Configurable Reporting

Configurable Reporting
for Public Library Survey Data

Public libraries in the United States offer a multitude of programs for the public, including events for children, job seekers, and hobbyists. Librarians track success metrics through surveys administered to participants at the end of each event. Public Library Association contracted my consulting firm to create a product that would allow librarians and employees to build custom reports that aggregate the metrics collected at each branch.

My role: User Experience Designer, UX Writer and Information Architect

The Challenge

How might we assist library staff to quickly aggregate a shareable impact report across topics, date ranges, and programs?

Content Strategy Elements

Design a generator that creates customized, templated reports for libraries across the United States and Canada
Define and label content elements within a template as either variable or replicable
Guide users through the task of building a custom report
Ensure the report can be printed on letter-size paper or shared digitally

Customer Journeys

The user base is varied, and most users do not have access to data beyond their jurisdiction. This flowchart represents the customer journey for creating a report by user type.

Template Content: Replicable vs Variable

To stay organized, each content element was marked as variable or replicable. This helped both design and development in constructing the template structure.

Report Generator: Interface and UX Writing

The report generator has multiple steps that allow a user to customize a report to fit exactly their needs. The generator takes the user through each step and the supporting text both guides and informs the user of their choices. It is easy to skip ahead or return to a previous step. The report output is a letter-size PDF that can be shared digitally or printed. New reports are saved in a directory and can be reprinted as is or adjusted to include new data.

Report Example

Every report follows a similar template structure, with the data visualization and impact metrics on the front page, followed by a list of program attendance and survey response data. The last two pages have a summary about the report topic and its relevancy to library programming in communities.