The MILL Makerspace Mobile App: Helping UW Students Make Without Mystery

By Aybala Turkarslan, Chaafen Raees, Salma Aly, Tashfia Sharmin, Zainab Ateeque

A collage containing images of The MILL that our team captured during our design research.

Contributors: Aybala Turkarslan, Chaafen Raees, Salma Aly, Tashfia Sharmin, Zainab Ateeque

Problem and Solution Overview

Many students at the University of Washington (UW) are eager to take advantage of the creative and innovative opportunities offered at The MILL, a makerspace at UW that provides access to tools and machines like 3D printers, laser cutters, a kiln, sewing and embroidery machines, soldering irons and much more–all available to students for free. However, as a design team of UW CS majors for CSE 440: “Introduction to HCI”, our initial probing revealed that users run into a range of challenges which make this space not as intuitive or accessible as it could be. Some of these included unclear, outdated, or hard-to-follow instructions, lack of real-time updates on machine availability, and difficulty accessing training or support from staff and other resources. After interviewing users and staff members, our team noticed that their frustrations when at The MILL were due to similar factors including outdated instructions, disorganized communication, and a lack of documentation of common issues. Therefore, to address these issues, we are designing a mobile app solution that provides clearer and more accessible guidance for MILL users, streamlines communication between staff and students, and centralizes essential resources. Our goal is to reduce barriers in the creative process and foster a more user-friendly and empowering environment for the makers community at UW.

Images of The MILL that our team captured during our initial probing, specifically of a sewing class, 3D printers, and soldering irons (pictured left to right).

Design Research Goals, Stakeholders, and Participants

We conducted a user research survey to gain a broader understanding of UW students’ experiences at The MILL makerspace, collecting over 30 responses from participants across a range of academic majors, maker interests, and skill levels. We also held five semi-structured interviews with such students across campus to explore individual user experiences and pain points in more depth. We chose these research methods to capture both broad patterns and detailed individual experiences.

Our findings from both research methods helped narrow our focus to improve access to The MILL, particularly for enhancing machine availability information and providing guided tutorials for specific machines. While the majority of our research participants have had an overall positive experience with The MILL, they also expressed a desire for clearer, more accessible machine guides and resource information.

Thus, our primary and secondary stakeholders are current UW students who regularly use or have been to the MILL, spanning a range of academic backgrounds and majors at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Our design stakeholders include:

• Primary: Beginner and intermediate MILL users, whom are most affected by access and instructional barriers
• Secondary: Experienced MILL users
• Tertiary: MILL staff, including student workers

An image of our user research survey for The MILL makerspace.

Design Research Results and Themes

From both our survey and interviews, it is evident that the vast majority of MILL users have faced challenges when it comes to operating new machines as well as with assessing machine availability. Notably, 53% of survey participants reported uncertainty associated with MILL machine use as one their main challenges, 45% of surveyed users reported a desire for clear tutorials/instructions, and 50% of surveyed users reported feeling somewhat confident or less in using machines at The MILL. Furthermore, a majority of interviewees expressed a need for up to date centralized documentation at The MILL, in regards to machine instructions and troubleshooting. Similarly, 40% of interviewees expressed frustration with long wait times and the uncertainty associated with machine use. From these findings, our team identified three key themes/challenges faced by MILL users: long wait times or queues for machines, feeling overwhelmed or unsure when using certain machines, and uncertainty associated with machine availability.

Along with these findings, we found that interview participants expressed heavy concerns in the same regard, with long wait times, lack of access to machine availability, and confusion or worry regarding how to use a machine. More notably, interviewees explained situations in which machines in the workspace were often occupied by other users for multiple hours with no end in sight–leaving them waiting for long periods of time and unsure of whether they would get the chance to pursue their project again. Additionally, interviewees noted that the lack of access to proper support from experienced staff coupled with outdated instruction guides left them feeling unsure of how to operate machines and overwhelmed by the thought of learning how to use new ones. Finally, they expressed one of their hesitations with using the space was due to the possibility of arriving only to find their desired machine out-of-service or suddenly broken. From these concerns, it can be established that crucial information for these student’s projects is not available to them until they physically enter the space–whether the machines are available, in-service, and if there are clear instructions in case an experienced staff member is not present. These themes inform us of the main challenges users face when attempting to utilize the space for the first time, as well as barriers that keep them from returning.

An image summarizing the design research themes our team found–centered around efficiency, confidence, and information.

Proposed Design

Thus, our design research revealed that beginner MILL users often feel overwhelmed or confused by machine instructions, uncertain about how to troubleshoot issues, and frustrated by long wait times and a lack of machine availability updates. In response to these, we propose the MILL Mobile App, a student-centered application designed to make The MILL makerspace more efficient, confidence-building, and information-accessible for users. To address our major research themes, our app focuses on three core features: Reserve, Learn, and Help.

Reserve provides real-time machine status, estimated wait times, and broken/out-of-order indicators (pictured in the top-left screens above). This addresses the frustration of not knowing whether a machine is available before arriving, which 40% of surveyed users identified as a key issue. In our sketches, users can filter by machine, see wait time estimates, and even join a queue or reserve a time slot remotely. This removes uncertainty and allows users to plan their MILL visits more efficiently (portrayed with an example in the bottom-right storyboard above).

Learn provides machine-specific video guides, step-by-step instructions tailored to experience level, and MILL class registration and seat notification capabilities (pictured in the screens above). Our research found that some users found difficulty booking MILL classes, and 53% of users feel overwhelmed or unsure when using machines. With our design, users can learn through existing MILL classes or by selecting their machine and experience level to access visual, written, and personalized chatbot-powered tutorials.

Help enables tailored support through searchable troubleshooting log forums and an AI-powered chatot named “MILL Buddy” (pictured in the screens above). When students face machine issues and staff are unavailable or unsure of how to help, MILL users can consult the troubleshooting log forums for past or new solutions and/or chat with MILL Buddy for quick advice and answers. This feature empowers users to solve problems quickly, find digital advice from others in their community, and foster confidence in their creative process.

All in all, these features target the most common pain points faced by beginner makers at The MILL: lack of knowledge and efficiency for machine availability, difficult machine learning curves, and insufficient troubleshooting support. By simplifying access to The MILL’s resources and making the experience easier and engaging, our mobile app will empower students to create more confidently, learn more efficiently, and utilize the makerspace to its fullest potential.

An image featuring two of our mobile app sketches for Learn and Reserve on phone screens.