Leslie Science & Nature Center

Leslie Science and Nature Center approached my team to evaluate the flow of information in their customer management processes in an effort to improve customer service quality for their patrons.

To do this effectively, we embarked on understanding LSNC from an outsider’s perspective. We were the only ones who would be able to determine major pain points in their work flow and create suggestions that will encourage better information sharing.

First, we did some background research. LSNC is a non-profit that relies mainly on donations made by members to run classes and events. In recent years, their revenue has decreased and less funds had been received. They host a wide array of different events that receive a range from low to high patron turn out. Communication to patrons about these events and future events was also shaky at best.

Contextual Inquiry Interviews

As the only person in my group who specialized in Human-Computer Interaction and had experience with interviews, I chose one of the most important interviews to conduct: the main secretary that handled all communication in and out of office.

She highlighted several issues she saw throughout the organization and led us to form new perspectives/questions for other members we further interviewed. I was able to speak with her in her workspace (a small, small front office with much clutter) and firsthand see the documents she used.

Affinity Wall

Once every interview was recorded and evaluated, my team and I combined forces to make an affinity wall (more widely known as an affinity diagram). This had been an activity we hadn’t been looking forward to since the beginning of the project, so we approached it apprehensively.

I had been having communication issues within my own team up until this point; they very rarely wanted to meet in person and I was all about the importance of face-to-face meetings. One member suggested to complete our affinity diagram online but I very firmly put my foot down. The best outcome would be deliberating the wall in the same room and, unsurprisingly, I was right. The wall took a total of 7 hours but we managed to boil down the main pain points into different categories and, based off that, make several recommendations.

We found that Leslie lacks the technical expertise required to effectively use CIVI, a database that is the cornerstone to a number of customer management processes, including sending emails and calendar invitations. We recommended that Leslie formulate a long-term IT plan that involves finding support for CIVI or consider moving to a new database altogether.

Additionally, we found that Leslie had internal communication issues that reduced operational efficiency and external communication issues that can be amended to improve customer relations. We recommended using one electronic calendar system to standardize internal communication.

Lastly, I recommended that Leslie consider utilizing resources from two nearby universities (University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University) in order to market their programs to a wider customer base and engage young professionals as communication interns at their organization.