HTI Interview Stimuli

The overall goal of this project was to improve the National Weather Service's (NWS) Hurricane Threats and Impacts (HTI) visualizations through a user-driven, iterative design process, in order to improve risk communication and decision-making during multi-hazard tropical cyclone events. The component of the project documented here focused on evaluating a prototype redesign of the NWS HTI graphics with broadcast meteorologists and emergency managers in hurricane-prone regions. The prototype was co-developed with our research partners at the University of Miami based on initial feedback from members of the public, as well as best practices in visual design and the various disciplinary expertise of our research team. We conducted 20 interviews in total - 10 with broadcast meteorologists and 10 with emergency managers. The interviewees were recruited based on variability in several dimensions, including how long they’ve worked in their hurricane-related job roles and characteristics of the areas they served (e.g., coastal vs. inland, urban vs. rural, local vs. regional). Interviewees were first asked about their perspectives on the current NWS HTI graphics (at the time of the interviews), including their uses, interpretations, and feedback for improvement. They were then shown the prototype redesigned HTI graphic and were again asked about their overall interpretations, likes and dislikes, potential uses, and needs and constraints that would need to be addressed to facilitate their use of the graphic. This repository includes the semi-structured interview protocol and stimuli used during our interviews, as well as a guide for how we de-identified interview transcripts to protect interviewee confidentiality.