ABC POOL

BACKGROUND This project contributes to debates and practice in the field of interaction design and the discipline of user experience design. It is concerned with debates around audience engagement following the rise of Web 2.0 and specifically with the impact of media convergence upon traditional broadcasters. ABC Pool takes as its point of departure an understanding that traditional, broadcast- oriented media outlets need new ways of engaging with audiences. This research therefore asks: how do broadcasters learn to listen to their audiences, using digital platforms, while balancing editorial integrity with community co-ownership? Foley and Yuille designed and supervised the project. CONTRIBUTION ABC Pool is a contract research project for the national public broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). The project comprised a design review and the delivery of a specification document for a new web platform for the ABC, based on an existing platform (Pool). In the sphere of user experience (UX), this project developed a series of wireframes and conceptual maps. In the area of interface design, the project involved the design of screen mockups, HTML prototypes and a style guide for implementation. Research included a qualitative stakeholder review conducted through open-ended interviews with the Pool community, Pool Team and ABC managers. SIGNIFICANCE The project received c. $18,000 research income from Aust CRC Interaction Design. It was the first platform in the ABC to co-develop content with its audiences. ABC Pool ran more than 5 years and dramatically expanded the reach of the older Pool platform, more than doubling membership and going from 12043 works and 156 projects, to 25829 works and 452 projects. Producer Sherre Delys says: "...not only did ABC benefit from design experience, for which no comparable experience existed within the corporation at that time, but Pool's influence on other ABC projects under development grew due to your work."