Understanding user experience for our future 35: a methodological framework

The City of Austin (CoA) has received federal funding through the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program to construct caps and stitches along different parts of its main interstate highway, I-35. The project intends to reduce the negative impacts of the highway expansion project by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). Before beginning construction, the city should assess the travel user experience of its residents, especially of residents and businesses located near the proposed cap locations. This study lays out a methodological framework for a user experience assessment survey that can be used by CoA. The framework places the future users of the caps and stitches at the center of its research process through the application of a user experience (UX) framework for its methodology. The proposed framework is based on an analysis of existing studies that use the UX framework and case study evaluation of two major highway cap projects in Dallas and Boston. Both the case study evaluations, and the proposed framework first highlight the background, map the stakeholders, and discuss the UX tools that are compatible with the methodological framework. This proposed framework for CoA uses quantitative and qualitative surveys for data collection, followed by the construction of user personas in the analysis stage to understand the user experience of different user groups.