User Research

THE ASK. "What features in development and in the backlog are most important?" It was a pivotal moment within the project because it was questioning the project objective, previous research and design conclusion, the hi-fi working prototype and KPIs. It would also have direct impact on all teams involved that were building the product (app, physical product and Watson).

THE APPROACH. I developed a customer centric three tiered approach that include a survey, in-person interviews and card sorting activity. We then recruited 40 customers that fit two archetypes; customers and sales. Getting people to change a lifelong daily habit is difficult. They self deceive and lie to their professional caregivers. The three tiered approach was a strategy to define what people really need and what will motivate them to change their daily habits with our product.

THE OUTCOME. The outcome was a market differentiating feature that embraced key values from each of the technology (app, product and Watson) offerings. Additionally, identified that business objectives matched exactly with customer wants, simplifying the product into a singular vision. An insights report was created to document and communicate the research process and conclusions, which was presented to the client and internal team. It provided clarification to all team members and focused future research efforts.

Research Objective & Assumptions

My approach to every research activity is to create a primary and secondary research objectives. This brings clarity to the team on what is being tested along with keeping the research team on track while building the research materials. Additionally, I clarify assumptions that are present, which can be from the team's industry knowledge or previous research learnings.

Custom planning page (Confluence) to keep the PM, client and research team on track

Research Methodology & Planning

Once the objectives have been clarified, my next step is to define the research methodology that best meets that objective. The defined methodology then create guidelines for deliverables and materials. This aligns the team on what needs to be produced for a prototype, interview materials, recruitment and outcomes. Additionally, I make sure we are not repeating unneeded research and are moving forward in our findings.

Recruitment & Behavior Archetype

The purpose of recruitment was to find near exact matches to two archetypes we had identified for this project. The process was to first develop an in-depth screener, then detailed instructions to the recruitment team on percentages of fulfillment. In the recruitment of hundreds of people for the same archetype, we had a 98% rate of having quality recruitments.

I am a strong proponent of behavior archetypes, or customer motivations profiles, because is focuses on the "why" behind a customer's statement or action. This approach has also generated market differentiating features and provided excellent guidance to design and development teams.

Research Activities

A 3-tiered approach was created to achieve a deeper understanding of peoples' daily habits and get around the lying that subconsciously happens when speaking about the subject of health. First was a very simple survey which gathered basic quantitative questions leaving time for qualitative activities. During the interview, customers did a card sort with in-depth questions, and if appropriate to the conversation, a paper prototype. This approached generated cross-pollination data points that lead to a market differentiating feature and confirmed that business objectives matched with customer wants.

Distillation

When developing the research methods, I also keep in mind the effort and time it will take to distill the information gathered. In the development of insights, my approach is to first share initial insights that are an absolute finding or are a high priority for the team. Then I dive into the research documentation which I use video, audio, Survey Monkey, paper, photos, excel spreadsheets and/or anything that will help me capture the user experience I am witnessing.

For this particular effort, we gathered qual and quan data from 40 interviews for two archetypes, which created a singular product vision. This was done by:

reviewing the survey data which was created in Survey Monkey
sorting cards into common hierarchy from photo documentation during the interviews
reviewing notes from all interviews, which were taken in an excel spreadsheet
reviewing notes from mini workshops held during breaks with the research team to gather initial thinking, findings and trends being heard and seen
two workshop held with the research team to gather their insights

After the information gathering and the distillation was complete, I created a powerpoint report. This report included the research objectives, plan, recruitment, archetype, photos from the interviews, quotes from participants, data charts and infographics. Below is a singular image of the distillation process, if you are interested I can show this report during an in-person interview.