SUMMARY

Last summer (2017) I got involved with the project as the Lead Consultant/UX Researcher (a team of 13) at the Mobile App Lab of "Company A", working on (a native app for consumer health). The projects I worked on included:

• Beta pilot study (of a major expansion of a primary feature in "Company A" Health - estimated shipping date end 2018).
• Design validation studies (of a primary feature and several future design concepts for "Company A" Health).

 

* I can't present the specific findings and design recommendations due to NDA, but I can share the process.

 

Beta Pilot Study

 

Overview

I led a 3 week end-to-end beta pilot study with "Company A" internal employees recruited throughout the The Netherlands to inform the next release of a major feature of "Company A" Health. After installing the apk, participants were asked to enroll in the service, complete discrete tasks (21 in total), and provide feedback on their overall experiences with the beta via SurveyMonkey. My responsibilities included:

• Planning the study - design recruit emails (with screening questionnaire) and working with lab coordinator on incentive plans.
• Working with development manager on the beta instructions to educate participants how to install the apk, report issues, etc..
• Working with design manager to prioritize tested tasks on the new feature design.
• Selecting discrete user groups based on their demographics and interests in certain areas of the new feature.
• Designing discrete surveys to allow participants to provide feedback about their overall experience with the beta.
• Participating in weekly remote meetings with four partner companies located in the Different European Countries.

 

Objectives

• To gain end-to-end service feedback from a larger population (Company A employees).
• To identify user issues and bugs prior to launch.
  
• To qualify the service via a broader spectrum of users, use cases and geographies.
• To test potential marketing messages.

 

Challenges

• Working with four partner companies located in different European countires at the same time.
• Multiple requirements from four different partners causing beta pilot to be delayed a few times.
• Beta participants who were inactive in completing their tasks and filling out the surveys.
• Negotiation with marketing team in balancing marketing and UX messages.

 

Outcomes

• Usability testing report that was quickly synthesized in two days with detailed findings and design recommendations for 23 areas for improvement. The report provided feedback on users' preferences regarding the overall flow, visuals, and content of the design and their logic behind.
• The impact was to inform the design team what worked and what did not in terms of the overall flow, visuals, and content, and to provide the product team evidence to help them make decisions on the priority level of the action items for the next release. 

 

Process

 

 

Design Validation Studies

Overview

• In total, I conducted 13/23 in-depth interviews (one hour each) with participants from a range of demographics, professions, and fitness levels to develop designs for "Company A" Health.
• Activities involved in the testing included gathering feedback on user's preferences of contents, design hierarchy, and visual elements of different variations and the why beneath using participatory design techniques.

 

Objective

• To elicit feedback from users to inform the design direction of "Company A" Health, including desirability, understandability, and user preferences of contents, design hierarchy, and visual elements of different variations.

 

Challenges

• Limited time frame - only three weeks.
• App concept testing without a working prototype made it difficult to gather user's real feelings and behaviors.
• Negotiation with product owner and marketing team for the value of UX research methodologies.

 

Outcomes

• Design validation report that was quickly synthesized in one day with detailed user satisfaction and pain points. The report presented general user feedback on the concepts, user flows, and recommendations regarding design enhancements to address usability issues and unmet user expectations.
• Revised the interfaces and features together with designer lead, PMs, and lab head.
• The impact was to inform the design team what worked and what did not in terms of the concepts and user flows and persuade HQ to maintain a feature that addressed users' needs instead of the company's immediate bottom line.

 

Process

 

Reflection

 

What did I learn?

• The give-and-take as a Lead UX researcher. The role of Lead UX researcher is to represent the views and interests of the users, with a firm and confident approach when being pushed back. It's like picking the battle - you might not win all of them, but you will win the important ones. When the research results can't change the design (e.g. because of technical issues), it's critical to be able to find compromises that balance the pragmatic and the ideal. 
• The art of UX researcher is to keep a healthy relationship with the team. For example, phrasing your feedback in positive terms to avoid defensiveness or talking to a product owner directly when a misunderstanding exists between us. Having a design lead or PM review the study plan before the actual testing can save the team a lot of time because it can help the team prioritize the tested features and identify if we are on the right track. For the same reason, it's advisable to talk to designers first before testing their prototypes.
• Working on a health project makes me feel good because I'm helping save potentially millions of people's lives!

 

 

Recommendations

 

Mr. Jan V., VP. UX Team

Soleil was the lead user researcher in our lab (Mobile User Experience) during the summer of 2017. He led and participated in a wide range of user research projects and contributed to them at an extraordinary level. He conducted trend research, helped design and execute one-on-one user studies; and helped coordinate a beta trial which spanned seven states. He participated in brainstorm sessions for future projects and conducted design validation studies for an information architecture project. In each of these efforts, he played an important role, contributed to their overall success, and was a valuable team leader. He was a pleasure to work with and will no doubt be an asset to any team lucky enough to hire him.

 

Mr. Tony S., Director, Product Management

When Soleil joined our team as a lead user researcher and consultant in 2017, he quickly established himself as a skillful, motivated and productive team member. Of the projects he participated in, he made significant contributions to help the product team better understand the market and the users, as well as validate product concepts and UX design. He was also a key stakeholder organizing a nationwide beta pilot that provided high-value insights that eventually led to a successful product launch. Soleil's other strengths include his strong leadership, interpersonal and communications skills, which helped him quickly become an integral part of the team. His work at "Company A" was highly productive and I have no doubt he will be a great contributor in any team he has chosen to join.