Case studies
How a user research partnership supported digital transformation.
Imperial War Museums, UK
A family of five museums uncovering the causes, course and consequences of war, from the First World War through to present-day conflict.
Tools: User testing, benchmarking, workshops + reports
Delivered: 2018 – ongoing
The ask.
Imperial War Museums (IWM) needed to upgrade its online presence to better connect with the more diverse audiences it wanted to reach. It was keen to work with a long-term research partner that would not only give insight into their online audience but provide support to transform the organisations practice to be more user-centred and responsive.
The answer.
In 2018, invited FG+W to become their research partner for their digital transformation programme
FG+W designed a research program that aligned with IWM’s development roadmap, integrating user insights into their processes. This involved:
- Designing and implementing strategic research projects highlighting areas of opportunity and need for improvement that aligned with IWM’s critical objectives
- Action learning projects to embed UCD and design projects
- Facilitating stakeholder sessions to engage the wider organisation with the research findings
- Promoting data-informed, user-centred design practice
The approach.
We conducted online quantitative research to understand who used the website and social media. We used the insights to help IWM identify the critical services and content to focus on to increase conversion, income and engagement. This guided us in qualitative research to understand specific user group’s behaviours, motivations and journeys through the site.
Since 2018, our research has informed the design of services, including:
- Post-doctoral researchers, amateur family historians, and commercial researchers: We explored their needs, motivations, and behaviors while using the website’s collection search tools. This led to adjustments in the Collections strategy and system design
- Donors: We found opportunities to encourage small-scale donations from audience segments interested in specific topics. Working with a cross-departmental team, we developed and tested prototype content to support this objective
- Visit planners: Through online interviews, we learned about users’ expectations and experiences when planning visits to IWM branches, providing insights to enhance the visit planning process
- Teachers: We explored how teachers plan visits and use IWM resources for lesson planning
- Members: Our qualitative research supported the transition to a casual membership model and identified potential online membership services
At the same time, we examined internal processes to find ways that the IWM’s departments could work more effectively together, embed user-centred design and where there were opportunities to reduce cost.
The outcome.
Working closely, over several years, has allowed us to help a wide variety of teams to understand the online audience and make changes to internal practice.
The research and insights generated from our work had significant impacts across IWM. They’ve seen notable improvements in user ratings, reach, and impact across both web and social. We also helped to establish a mandate for a change to a content strategy with the Trustees and Senior Leadership team
Our collaboration has laid a solid foundation for their ongoing digital transformation, ensuring that their digital services and content truly met the needs of their audiences
–Kirsty Bennet, User Experience Manager, Imperial War Museums
“This more user-centred approach helped us identify pain points and prioritise them for action. For example, seeing how audiences went about finding information helped us step into their shoes and understand how to name different areas of the site. The work has also helped get buy-in to the approach from stakeholders.
We’re just completing another web survey and we’re seeing an overall increase in users’ rating of the website, and a significant increase in those who are planning a visit. In the meantime, we’ve had great feedback from internal stakeholders, particularly customer services who have seen a drop in enquiries around how to find certain things on the website.”
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