Research on 'Quality' in Online Experiences for Museum Users

Conclusion

The analysis of The Engagement Factor from a statistical perspective models a holistic, comparative approach to measuring user 'engagement.' The analysis also highlights ways in which each VMC product in the sample may, or may not, provide quality in online experiences for its users. Since the VMC was launched in the spring of 2001, a large volume of statistical reports has been produced daily, monthly, annually. To better interpret them and understand their meaning, it would be more helpful if notes are written on each statistical report, which indicate factors that are impacting on fluctuations. Next, it is important to attempt to get a better sense of what variables may be having an influence on VMC products at a museum, community, or educational level.

High Engagement using The Engagement Factor seems to be more reflective of traffic level to a Virtual Exhibit or Game, and the popularity of VMC's Virtual Exhibits is strongly linked to how, and how long, they are registered in Search engines. This is a starting point for considering user engagement on a Web site. However, Engagement Factor needs to be considered in the context of all of the other factors impacting on user engagement for a VMC product, and seen as one of many factors that contribute to understanding quality in online user experience.

It seems unlikely that a common template could be developed to ensure that there is quality of visitor experience in an online product. However, there are important lessons to be learned from the sites in the research sample, which could inform the development of new online products. The more in-depth qualitative analysis of models and frameworks, successes, user Feedback messages, and potential best practices proposed by the project managers and multimedia developers for these VMC products have provided insights into factors that impact quality in online experiences for museum users.