Mapping the Visitor Journey at the International Spy Museum
Client: International Spy Museum | Location: Washington, DC
We used a mixed-method approach to help the International Spy Museum understand visitors’ journeys throughout the museum’s galleries.
OVERVIEW
In 2021-2022, we led a comprehensive study to help the International Spy Museum better understand visitors’ holistic experience in the museum’s galleries, including visitors’ expectations, energy levels, behaviors, and thoughts during each part of their gallery experience.
Our work came at a time when the Spy Museum was actively rethinking how to improve visitor throughput and reduce crowding in its exhibitions. They hoped to use the results of our study to help them make informed, data-driven decisions to improve the experience for all visitors.
APPROACH
We used two methods—one quantitative and one qualitative—to gather a holistic picture of visitors’ journeys through the galleries:
Scan observations, to understand how visitors move through the galleries, and
Intercept interviews at six key locations to understand visitors’ feelings and experiences at the beginning, middle, and end of their gallery journey.
From these two data sets, we created a journey map that highlighted both the highs and lows of the current visitor gallery experience. We also led a conversation to help the Spy Museum unpack the data and envision opportunities for improvement.
CLIENT TAKEAWAYS
Our work directly informed the Spy Museum’s thinking and decision-making process on short- and long-term strategies that might improve visitors’ experiences in the museum’s galleries. For instance, we learned that while visitors thought positively of their experience overall, their energy levels fluctuate throughout their visit, signaling the need for more points of respite. And, most visitors had trouble discerning a clear thematic difference between the museum’s two floors of galleries, indicating a need to help visitors orient themselves within the Spy Museum’s larger story and message in order to better plan and organize their visit.
