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

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…

• Welcome

• Intro to novel technologies

• Research methods

• Activity #1

• Case studies

• Activity #2

Agenda

• 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…

Icebreaker

Novel technologies…?

Internet of Things (IoT)

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.

Wearable technology

Smarter homes

Research

• 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?

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?

Making things delightful!

Model created based onISO 9241: Part 210 Human-centred design process for interactive systems.

A UCD approach

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

UsabilityTesting

AX Audit

UX Methods

Important to choose the right method and tailor it based on the project objectives.

Building blocks of research

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

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

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

Prototyping to inform design

Prototyping to inform design

Prototyping to inform design

• 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

Case studies

• 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

• 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

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

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

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…

• 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

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

Smarter furniture for smart cities (3/4)- Strawberry energy, going from first prototype Smart tree to current Smart Tree

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

• 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

• 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…

• 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

• 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: ScenariosChoose one of the following scenarios to carry out this activity, as explained on the previous slide.

• 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

• 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?

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!

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

Questions?

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