you? One user mentioned they were confused at the “formula” used on the final slide (“children x social”). This is something I’ll probably write out rather than trying to shorthand as the message is being misinterpreted as a mathematical formula.
Is there anything you would change or do differently? One user mentioned the importance of keeping the variables the same color. This is something I’ve already been doing and will continue to do.
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