What is Front-End Evaluation?
In evaluation, we sometimes use technical terms to describe our work. Some of the most common terms we use are those that describe different phases of evaluation: front-end (also known as concept-testing), formative research and prototyping, and summative. This post focuses on breaking down the earliest phase of evaluation: front-end evaluation. What is it? Why do we do it? When should we do it? And, what methods work best?
What is front-end evaluation?
Front-end evaluation is exploratory and comes early in the design process when ideas are still high-level. It can be useful in all kinds of contexts, including exhibition development, programs, or other museum experiences. Front-end evaluation is an opportunity to talk to your audiences early on to see how they are making sense of your initial concept or direction, where there may be gaps in knowledge or awareness, and what ideas “hook” them in (or where they might be stuck).
Why we do front-end evaluation
Front-end evaluation is sometimes perceived as a luxury, something that would be “nice” to do but not essential. However, front-end evaluation is extremely valuable when you are trying a new approach, dealing with a complex or sensitive subject, or feel like you need to know more about your audience in order to make decisions. In these cases, it is useful to check in with audiences in the early stages of development, before you get too far down a particular direction and cannot change course. With front-end data in hand, you can confidently craft ideas that meet visitors where they are and take them to new places in their thinking.
When to do front-end evaluation
While front-end evaluation should happen early on in the development process, there is such a thing as too early. Your “big idea” should be well-formed, meaning you’ve already determined what your exhibition or program is about and the key messages you want your audience to leave with. The goal of front-end evaluation is to understand the entry-points and perceptions of a topic that can help you craft an effective approach or communication strategy that can help your audience really connect with a concept, rather than “fishing” for ideas from your audience to give you direction.
What methods work best for front-end evaluation
Matching the right method with your evaluation goals is essential, and while every project is different, we generally take a qualitative approach for front-end evaluations. Qualitative methods offer a degree of flexibility and open-endedness that is important when the goals of the evaluation are exploratory. Two of the most common methods we use in front-end evaluations are open-ended interviews and focus groups. Interviews and focus groups allow visitors to express their thoughts and ideas using their own words, and their open-endedness provides space for thoughts and conversation to develop organically.
It is often helpful to ground these exploratory discussions with concrete examples that give participants something to respond to. For this reason, we sometimes develop materials that we can walk through with participants during the interview or focus group that draws on exhibition renderings, interpretive text, and key messages to mimic the (conceptual) experience of the exhibition as much as possible.
For example, when testing early ideas for a new exhibition at the National Museum of the American Indian exploring the relationship between Indians and Americans’ national identity, we showed visitors a wall of images representing objects that could be used in the exhibition. The wall was a jumping off point to simulate the experience of the exhibition. While these were not the final images or objects that would be included in the exhibition, they helped give visitors a sense of the museums’ direction and provided concrete touchpoints for feedback and comparison during open-ended interviews.
In another front-end evaluation with the Science Center of Iowa, we supported the museum in reimagining a hands-on science exhibition designed to help visitors learn about physics, force, and motion. During intergenerational interviews, we showed participants a booklet with key words and short descriptions of exhibition concepts. We used open-ended questions to explore participant’s familiarity with each concept from the exhibition (e.g., energy, gravity, friction) and how, if at all, they related these concepts to their everyday lives. The results gave the Science Center an idea of how their audience currently thinks about physics and motion, and where they could use novel examples or creative storytelling methods to broaden and deepen visitor’s thinking about the concepts.
Ultimately, front-end evaluation can guide you in crafting an exhibition, program, or experience that is attuned and responsive to your audiences’ perspectives. Checking in with your audience early on can jumpstart design ideas while also saving you from potential issues down the line. I encourage you to make time for front-end evaluation—it’s worth it!
