Customizing for Community: Mn Artists’ DIWO Approach for a Truly User-Responsive Digital Project

Paper
Jehra Patrick, Walker Art Center, USA

Published paper: Customizing for community: Mn Artists’ DIWO approach for a truly user-responsive digital project

Core to Mn Artists implementation and program values is the ethos of applying user-responsiveness at every layer, which allows for organizational learning alongside our user-base in the spirit of “DIWO”: “do it with others.” Program Director, Jehra Patrick, describes the multi-faceted approach to user testing, consultation, surveying, and data analysis employed in the digital project’s conception and integrated iteratively throughout the life of the project. Patrick discusses how the software was produced through an agile development process in collaboration with the Indianapolis Museum of Arts’ IMA Lab, and incorporated sufficient custom Javascript to adapt a Drupal foundation with consideration for user needs. Beyond software, the project’s tiered communication and dissemination plan served to re-engage Mn Artists’ constituency through a range of workshops, cross-platform digital campaigns, and a companion offline program series, all of which addressed the need to complement the launch of the organization’s new digital platform with a multifarious approach to outreach, communication, education, and exchange, as nuanced as the platform itself.

Bibliography:
This talk acknowledges previous field research, including:
Smith Bautista, S. (2013) Museums in the Digital Age: Changing Meanings of Place, Community, and Culture
Dowden, R. (2003) Mnartists.org's 10 Tips For Building Online Communities