9/18/2015user studies Tutorial for 2.009

9/18/2015user studies

9/18/2015user studies

9/18/2015user studies

9/18/2015user studies Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. What is the advantage to resealable sock packaging?

9/18/2015user studies Image taken from actual instructions for use.

9/18/2015user studies

Misconception 9/18/2015user studies A common misconception is that Industrial designers simply make things pretty

Misconception Definition 9/18/2015user studies Industrial Design is a user centered way of thought integrated throughout the process

The complexity of any given task must be delegated either to the product or to the user. 9/18/2015user studies An EpiPen is a good example. Complexity was moved from the user to the device.

 Ethnographic – Qualitative – Inspirational  Focus Groups – ‘Quantitative’ – Validation 9/18/2015user studies User studies are completely scalable. They can span countries and hundreds of users, or just take 30 seconds.

 Explicit  precisely and clearly expressed or readily observable; leaving nothing to implication  Latent  potentially existing but not presently evident or realized  Tacit  knowledge that cannot be transferred to another person as a result of it being 9/18/2015user studies

 Assemble your team  Moderator speak  Photographersee  Writerhear 9/18/2015user studies Don’t have to large of a team, it can scare away subjects. Break into groups of 3 or so. The photographer and Writer should disappear to the subject after a few minutes.

 Define your Target Market and Location 9/18/2015user studies Even if your T gets hijacked on the way and you stumble across a perfect emergency, it is still good to have a goal so that you don’t wander aimlessly. A Target market should be fairly specific. Again, be willing to adapt, but using your target consumer will be very important for screening and ranking ideas later.

 Do a practice run – It will get better 9/18/2015user studies

 Find Someone to talk to and observe  New comers (instructions), kids  Experienced Pros - Shortcut Takers  Different user types (more than the 50th percentile)  Early Adopters 9/18/2015user studies Innovators Early Adopters Early Majority Late Majority Laggards By the time a product launches, the market will have comletely shifted. This is one of the reasons that it is important to focus on early adopters, and recognize how to spot them.

 Moderator – Greet, and ask permission to study the user.  Stream of Conscious  Role Play  Their Ideas / Complaints 9/18/2015user studies

 Photographer  Work arounds  Look at Paths and surroundings 9/18/2015user studies

 Writer  guess what’s next (when it doesn’t line up… something's there)  Patterns and quirks  Streamline opportunities 9/18/2015user studies

 Group similar User Needs (work back to tacit needs)  Create a Problem Statement (How can we…)  Brainstorm on the problem using various systems.  Screen and Rank Concepts with your Target User in Mind 9/18/2015user studies

 Start humbly…and a little dumb. If you go in knowing what to expect, you wont learn.  See product as a verb. cell phoning - products in motion  Don’t attempt to change behavior, work with it  Prototype often, so you can check with users  Stories are more powerful than a statistic.  No such thing as a bad user, or user error - only opportunities 9/18/2015user studies