Savannah, GA FIE 2004 Work In Progress - Using User Experience Research to Develop Needs Assessment Skills of Undergraduates Laura Moody & Joan Burtner Mercer University

FIE 2004 Savannah, GA Goals Develop potential research opportunities in the area of cell phone design and use. Develop potential research opportunities in the area of cell phone design and use. Provide hands on opportunities for engineering students to Provide hands on opportunities for engineering students to –understand the needs of customers, clients, and end users – develop specific skills to research and assess needs of customers –analyze and evaluate real world data in a variety of forms

FIE 2004 Savannah, GA The study Purpose Purpose –Explore methodologies for developing an integrated understanding of the user experience. –Identify principal components that describe two of the three foci of the user experience. Method Method –19 undergraduate students in 2 courses –3 cell phones –Interview –Simple task –IRB approval

FIE 2004 Savannah, GA The cell phones

FIE 2004 Savannah, GA Data Phase 1 - Personal experience Phase 1 - Personal experience –“Story-telling” –3 descriptors – current and ideal cell phone Phase 2 – Test phones Phase 2 – Test phones –First impressions – semantic differential –“Practice” and individual impressions –Simple task performance –3 descriptors – test phones –Ranking

FIE 2004 Savannah, GA Student participation In the study In the study –2 courses –participants and observers Data analysis Data analysis –partial data sets –in-depth analysis Implications Implications –customer service & voice of the customer –human factors design

FIE 2004 Savannah, GA Course Activities IDM 355 -Quality Mgt. (Spring ’04) IDM 355 -Quality Mgt. (Spring ’04) –Cell phone study –participation –observation –Link to course content –the “voice of the customer” –survey design –understanding data types

FIE 2004 Savannah, GA Course Activities IDM IDM Case Studies (Spring ’04) IDM IDM Case Studies (Spring ’04) –Use of quality tools –Reporting quality results ISE Quality Egr. (Fall ’04) ISE Quality Egr. (Fall ’04) –Collecting and evaluating customer service data –Review of data analysis techniques –Use of quality tools and reporting results

FIE 2004 Savannah, GA Course Activities ISE 311 – Ergonomics & Work Mst. (Spring ’04) ISE 311 – Ergonomics & Work Mst. (Spring ’04) –Participation in study –Performance data analysis –Implications –“handtool” design –design of human factors studies

FIE 2004 Savannah, GA Course Activities ISE 412 – Human Factors Egr. (Fall ’04) ISE 412 – Human Factors Egr. (Fall ’04) –Research methods –Study design & data collection –Modeling human-technology interaction –Design of human-machine systems

FIE 2004 Savannah, GA Independent study Undergraduate student Undergraduate student Collecting and organizing data Collecting and organizing data Evaluating qualitative data Evaluating qualitative data –e.g., semantic differential results

FIE 2004 Savannah, GA Independent study Evaluating quantitative data Evaluating quantitative data –e.g., dialing errors

FIE 2004 Savannah, GA Independent study New techniques New techniques –e.g., card sorting

FIE 2004 Savannah, GA Independent study Next steps Next steps –Statistical analysis of quantitative data –Classify descriptors –Link between descriptors and preferences –Evaluate story-telling results –Develop ideas for future project –Report

FIE 2004 Savannah, GA Independent study Student’s perspective Student’s perspective –Her view of the project –Benefit of working with faculty as a team: “I feel like I’m on an engineering project team.” –Deliverables and time requirements –Relevance of the experience

FIE 2004 Savannah, GA Ongoing student involvement Use of data in the classroom Use of data in the classroom –understanding data types and data gathering –qualitative vs quantitative data –data analysis and modeling Continued exploration of research methods Continued exploration of research methods –human factors research and design –understanding customer needs and the voice of the customer