Beyond the screen - UX research methods for novel technology
•
5 likes•1,635 views
A tutorial presentation at UX Cambridge 2015 on user experience research methods for novel technology. For example, wearables, Internet of Things (IoT), smart cities, and more. Includes case studies from others of implementing a UCD approach with research and prototyping when building novel technology concepts.
Recommended
Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (20)
Similar to Beyond the screen - UX research methods for novel technology
Similar to Beyond the screen - UX research methods for novel technology (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Beyond the screen - UX research methods for novel technology
- 1. Beyond the screen: UX research methods for novel technology Tutorial at UX Cambridge 2015 Swetha Sethumadhavan (@swethas) & Paul Thorpe (@UXPaul) From System Concepts, London @systemconcepts
- 2. I am a UX Practitioner. I work at a London-based consultancy called System Concepts. We do a variety of research across different platforms, and I am very passionate about it! I also help co-organise the Research Thing meetup, for fellow UX people in London. @swethas A little bit about me…
- 3. • Welcome • Intro to novel technologies • Research methods • Activity #1 • Case studies • Activity #2 Agenda
- 4. • get a flavour of what novel technologies are out there • understand the importance of research • get an insight into a few different research methods and novel technology case studies And then… be inspired and motivated to incorporate research! By the end of this tutorial, you should…
- 5. Icebreaker
- 7. Internet of Things (IoT)
- 8. Blockchain technology Bitcoin is the most famous use of blockchain technology. Bitcoin - a virtual currency, buy and sell without centralised control, and allows for pseudonomous transactions. This is an ATM machine that exchanges bitcoins for physical cash.
- 10. Smarter homes
- 11. Research
- 12. • Helps understand real people’s needs, behaviours to inform opportunities for design • Helps evaluate new or existing products/offerings and identify ways to improve and optimise them Why research is important?
- 13. User experience is a persons’ perceptions and responses resulting from the use and/or anticipated use of a product, system or service. - ISO 9241 – 210: 2010 What is UX?
- 15. Model created based on ISO 9241: Part 210 Human- centred design process for interactive systems. A UCD approach
- 16. Vox Pops Prototyping Card Sorting Expert Reviews Cultural Probes Observation & Shadowing Focus Groups & Workshops Diary Studies Contextual Interviews Ethnography Participative Design Eye Tracking AX Reviews Usability Testing AX Audit UX Methods Important to choose the right method and tailor it based on the project objectives. Building blocks of research
- 17. How it works: • Gather information about people in their natural environment • Sessions have a flexible structure with no set agenda Advantages: • Provides rich data which can lead to new insights and perspectives • Natural environment and tasks improve validity Uses: • Inspiration for designers early in the design process • Get to know your users • Provides insight into the possible use cases for a product Ethnographic research Example research method
- 18. Cultural probe & diary study Example research method How it works: • Ethnographic research technique used for exploring new design opportunities • Can incorporate a number of artefacts and tasks including diaries, open-ended prompt cards, disposable cameras, camera missions and sketching exercises Advantages: • Encourages users to reflect on their experiences and behaviour meaning deeper insights can be gained during research sessions • Provides design teams with a deeper understanding of users Uses: • Provide views and understanding to support and inspire designers in the early stages of the design process • Prepare participants for later discussions and participatory sessions
- 19. Vox pops How it works: • Researcher conducts street-based research at a busy location • Research is filmed asking volunteers pre-prepared questions • Videos are analysed later for common trends and useful quotes Advantages: • Quick and flexible • Low cost • Can provide visual feedback to client, rather than a report Uses: • Gain a balanced measure of user opinion when time constraints prevent traditional methods being used Example research method
- 20. Prototyping to inform design
- 21. Prototyping to inform design
- 22. Prototyping to inform design
- 23. • Think of any novel technology • 5 minutes to discuss and write down opportunities and challenges • 1 minute each to present back to the wider group Activity #1: In pairs
- 24. Case studies
- 25. • Making cycling a better experience for Londoners • Speculative prototyping, displayed in a research film to explore user experiences @FutureCitiesCat #NUXcycling Can technology improve wayfinding for cyclists? - Future Cities Catapult Play video
- 26. • Smart Mobility Plan • Research to understand changing mobility needs • Service prototyping • Go Drive: Car-sharing pilot to get feedback from real-users in context Alicia Agius from @forduk Service design to reshape existing proposition - Ford
- 27. Wayfindr app for blind people (1/2) ustwo + RLSB • RLSB Youth Forum identified priority areas for vision impaired young people • Enabling vision impaired people to travel anywhere at any time, independently • Using ‘off the shelf’ products compatible with devices these people already use. • Secondary research > Primary simulated research + observation > Workshop > Experiments through prototyping Katherine Payne at the RLSB, Umesh Pandya at ustwo
- 28. Wayfindr app for blind people (2/2) ustwo + RLSB • Location specific trial at Pimlico station, London Underground • Testing with real users in the actual context, for further validation and improvement • Gathering feedback to improve the experience, and also informing changes for future trials
- 29. A smart city (also smarter city) uses digital technologies or information and communication technologies (ICT) to enhance quality and performance of urban services, to reduce costs and resource consumption, and to engage more effectively and actively with its citizens. - By Wikipedia Smart Cities is a vendor / city term commonly used to refer to the creation of knowledge infrastructure. Smart City, in everyday use, is inclusive of terms such as 'digital city' or 'connected cities'. - By Innovation Cities Program Smart cities…
- 30. • Making public spaces smarter • Using solar energy to enable people to stay connected • Hardware prototyping in real- contexts • Ethnography and vox-pops style interviews with users • A/B testing of price points and distribution options with stakeholders @e_strawberry Smarter furniture for smart cities (1/4) - Strawberry energy
- 31. Smarter furniture for smart cities (2/4) - Strawberry energy • Their stakeholders and team members listened to findings from each interview, and took notes. • One insight on one post-it, colour- coded to analyse types of insights. • Clustering common insights, and analysis • Brainstorming and ideas generation • Developed personas for end-users @e_strawberry
- 32. Smarter furniture for smart cities (3/4) - Strawberry energy, going from first prototype Smart tree to current Smart Tree
- 33. Smarter furniture for smart cities (4/4) - Strawberry energy From Smart Tree to Smart Benches! These are: • Movable benches • With added USB ports @e_strawberry
- 34. • Set up structured events for creative social exchange • Enjoyed by the community and also provided useful insights for the team @ElephanTrumpets Setting up a vision for a smart city concept - Changify
- 35. • Speculative prototyping by Future Cities Catapult • Service prototyping by Ford • Location specific service simulation and trial by RLSB and ustwo • Location specific hardware prototyping/installation by Strawberry energy • Participatory workshops for insights gathering by Crowd Powered Change Recap of case studies…
- 36. • Choose a scenario from the following slide • You have 15 minutes to discuss a suitable research approach, with research questions and your rationale for choosing this approach • 5 minutes to present back findings to the wider group Activity #2: In groups
- 37. • Scenario A: The Mayor of a city, and you want to get people to do more exercise, for the healthy well-being of your people. The Mayor would like to use the Internet of Things to help achieve this goal. Your team has been approached to plan the research. • Scenario B: A car manufacturer is looking to launch self-driving cars in your city. They are doing tests on their prototype cars and would now like to investigate real-life behaviours for this new technology. Your team has been approached to plan research into this area. • Scenario C: A large shopping centre has been approached by people who make location beacons. They have pitched installing these beacons in and around the shopping centre as the future of increased loyalty and conversion in physical shops. Before going ahead, the shopping centre have approached your team to plan research around the use of beacons and their impact in this case. • Scenario D: A health technology company is looking into using wearable technology to help support patients in need of physiotherapy. There has been some interesting early academic research in this area, and so they are interested in how they could use this to develop a product. They have approached your team to help them understand the target user needs and their drivers to use such a technology. • Scenario E: A local council wants to reduce the amount of graffiti in some of the residential neighbourhoods. They are interested in trying a novel approach to reducing graffiti, preferably one which addresses the causes rather than just the effects. They have approached your team to plan research to understand this area and identify possible novel solutions. Activity #2: Scenarios Choose one of the following scenarios to carry out this activity, as explained on the previous slide.
- 38. • Diary study: Google plus, nativeye, dscout, evernote/email • Cultural probes: physical diaries/artefacts, disposable camera – let them capture their life, the way the see it • Vox pops: VoxPopMe or just get out there on the street with a camera (looking professional) • Citizens Canvas: A community centred design tool for smarter cities • Post-it notes, and people! List of links: http://bit.ly/1KdBsvA Useful tools and resources
- 39. • Future Cities Catapult (https://futurecities.catapult.org.uk/) • Design for Social Change • Strawberry energy http://senergy.rs/?lang=en • Lisa Koeman from ICRI Cities http://visualisingmillroad.com/ Who is doing this stuff?
- 40. Takeaways (1/2) • Create concepts, prototype/simulate them and evaluate these with people. • Involve both your end-users and stakeholders, to understand both of their motivations. But…. • You can't just ask people! They don't always know what they want. • Important to observe real-life use!
- 41. Takeaways (2/2) Ultimately… • It's not about the technology… it's about experiences, it's about solutions, it's much more and it's beyond this screen! So… • Let’s go out there and observe any interesting behaviours and observations at this conference, and tweet them with the hashtags #uxcam #novelux
- 42. Questions?
- 43. Thank you! Acknowledgements… • Priya Prakash, Designer – Founder at D4SC – Changify @priyascape • Sara Oredić, Head of Brand Communications at Strawberry energy @OredicS • Anja Maerz, Insights Expert / Cultural Anthropologist at Future Cities Catapult @sunnysides
Editor's Notes
- Start with me! Activity #0: Individually discuss above things, go around the room Name Who do you work for? What do you do?
- Spend 5 minutes Give a teaser of different types of novel tech e.g. smart watches, iOT?, ibeacons, augmented/virtual reality (google glasses?), auto-driving cars, auto-parking cars, human-robot interactions (Amazon drone courier?) Include slides with pictures of different novel tech – and maybe some notes
- 1st image: Tile – attach to anything and you can call it to easily find it 2nd image: Good night lamp – London based agency, she runs the IoT meetups in London @iotwatch Alexandra D-S 3rd image: Amazon Dash Button – Smart home shopping 4th image: Roost: Smart battery for your smoke alarms – low battery alerts, notifies you when you are away, turn off false alarms Iotlist.co with links of examples
- All currency transactions are monitored, not anonymised. Blockchain - provides the ability to confirm and secure transactions without a central authority. Example, secure electronic voting! How would you use it? ---- http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2011/06/bitcoin-inside-the-encrypted-peer-to-peer-currency/ http://www.coindesk.com/londons-first-bitcoin-atm-launches-cafe-whisky-bar/ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/10682842/UKs-first-Bitcoin-cash-machine-launches-in-Shoreditch.html
- Pictures Activity trackers and smart watches Google glasses Magic bands
- 1st: Netatmo Welcome: Smart camera with face: face recognition to allow you to know who is in your house. It also has SD local storage so you do not have to push all the video to the cloud. 2nd: August Smart Lock: Simple installation, back-up key use in case no battery on phone, virtual keys to friends if there’s a party. http://www.engadget.com/products/august/smart-lock/ 3rd (down left): Hue Light Bulb: Controllable lighting from your smartphone, create suitable moods for different activities, or even have a sunset in your living room 4th (down right): Nest: Smart thermostat, automatically turns down the heat while you’re away.
- Spend 30 minutes
- Motivation End-to-end experience Problem solving Delighting people!
- People just want products that make their task more delightful. For something to be delightful it has to do the basics right – i.e. all of the following: goal & task oriented, fit in with user capabilities & expectations, fit into environment
- Plan – Research – Design – Execute – Iterate Important to iterate and research
- Different research methods Selecting the right method at each stage of the design and development cycle is key You should have an understanding of what you want to understand from the research, and how the outcome will impact the next steps. This will help choose a research approach. You should also think of other factors e.g. budget, timeline, stakeholder involvement, finding users, prototyping.
- Snowball technique: Pair up with the person next to you, think of any novel tech that’s of interest to you. It can be something that’s already in the market or something that’s just about to be launched, or something futuristic. Take 5 minutes to discuss and write the opportunities and challenges for this technology related to behaviours and use in real-life. The most important thing, I don’t want you to think/talk about the budget, or technical constraints at this point! Present back to the room!
- 20 minutes here
- Introduce project objective Research method of auto-ethnography by two people in their team. Followed by speculative prototype designs in their research film. Play film! In the end it’s all about designing for people, be it IoT or smart cities tech or anything else. Next Steps for FCC This is as ongoing piece of work for Future Cities Catapult and we want to hear from you if you're a researcher, innovator or work in the public sector on improving the experience of cycling in cities.
- Research to understand people’s needs – flexibility, convenience and affordability is key. In India: Benefits of owning, without the cost – desire to own, manage, flexibility, status – Bangalore, India In London: Alternative transport methods, cost of ownership and maintenance – parking – perceived return on investment not much. Newer services around booking/on-demand services like Uber/Hailo/Zip Car or even Boris Bikes. Some concerns about environmental impact! So in cities like London – affordability, flexibility and environmentally friendly. They already have the product – it’s the car! So they created a prototype for a new service offering called Go Drive which revolved around using these cars. Go Drive: now doing an on-demand car sharing pilot with 2000 people in London. 17p per minute and you only pay the minutes you use. Short notice booking Same product – CAR but different outcomes in different places, and research is key. Cultural differences impact changing mobility needs in different places. And contextual research is important to further test it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=32&v=CALemUGQD6g http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/133662-ford-go-drive-car-sharing-super-affordable-motor-equivalent-of-boris-bikes-hands-on http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2015-05/26/ford-godrive-car-sharing-launches-in-london
- Designing: The ambition of the wayfindr project is to guide users from waypoint to waypoint underground, using smartphones and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology. Once the app is activated, the user’s location is mapped on their own device, with spoken directions transmitted via bone conducting earphones. One month target to investigate this area Secondary research – identifying challenges faced by the vision impaired community through papers, videos and so on Primary simulation: We got our hands on some sim specs, which can simulate a variety of eye conditions, and – using a cane – started wearing them around the studio. We followed this with a trip on the TfL network. During the day, we undertook a combination of simulation and observation exercises. We used a digital recorder, the H1 Portable Zoom Recorder, and the unobtrusive Autographer Life-Logging camera to capture the interview. The observation allowed us to see how the problems played out, but the simulation had the most value – allowing us to experience some of the challenges for ourselves. http://www.rlsb.org.uk/campaigns/wayfindr https://ustwo.com/blog/designing-wayfindr/ https://ustwo.com/blog/validating-wayfindr/
- Vision impaired users were involved in our process from the early stages. We initially tested the first draft of spoken instructions with RLSB Youth Forum members, and later invited 12 people over the course of a fortnight to Pimlico to use the Wayfindr prototype while the station was open to the public. Some participants were partially sighted and some were blind, giving a range of user needs. Testing the prototype with users in a real context revealed some great insights that helped us to understand what vision impaired people need in order to navigate confidently in a tube station. Learnings from their research: Less is more. Clear terminology Alerts: As an alert to upcoming instructions we used a generic beep sound. Using beep sounds to attract user’s attention and alert them to new instructions proved very efficient for navigation. Feedback: We also found that intermediate feedback is very helpful, along with information about the number and direction of stairs. When the distance until the next checkpoint is great, users need some intermediate feedback for reassurance that they are still on the right track. Beacon positioning: During the trial we found that capturing the absolute user’s position wasn’t necessary. Initially, we tried to install beacons in a way that would allow us to have an absolute positioning system through triangulating a user’s smartphone location. After trying out the prototype, however, we understood that beacons are needed only at significant waypoints in the user’s journey. Thus, beacons were placed individually, or in clusters, to create regions that would trigger a spoken instruction. Beacon placement is important. They were positioned on ceilings to maximise signal exposure, especially through large amounts of body mass. Their placement was particularly important at escalators and long hallways where users need a gentle reminder about their position. The beacon signal pulse also had to be increased – eventually we pushed it up by 10 times to maintain accurate location data. http://www.rlsb.org.uk/blogs/how-wayfindr-guided-my-first-steps-to-independence-on-the-tube
- Reality-check – much more complex to implement, many stakeholders need to be involved.
- Challenges around hardware prototyping – it’s bulky and expensive. Challenge is their buyers are not their users. Not easy to observe people’s activity from another room, or record camera. Can’t just automate data-capture – the context is important, and you need to observe.
- 1. Interviews with our end users (each interview was recorded) 2. Each member of our team (both business people and engineers) listened each interview, and took notes 3. Everybody singled out their insights - One insight=One post it 4. Insights clustering - Brainstorming - Ideas generation 5. Creating persona profiles of our end users 6. Creating customer journeys of our end users
- From first prototype to first strawberry tree, to improved strawberry tree The image on the right of their current Strawberry Tree was informed by their research, observation and interviews. They understood that the seating areas needed to be bigger, so that more people can sit without being forced to sit too close to a stranger. At the same time, the space was more engaging so they didn’t face their backs to others – more open for conversations, less rude in a communal setting!
- From Smart Tree to Smart Bench Concept of Strawberry Smart Bench was based on insights from our customers and end-users. For example we learned that a lot of people (B2C) are actually wearing their own charging cables with them, so that's why we added USB ports to Strawberry Smart Bench. So unlike Strawberry Tree, we have built in cables, usb ports, and wireless charging (growing trend). Other example is from our customers (B2B) - Strawberry Tree requires concrete foundation, but most of our customers said they don't want to dig a hole in their estate, and that's the reason Strawberry Smart Bench can be just placed wherever you won't, and it doesn't require a foundation.
- Set up a co-working space for creative social change in Elephant & Castle, and held a series of free, public, community-focussed sessions including. The sessions provided value to the community that people could enjoy, and also provided a medium to gather useful insights into the individuals in that community. • Model your social network • Map the future of local public transport • Create stories from urban data • Perfect your startup pitch • Hack the local economy
- Summarise the different novel tech discussed, and the research methods. Recap the challenges and the impact of the research. Most importantly, the goal for each product was to solve a problem or help meet a need, and research was part of that process.
- 15 minutes to discuss the research approach, research questions and your rationale for choosing this approach. Then each group will present back to the wider group – 5 minutes each! ----------------- 5 scenarios for this activity – if needed let teams do the same ones #1: The Mayor of a city, and you want to get people to do more exercise, for the healthy well-being of your people. The Mayor would like to use the Internet of Things to help achieve this goal. Your team has been approached to plan the research. You have 15 minutes to discuss the research approach, what research questions will it answer, and your rationale for choosing this approach. And then, each group will present back to the wider group. #2: A car manufacturer is looking to launch self-driving cars in your city. They are doing tests on their prototype cars and would now like to investigate real-life behaviours for this new technology. Your team has been approached to plan research into this area. You have 15 minutes to discuss the research approach, what research questions will it answer, and your rationale for choosing this approach. And then, each group will present back to the wider group. #3: A large shopping centre has been approached by people who make location beacons. They have pitched installing these beacons in and around the shopping centre as the future of increased loyalty and conversion in physical shops. Before going ahead, the shopping centre have approached your team to plan research around the use of beacons and their impact in this case. You have 15 minutes to discuss the research approach, what research questions will it answer, and your rationale for choosing this approach. And then, each group will present back to the wider group. #4: A health technology company is looking into using wearable technology to help support patients in need of physiotherapy. There has been some interesting early academic research in this area, and so they are interested in how they could use this to develop a product. They have approached your team to help them understand the target user needs and their drivers to use such a technology. You have 15 minutes to discuss the research approach, what research questions will it answer, and your rationale for choosing this approach. And then, each group will present back to the wider group. #5: A local council wants to reduce the amount of graffiti in some of the residential neighbourhoods. They are interested in trying a novel approach to reducing graffiti, preferably one which addresses the causes rather than just the effects. They have approached your team to plan research to understand this area and identify possible novel solutions. You have 15 minutes to discuss the research approach, what research questions will it answer, and your rationale for choosing this approach. And then, each group will present back to the wider group.
- You don’t need specialist tools, be flexible and planning is important! https://www.dropbox.com/s/bkuxh6djcr75iet/D4SC%20Toolkit_email.pdf?dl=0 http://www.citizencanvas.org/ https://vimeo.com/112963036
- You don’t need specialist tools, be flexible and planning is important! https://www.dropbox.com/s/bkuxh6djcr75iet/D4SC%20Toolkit_email.pdf?dl=0 http://www.citizencanvas.org/ https://vimeo.com/112963036