User Experience Document - Sustainable Education India

Sustainable Education India November 2019

USER EXPERIENCE DOCUMENT SEI UX Team | Tim Qi, Janice Wang, Annabelle Davy, Lauren Fornell, Sara Tayara

Executive Summary What is UX User experience is a crucial part to the overall design process at CUSD. An extensive UX research phase helps designers think from users’ perspectives, encouraging a more human centered design. The traditional approach to architecture design starts with the analysis of context, scale to the city, and other buildings. With UX, the research start with users and empathy field work conducted with carefully crafted questions.

Our Mission The UX’s team mission is to research users and synthesize insights for the pre-design phase of the SEI project with the Doon School. This document will be client facing while serving as an instruction document open to internal critques. Using data from the stakeholder, reasonable assumptions, and Cornell University’s resources, the UX team constructed a document including personas, journey maps, program interaction charts, and material suggestions. This document also suggest possible design approaches for future use in the SEI project.

UX Findings The UX team created three personas representing potential user types for the Doon School: a teacher, a faculty member, and a student. Each user was described with a personal background, goals, behaviors and frustrations. Journey maps were created for each user to showcase delight points and pain points of a typical day’s interactions with school programs. From this analysis, the team drew conclusions about the needs of each user. A teacher needs socialization and interaction with faculty, an administrative staff member needs interaction with both of the other users and privacy to work alone, and a student needs variety and a balance between structure and openness. From these findings, suggestions were made about elements to include and take into consideration in the design of the programs to accommodate all users’ needs and to integrate sustainability in these designs.

View at the John Martyn Memorial School which is adjacent to the upcoming Arthur Foot School project. The Sustainable Education team conducted empathy field work with users from the JMMS through the design process.

SEI USER EXPERIENCE BACKGROUND

INTRODUCTION USER PERSONAS PROGRAMS DESIGN ELEMENTS MATERIALS

JOURNEY MAP Mrs. Sahi: Teacher at Arthur Foot School

6 AM

Mrs. Adweta Sahi was born and raised in a Hindu family from Uttarakhand. She is currently helping her family’s business in the agriculture sector of Dehradun. Before taking on the role as a teacher at the Arthur Foot school, she was always praised for her friendliness and willingness to learn from others.

8 AM

9 AM

10 AM

11 AM

“More can be done to raise raise the level of literacy rate of young girls, and in fact for all children in our region. I want to give back to my community.”

Seeing the growth of her student and fulfilling her mission

Commute and meeting with principal

Pain

“It’s important to link people together. An active social atmosphere is important for our kids’ growth.”

1 PM

2 PM

3 PM

Interacting with other faculty members and time to rest

Teaches three 50-minute morning classes

Insecurity in her lack of education experiences

Exhaustion from the long bus commute

Teaching a class outside in a shaded space

Happy to see the whole school enjoying the outdoors

Leads a student assembly and teaches an art class

BEHAVIORS Mrs. Sahi is actively engaged in community work. When the opportunity to teach came up to her, she took it up immediately. She wants to play the role of connecting people in the new school environment where a strong link needs to be established among students and faculty.

12 PM

A well-lit office and comfortable faculty commons after a long commute

Delight

GOALS While there are many renowned educational institutions in the region as a result of the city’s strong economic growth in the past 20 years and its status as the state’s capital, Mrs. Sahi strongly believes in fair access to secondary education for all in an immensely competitive academic environment. Mrs. Sahi believes more can be done to raise the literacy rate of young girls from this region.

7 AM

Disorganized art & science room and the lack of storage spaces

Seeing the students play

Lunch & recess

Afternoon class

Office & Commute

Speaking with a misbehaving student in her office

Paperwork and commute home

Lack of pantry amenities

FRUSTRATIONS Struggles to find the method of transportation when visiting her family to reduce her commute time, minimizing the impact on her new job. She will rely heavily on the training program and library resources provided by the Doon School. Away from family, she is also in need of a sense of identity at the Arthur Foot school. The daily commute to school is very physically taxing.

“The location of the principal’s office makes it difficult to feel and look active member of the school to the community, students and faculty.”

IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL SPACE

A FACULTY’S COMMON ROOM

According to studies conducted by Gensler and other design firms, good design should encourage social interaction.

Carefully planned out public spaces set the foundation for healthy growth of students. From our stakeholder’s pictures, it is evident students utilize these spaces heavily.

This is a important space where faculty members can gather, eat, socialize, and rest. Amenities are especailly important at the school becasue of the long commute many teachers have to take every morning. Privacy for personal space and items is also needed while interaction is encourged.

SEI USER EXPERIENCE

INTRODUCTION USER PERSONAS PROGRAMS DESIGN ELEMENTS MATERIALS

JOURNEY MAP

BACKGROUND Arav: A Responsible and Social Student

6 AM

Aarav is a student at the Arthur Foot School with a basic elementary school background.

His family works in agriculture, where he often helps them out. He has a younger sister, age 10, and he is also often responsible for her care. These responsibilities make school valuable to him, as it is his main opportunity to socialize and focus on his own learning, particularly in his favorite subject, math.

While Aarav is an excellent student, he struggles in English, so he would like to improve in that. He is a strong math student, so he would like to learn math at a faster pace. Because of his responsibilities at home, he wants school to be an opportunity to focus on his own learning, and to have fun and interact with other students.

8 AM

9 AM

10 AM

11 AM

“I try to learn as much as I can and I want to have fun at school”

Seeing friends

Getting ready and commute

Pain

“I work hard to take care of things at home, so I will spend as much time as possible talking to friends when I’m at school”

1 PM

Today’s experiment was interesting

Morning class

Class in the art & science room

BEHAVIORS He prioritizes family responsibilities, whether that be helping his parents with the family agriculture business, or helping his sister get ready for school in the mornings. He walks to school, so he is often tired. School is also his only chance to talk to peers, so he sometimes gets distracted in class because he would prefer to be socializing.

12 PM

English reading passage was kind of difficult Physical discomfort from walking

2 PM

3 PM

Getting to eat, socialize with friends, a good break

Math and art class went well

Delight

GOALS

7 AM

Break was boring, and the science room is on the farther side

Looking forward to going home

Lunch & recess

Afternoon class

Excited to see family and tell them about his day

Commute home

Boring when the weather is rainy Not looking forward to doing chores and homework Long commute back home

FRUSTRATIONS Aarav finds himself struggling to keep up with others in English, but also feeling bored with the pace that math is taught at. He wants to learn from his classmates but his teachers often tell him to work individually. He has difficulty concentration because of tiredness from his commute, and he wants to spend more time on his studies but his responsibilities at home often prevent him from doing so.

“It’s hard to catch up with everyone else in English and I feel bored during math”

STUDENTS WANT VARIETY

STUDENTS WANT TO SOCIALIZE & LEARN

It can be easy for them to get distracted, especially when they’re in the same space for the majority of the day, so it is imperative that programs, classrooms especially, have interesting elements, whether that be through color, orientation of furniture, etc.

Students often feel more comfortable working together to learn, and they also enjoy conversations about things besides school. Therefore, it is necessary that programs have a balance of structure and openness to optimize learning.

SEI USER EXPERIENCE

INTRODUCTION USER PERSONAS PROGRAMS DESIGN ELEMENTS MATERIALS

JOURNEY MAP

BACKGROUND Aanya: Principal of Arthur Foot School

6 AM

Ms. Aanya Acharya is administrator from Dehradun, India, who recently got the position of Principal of the new Arthur Foot School. She has a husband and two children aged 7 and 11. Ms. Acharya and her family are looking forward to living on the school property, and becoming an integral part of the school’s culture.

For the Arthur Foot school to fully prepare students into pursuing higher education.

For students, teachers, and staff to develop meaningful relationships and become a staple within the local community.

“I hope to foster an environment where the students flourish and use the skills they learn at the Arthur Foot school for the rest of their lives”

FRUSTRATIONS The main issue is the space Ms. Acharya occupies at the school. The principal’s office is small and makes it difficult to have meetings with other faculty members. The space is away from the main area within the building.

Ms. Acharya finds it difficult to run a school when she feels separated from it.

“The location of the principal’s office makes it difficult to feel and look active member of the school to the community, students and faculty.”

Pain

“I find treating my work like an extension of my family to be rewarding for myself, but also the students and staff.

9 AM

Conference room, large open table, good lightening, nice acoustics

Office tasks and meetings with teachers

BEHAVIORS Ms. Acharya is very family oriented, she treats every student like her child. Likewise, she loves to interact with the faculty and staff of the school. Ms. Acharya treats the school she works for as an extension of her own immediate family.

8 AM

10 AM

11 AM

12 PM

Waking up early to take care of family and prep for the day

1 PM

Able to interact and get feedback from students’ parents

Working in office

Answering phone calls, emails, files and working in unappealing office

2 PM

Lunch outside interacting with the children and facility

Enjoys seeing students arriving to school and meeting with faculty

Delight

GOALS

7 AM

Parent-student meetings

Unappealing office space

Able to learn from other administrators on how to improve students education

Lunch

Cross administrator meetings

Not located at Arthur Foot, need to commute to location where all admins meet

SUPPORTING INTERACTIONS

WORK SPACE

As a principal, interacting with the students and faculty allows for a relationship to develop. This relationship positively affects not only the students and staff, but the community. Building a relationship like this showcases how the principal is actively trying to help the students and creates a successful learning environment.

The space in which Ms. Acharya occupies hinders her daily work life. Creating a space that allows for productivity would greatly benefit her. Likewise a space is needed that would foster group collaboration/meetings.

3 PM

PROGRAMS

INTRODUCTION USER PERSONAS PROGRAMS DESIGN ELEMENTS MATERIALS

USER PROGRAM INTERACTION MAP 6 AM

7 AM

8 AM

9 AM

10 AM

11 AM

12 PM

1 PM

2 PM

3 PM

Classroom

Playground

Playground

6 AM

Principle’s office

7 AM

8 AM

Principle’s office

9 AM

10 AM

Playground

Faculty Commons

Faculty Commons

Faculty Commons Principle’s office

Classroom

Office

Out of office

Office

Commute (Parking) Principal

Classroom

Classroom

Auditorium (semi-outdoor)

Flexrooms

Teachers

MAJOR PROGRAMS IDENTIFIED

Classroom

Commute (Parking)

Students

Office

Principle’s office

11 AM

Principle’s office

12 PM

1 PM

Faculty Commons

2 PM

3 PM

1. Principal living unit 2. Home (students and teachers) 3. Classrooms (seven in total) 4. Auditorium (semi-outdoor) 5. Flexroom (arts/ sciences) 6. Flexroom (library/computer) 7. Faculty common room (lockers and other amenities) 8. Playground 9. Parking lot for buses 10. Bathrooms 11. Kitchen/pantry

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Design suggestions derived from the persona studies

INTRODUCTION USER PERSONAS PROGRAMS DESIGN ELEMENTS MATERIALS

Natural Ventilation

Student Design Participation

Colors

Natural ventilation keeps the energy cost down and encourages sustainability. Cross-ventilation significantly reduces the heat trapped in a building.

However, this strategy needs to be thoroughly researched before it can be applied to achieve its intended effects.

This strategy is used by the Doon School to encourage community service participation. Here, the Arthur Foot School students will feel more involved in the design process and establish a stronger connection to the campus if they can participate in the construction in any possible ways. (Ex. Painting the playground.)

Colors, if used correctly and carefully, give a place life even if the architecture is stale. The sensible use of colours gives identity to a place, making the design unique. Our stakeholders also liked precedents where colors were used in a fashion that encouraged playfulness of a place.

Loggia/Open Hallway

Semi-outdoor Auditorium

Multifunctional Playscape

Through the reserach of JMMS, school buildings, and local architecture typologies, loggia is commonly used in the region to provide shading, ventilated corridors, and visually appealing circulation paths.

Our stakeholders specifically asked for a semi-outdoor auditorium. It provides users with ventilation and shading in the summer. On rainy days, the structure protects its users from the elements. It allows students and teachers to enjoy the outdoors while having a sense of enclosure.

Currently, JMMS only has a flat playground where students have to sit and eat on the ground. A dynamic playscape could be three-dimensional and incorporate many functions such as providing seating and encouraging physcial activities . It also adds to the playfulness the stakerholders want in our design.

MATERIALS

INTRODUCTION USER PERSONAS PROGRAMS DESIGN ELEMENTS MATERIALS

Material suggestions derived from the user experience studies

Brick

Timber

Concrete

According to feedback from our stakeholders, building maintenance cost isn’t one of their major concern because of the use of bricks as the building material.

They do not cost too much to maintain, and they give texture and colour to spaces. They also don’t require complicated construction techniques.

Timber gives a natural and organic feel to spaces. It is environmentally friendly, and timber resources are plentiful around Dehradun. The stakeholders liked previously shown precedents constructed using timber.

Concrete is the most common method of construction around Dehradun in recent years. It is easily accessible.

Workers are usually experienced with concrete construction. However, the cement industry is one of the two largest producers of carbon dioxide, creating up to 8% of worldwide man-made emissions.

Stone

Bamboo

Vegetation

Similar to bricks, the current JMMS building uses stones on its lower level. The material itself is durable and easy to find in the surrounding areas. Workers also have experience using it. It gives a building elaborate texture if placed in the right pattern.

Bamboo is sustainable and gives a nice texture to building facades. As a plant, it grows rapidly and is easy to find. The modularity of bamboo makes it easy to assemble into different geometries if proper techiniques are utilized.

Vegetation is a crucial aspect in easing off the sharp architectual presence in many places. If properly planned out and maintained, it could act as a boundary, improve the visual appeal of a place, and bring numerous other benefits. Shading provided by vegetation also drastically improves a public space.