In-vehicle Smart Speakers Aren't the Only Voice Opportunity for Car Brands
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In the world of hardware, where physical design choices are often difficult and expensive to reverse, UX research becomes a critical asset in your product development toolkit. Imagine launching a product only to find out that users struggle with its core functions—this is a scenario no product manager wants to face.
The Power of Early and Frequent User Involvement
By involving users early and often in the development process, hardware teams gain invaluable insights into user needs, behaviors, and the context in which they interact with the product. This approach allows for data-driven design choices that ensure your final product is not only functional but also intuitive, comfortable, and enjoyable to use. The result? Higher adoption rates, positive customer experiences and reviews, and a greater chance of market success.
Overcoming Unique Challenges in Hardware Research
Hardware UX research presents its own set of challenges and considerations. What do you do when you have a particularly unique product? Are you working with a highly specialized population? What if it’s a top-secret initiative and you have to ensure confidentiality during the research process but still get user feedback? These challenges keep the research process engaging and dynamic.
Let’s explore some of our most intricate scenarios and the value our research added.
Testing a New Medical Device Internationally
Challenge: Ensure patients understand how to use our new at-home medical device before we launch it internationally.
The medical device industry is a large and growing sector that plays a vital role in our healthcare experiences. The global market was worth around USD 471 billion in 2020 and is predicted to grow to around USD 623 billion by 2026. We work with several clients in the healthcare space who, in addition to making sure their devices work as intended scientifically, want to ensure they meet user needs and expectations before bringing them to market.
This client needed to demonstrate that the device was intuitive among their target users. We conducted in-person international research, asking participants to use the device prototype to complete a series of tasks. Navigating the complexities of an international recruit, while ensuring participants had specific health conditions, meant the client needed some external expertise.
Our researchers observed participant interactions with the device and the user interface, noting task success as well as any difficulties or stumbling blocks they encountered along the way. Research deliverables offered task success metrics, qualitative participant feedback we heard during the interviews, and prioritized recommendations the client could address before launch.
Outcome: The client could confidently launch the device, knowing it met user needs and expectations.
Increasing Engagement with an In-Store Kiosk
Challenge: Improving customer engagement with an in-store kiosk for a major retail brand.
The rise of technology has significantly reshaped the retail industry in recent years, with customers expecting seamless experiences across online and physical stores. From in-store kiosks to click-and-collect services, the market is expanding rapidly, and the brands that can deliver will have a competitive edge.
The client approached us to assess the physical environment of their in-store kiosk to understand how the setting, signage, and appearance affected customer usage. We conducted both unfacilitated, observational research, as well as facilitated discussions with real-time customers, live in-store, to uncover usage behaviors and pain points surrounding the kiosk. This involved our researchers simply observing from afar how people stumbled upon the kiosk, how they interacted with it, and what caused them to either succeed or give up. We also interviewed some users about their experience for more targeted and direct feedback. We identified numerous opportunities to improve engagement, enabling the brand to create a better environment with improved signage and instructions to show customers its value.
Outcome: A more engaging kiosk experience, increasing customer interaction and satisfaction.
Understanding User Needs When Shipping Sensitive Goods
Challenge: Supporting merchants who ship sensitive goods with better logistics solutions.
Shipping and delivery services have experienced significant growth in overall volume and demand. As the industry continues to adapt, logistics services need to focus both on increasing efficiency and capturing growing customer demand.
Our client wanted to better support customers, especially those with environment-sensitive products. We conducted a multi-phase research program that included both Quantitative and Qualitative methodologies to understand their customers' needs and wants and ultimately build a better experience for these kinds of services. To understand the user base, we suggested conducting ethnographic research to see these customers in their everyday environments.
We met with merchants directly in their workplaces to witness their daily routines and understand their needs. Ethnographic studies may require more planning, travel, and logistical know-how, but the value is unmatched. With the data, we built user personas, identified current pain points, conducted prototype testing, and were able to form a larger view of the industry landscape, helping our client revitalize their product strategy.
Outcome: Enhanced shipping solutions that better met the needs of merchants and their customers.
Managing complex data collection in a public setting
Challenge: Understanding participant experiences using augmented reality products in a mall setting.
Beyond online shopping, click-and-collect services, and in-store kiosks, brands are exploring even more radical innovations, including AI customer service chatbots and virtual try-on experiences. Augmented reality shopping experiences are not just a gimmick but have the potential to significantly change the way people shop online, particularly with younger demographics.
Our client needed help codifying participant experiences with two augmented reality prototypes in a mall setting, requiring our team to pack up our research materials and head to a local mall to speak with shoppers live. We designed a multi-phased approach to collect large amounts of data in a public setting, intercepting 250+ participants as they did their typical shopping.
Participants walked the mall with the prototypes to see how it impacted their experience, while our team managed a dynamic data collection environment and navigated confidentiality concerns to provide the client with robust datasets and in-context insights. This direct participant feedback and observations around how this experience fits into the in-person shopping experience offered our client critical insights and next steps for improvement.
Outcome: Critical insights into prototype performance and target user preferences clarified AR's role in in-person shopping, empowering the product team to make confident decisions about the product roadmap.
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While UX research for hardware can seem intimidating, especially with evolving technologies, prioritizing user insights is vital for informed product development. By employing mixed-methods approaches and conducting research in context, we bridge the gap between new technology and user needs. The result? Hardware that empowers users and boosts engagement.
Ready to put your device to the test? Contact the AnswerLab team today to see how our expertise can drive your product’s success.