Designing a digital service to improve the user experience of conference organizers

Abstract

Event management has become a huge global industry and has evolved in many different areas, from business to social events. The demand for digital solutions in relation to event management and participation has increased and there is a great variety of existing solutions targeted for event planners and attendees. As events are unique in nature, “the attendee is looking for a ´lifestyle experience’ (Allen et al. 2011) and something that he will remember as ‘interesting’, ‘memorable’ and ‘exciting’” (Bladen et al. 2012). Therefore, there is a need to understand what are the attributes that influence the event experience and how a digital solution can support the entire journey. This master thesis investigates the factors that contribute to improve and reshape the user experience of event management and participation and how they can be integrated in a digital solution. For this purpose, extensive research, user modelling and an agile methodology to ideate and test the prototype has been undertaken. From the results of the research and user modelling phases, a concept for a new digital service, built around a virtual assistant, has been developed and tested. The factors that answer the main research question of this thesis, has been defined throughout the project and integrated in the designed solution.