Last fall, I was asked to help lead an ambitious, library-wide project. It aimed to reimagine our strategic planning process through an inclusive, human-centered, design thinking approach. Having just moved into our library administration (from our technology team), it was a perfect opportunity to foster and support UX thinking across the organization.
With outside consultant Elatia Abate to guide us, over 117 library staff worked in teams to gather information, empathize with our end users, and iterate on solutions to grand “How might we…?” challenges. Library staff got to practice conducting user interviews, synthesizing findings, creating personas, and prototyping ideas. They also worked together with staff from other departments, building trust and long-lasting relationships.
I presented our work through a hands-on workshop at this year’s Designing for Digital back in March. Then in May, the University of Arizona Libraries unveiled one of the outcomes from this project: our new strategic map.
Slides from the March presentation, titled “Design Thinking for the Masses: Creating a Culture of Empathy Across a Library Organization”:
Or download the PDF.