Onboarding and Interpretation


Museum interpretation professionals are creating content for people who generally know less than them. Getting the right amount of content requires understanding the visitor. Tools like content mapping can help organizations get their content right. But, all museum professionals need to remember that their visitors have different baseline knowledge levels. Onboarding is a classic corporate word that encapsulates the idea that people might need a bit of aid to get connected to an organization. I always picture a ramp when I think of the idea of onboarding. Some ramps are short, when there is little small between two elevations. Others are long. The ramp is a good metaphor for the onboarding needs of visitors. People who know a great deal about the collection area will need little onboarding. (But, these people are also the ones who are the power users of your content.)  Casual visitors are often also people with greater onboarding needs; they have less pre-knowledge. Keeping the issues of onboarding in mind as you develop content will help you create content that meets the various needs of your visitor-base. Remembering that everyone comes in with different needs and pre-knowledge, also helps center the visitor in the customer experience.

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