Introduction

• Brief: Create a virtual tour for Ireland’s National Parliament, for use on touch-screen kiosks (and potentially iPad/iPhone).

• Challenge: Make history engaging and accessible for all ages, with lots of visual content.

• Goals: Simple, interactive experience that brings the Oireachtas to life for visitors.

Discovery Phase

• Stakeholder interviews: Worked with Parliament staff and tour guides to pin down must-haves.

• Business requirements: Highlight key rooms/artifacts, support a wide age range, and keep the experience friendly.

• User needs: Quick access to fun facts, great visuals, and intuitive navigation.

Problem Framing

• Problem: Visitors felt disconnected from the history/artifacts—static displays just weren’t cutting it.

• Success: Users can explore at their own pace, discover new facts, and enjoy the tour with zero confusion.

• Constraints: Must be super-simple for kids/elders, work on kiosks (and possibly iOS), and load high-res media quickly.

User Research

• User interviews: Talked with families, students, and tourists about what makes a good museum/kiosk experience.

• Competitive analysis: Checked out other virtual tours and museum kiosks—most were clunky or too text-heavy.

• Market findings: Interactive, visual-first experiences keep people engaged longer.

Synthesis

• Personas: “The Curious Kid,” “The History Buff,” “The Casual Tourist.”

• Journey mapping: From kiosk start screen to first room, through exploring artifacts, to sharing a favorite find.

• Key insights: Visuals and bite-sized facts win; navigation should never get in the way.

Solution Development

• Info architecture: Main menu → room selection → artifact details (images, videos, fun facts).

• Wireframes/prototypes: Early sketches focused on big touch targets and swipe/tap flows.

• Visual design: Bright, friendly colors and big images; clear icons for navigation.

Testing

• Usability testing: Ran sessions with families and seniors—flagged confusing icons and slow media loads.

• User feedback: Simplified navigation, added more visual cues, and trimmed text.

• Iterations: Refined info hierarchy and made sure every screen was thumb-friendly.

Implementation

• Handoff: Provided annotated mockups and asset lists to dev team.

• Dev collab: Weekly check-ins to optimize performance and ensure smooth media playback.

• Go-to-market: Rolled out at Parliament kiosks, with plans for iOS launch later.

Results & Impact

• Metrics: More kiosk engagement, longer session times, and positive feedback from visitors of all ages.

• User adoption: Families and tourists actually explored more rooms/artifacts.

• Business impact: Boosted visitor satisfaction and made the Parliament’s history more accessible.

• Lessons learned: Visual-first, interactive tours are the way to go—especially for mixed-age crowds.