The MUSETECH Model

From CLIO

The MUSETECH Model[1] posits that in order for museums to successfully utilize technologies, there are three stakeholder perspectives that must be considered. Throughout all stages of a museum technology project, these perspectives offer views that complement and inform the others in a way that can build institutional synergy. This model also states that there are four primary stages or constituents of a museum technology project. These quartiles contain evaluation criteria per perspective, grouped by thematic categories called clusters, which allows for a granular overview of the considerations throughout each stage of the technology project.

Navigating the Model

(EC) Evaluation Criteria

There are a total of 121 Evaluation Criteria that provide a granular overview of the project for the museum as an institution, cultural heritage professionals and visitors.


Coordinates

Each Evaluation Criteria is assigned a unique ID, making it easier to address specific areas of the matrix. Each Evaluation Criteria is listed by Quartile, Cluster, Perspective and Evaluation Criteria. For example, D1Pa refers to the “Design Quartile”, “Cluster 1: Design and product ideation” for the “Cultural Heritage Professional”, Evaluation Criteria “a”.

Perspectives

(M) Museum as an Institution

This addresses the needs of the institution as it exists interdependently with the Cultural Heritage Professionals it employs and the Visitors that utilize its resources.

(CHP) Cultural Heritage Professional

This addresses the needs of professionals who works within a Museum institution, regardless of their department or title. These professionals perform a large portion of the interactions with Visitors and often create content through utilization of the Museum’s resources.

(V) Visitor

This addresses the needs of individuals who are accessing the Museum’s resources by utilizing content created through a Cultural Heritage Professional, in both self-directed or facilitated interactions.

Quartiles

(D) Design

This stage regards the ideation of the technology project, its interaction methods, user experience, and aesthetics.

Cluster Perspective Evaluation Criteria
D1. Design and Product Ideation Cultural Heritage Professional D1Pa. Design Concept
D1Pb. Integration with Exhibition
D1Pc. Integration with other ICT
D1Pd. Balancing Physical with Digital
D1Pe. Understanding the Fabrication Process
D1Pf. In-house technical knowledge
Museum D1Ma. Level of Innovation and business intelligence
D1Mb. Brand name, uniqueness, originality
D1Mc. Integration with other ICT
D1Md. Budget
D1Me. Staff acceptance
Visitor D1Va. Co-design, front-end evaluation and visitor acceptance
D2. Experience Design and Narratives Cultural Heritage Professional D2Pa. Experience added value
D2Pb. Relevance to audience
D2Pc. Tailored content
D2Pd. Attentional balance
D2Pe. Social interaction
D2Pf. Before and after the visit support
Museum D2Ma. Interpretive, educational and learning potential
D2Mb. Personalization potential
D2Mc. Public outreach and communication
D2Md. Big data potential
Visitor D2Va. Engagement
D2Vb. Personalization
D2Vc. Learning, entertainment and edutainment
D2Vd. Attentional balance
D2Ve. Affective impact
D2Vf. Social interaction
D2Vg. Ability to follow usage on other platforms
D2Vh. Sense of belonging to a community
D3. Interactions, Affordances and Interaction Metaphors Cultural Heritage Professional D3Pa. Quality of Affordances
D3Pb. Suitability of interaction metaphors
D3Pc. Interface design
D3Pd. Clarity of navigation
D3Pe. Follow-up usage on other platforms
D3Pf. Multisensoriality
Museum D3Ma. Follow-up usage on other platforms
D3Mb. Brand name, uniqueness and originality
Visitor D3Va. Utility, usability and ease of use
D3Vb. Intuitiveness, learnability and learning curve
D3Vc. Responsiveness
D3Vd. Clarity of navigation
D3Ve. Personalization
D3Vf. Social interaction
D3Vg. Ability to follow-up usage on other platforms
D3Vh. Presence of Multisensoriality
D4. Aesthetics, Look and Feel, and Visceral Qualities Cultural Heritage Professional D4Pa. Look and feel
Museum D4Ma. Brand name, uniqueness and originality
Visitor D4Va. Look and feel

(C) Content

This stage regards content creation and management for the technology project.

Cluster Perspective Evaluation Criteria
C1. Content Creation Cultural Heritage Professional C1Pa. Utility, usability and ease of use
C1Pb. Learnability and learning curve
C1Pc. Personalization and adaptation
C1Pd. Multilingualism
C1Pe. Community support
C1Pf. Technology knowledge and support in the house
C1Pg. Interoperability
Museum C1Ma. Continuity of usage
C1Mb. Logging
Visitor C1Va. Perceived content quality
C1Vb. Visitor-created content, creation and curation
C2. Content Maintenance Cultural Heritage Professional C2Pa. Ability to make changes in-house
C2Pb. Potential for documenting and archiving
Museum C2Ma. Staff acceptance
C2Mb. Interoperability and modularity
Visitor C2Va. Personalization
C2Vb. Social interaction and sharing
C2Vc. Continuity of usage

(O) Operation

This stage regards the logistics of running and maintaining the technology project through its lifetime and beyond.

Quartile Cluster Evaluation Criteria
Cultural Heritage Professional Museum Visitor
Operation O1. Deployment and setting-up O1Pa. Ease of use for installation O1Ma. Set-up and start up O1Va. Visitor experience quality and customer care
O1Pb. Distance monitoring O1Mb. Modularity and interoperability O1Vb. Visitor-owned devices
O1Pc. Workflow O1Mc. Staff and front-desk training
O1Pd. In-house technical knowledge O1Md. Distribution, recovery and guarantee
O1Pe. Additional staff training
O2. Robustness and Maintenance O2Pa. Environmental constraints O2Ma. Storage cost O2Va. Robustness
O2Pb. Robustness O2Mb. Level of maintenance O2Vb. Responsiveness
O2Pc. Maintenance required O2Mc. Loss, deterioration, theft and replacement O2Vc. Stability
O2Pd. Updating and replacing O2Md. Reusing and disposing O2Vd. Speed and speed of recovery
O3. Power and Energy O3Pa. Day to day running and maintenance O3Ma. Interventions in the exhibit space O3Va. Prevent feelings of failure and frustration
O3Pb. Stability
O4. Costs O4Pa. Workforce, time and additional staff O4Ma. Financial costs and investments O4Va. Costs (value for money and time)
O4Mb. Running costs
O5. Additional Resources O5Pa. Instructions and how-to guides O5Ma. Adopting, financing and sponsoring O5Va. Uptake

(MP) Compliance

This stages covers ethical and legal considerations regarding health, safety, and liability as they relate to the technology project.

Quartile Cluster Evaluation Criteria
Cultural Heritage Professional Museum Visitor
Compliance MP1. Health, Safety and Accessibility MP1Pa. Accessibility MP1Ma. Safety MP1Va. Accessibility
MP1Pb. Appropriateness MP1Mb. Emergency management MP1Vb. Appropriateness
MP1Pc. Safety MP1Mc. Disposal and recycling MP1Vc. Safety
MP1Md. Hygiene, cleaning and maintenance
MP2. Logging and Monitoring MP2Pa. Logging and monitoring MP2Ma. Log storage, access, privacy and analytics MP2Va. Personalization
MP2Vb. Legal compliance
MP3. Ethics and Legal Issues MP3Pa. Protecting audiences MP3Ma. Other legal issues MP3Va. Trust and confidence in museum
MP3Pb. Data gathering and protection

References