It's all about the user!!!!!

User Research Smoke and Mirrors

2008-04-24T06:51:00.000-07:00

After reading the article, I think that sometimes scientific research is done just to show that a company has done some work instead of really using the data that they have to improve or develop a product. Signing up for a website that offered to pay if a person takes a survey a few months back, I as a person taking the survey knows that not all the information that was taken from me from those surveys were real most of the time. To put it simply, all the research being done are all really not that useful. In one part, the author wrote about whether a result from a research can actually be derived using common sense and then at the end states that sometimes a research is done just to prove to the higher ups that in fact the current design is really bad. All this proves that scientific research is sometimes really being used in the wrong way.

Another point that i noticed of was the faking of the survey results. At times, a certain designer who has a talent for designing good-looking and appealing products has to fake the survey results just to appease the higher-ups too and this of course includes the lazy designers as well. Money is also an issue when it comes to research. As I am a member of a survey website, the companies are paying people to do surveys and this takes uses up a lot of the money. $2 is paid to people taking a short survey and $70-$100 is paid to a person for taking part in focus groups. All this will in turn make the consumers pay a higher price for the product instead, therefore the faking of the results of the research.

I personally think that the design of a product whether it gives a person the pleasure and the emotions is really subjective to each person. "A" might think that the product is nice and exciting but "B" does not. It is really hard to use scientific research to attain accurate results too depending of the kind of people that are taking the research.

Finally, I think that to design a good product is really hard as it is really subjective, but then also there are products that are really selling well out in the market. It is really one in a million to produce a product that is really a big hit and everybody will buy it. The aim is instead to get as people to buy as possible. Then again, having a result that can helps is better than nothing at all and it really might have a positive effect on the product.

Final Project and Overall Reflection

2008-04-24T06:48:00.001-07:00

Doing this project was really an eye-opener!!! It opened my eyes to the tedious and troublesome work to be done to design a product for someone's experience than for the big market out there. I learned a lot stuff from this project, from the processes involved to the methods used. Though some of the methods were really hard to understand what is going on, I still found it quite interesting. The process of the project was really tough as I had to juggle 4 other modules that made me quite busy, but in the end made it. Really a sense of achievement there!! YESSSS!!

The start of the project for me was really the toughest part to do as our group had to think of a product that was really marketable and good for someone or some people. After many weeks of discussing among ourselves and with Mr Reddy, we finally came up with GITA ( Graduate-In-Time Application). It is like a planner to graduate in time for NUS students. We chanced upon this idea as 2 of our group mates were graduating soon and they had a hard time keeping track of the requirements needed to graduate.

The process was really tedious as mentioned. We had to create many personas and thinking of imaginery people was fun except for the part that we had to think of the background too. Thinking of the product benefit specification was also not easy. We really had to think of how the product will affect the user in terms of pleasure namely physio, psycho, ideo and socio. We were also introduced to many different methods of research involved. Finally, after applying many different research methods we arrived at our final prototype which was almost as we had thought in the midst of the past few weeks.

Before this module had started, I was wondering what kind of stuff I was getting into and Mr Reddy gave us an insight into what we were supposed to know after the end of the module and what the module was all about. I really learned how to appreciate the products out there that are selling really well. I do not know if they had gone through all the tedious work that I have gone through this semester but it really opened my eyes to know that some companies out there are at least putting in the effort to do it. I also learned that the emotions and pleasures of people using the product also plays a huge part in deciding whether it is a successful or unsuccessful product.

One thing that made an impression on me in this course was using paper prototypes. It is really something that I really was quite in a way shocked to know. Anyway, I did not regret taking this course as I have really learned a lot from it.

Assignment 2 - Four Pleasure Analysis

2008-02-02T23:11:00.000-08:00

For this lesson, the thing that struck me was a question being put up by one of my classmates. He asked why a product is specifically designed for one person instead of a group of people. The answer by our lecturer makes a lot of sense, he said,"If you design it for one person, then at least that person will buy it and you make at least one sale."

Thinking about what our lecturer said, I realised the market out there for every product is really specifically designed for one target user profile only. That explains why different people owns different kinds of the same product. An example will be when my friend bought the new Sony Ericsson W960i, I told him that he was crazy to get a music phone with 8GB of storage and if it were me then I would have got an Ipod and a simple phone. Reflecting on this scenario that happened recently, I understood what was going on in a designers mind.

And now for the assignment for this week....

User Profile

Tracy is a 22 year old toy shop sales assistant living in Singapore. She holds a business diploma from Ngee Ann Polytechnic. She actually loves design but feels that she should study in business as she is also interested in this line of work and has better prospect.

Since graduating 3 years ago, she was working in the field of her studies but realised that it was not what she wanted and took up her current job 1 year ago. She is very happy to be in this job as she always interacts with what she likes most; "Hello Kitty" but knows that she will not be able to make it far in this line. She has made up her mind to one day own a shop or business of her own. During her free time at home, she makes handmade accessories of Hello Kitty products to sell on e-bay and yahoo auctions. This side job speeds up the achieving of her dream to open a business. She is also joins some of the Hello Kitty fanatic forums as a member.

She is a hardcore fan of Hello Kitty. She has been watching the cartoon since young and had fallen in love with the character. She owns numerous Hello Kitty products ranging from earrings to limited edition products. When she goes out with her friends, she will never fail to wear some of the accessories that she owns. She also attends the gatherings that are organised by the fans from the forums, she feels happy when she shows them some of the limited edition products that are very hard to get.

She is quite attractive but not attached currently. She has many boyfriends in the past but none of the relationships worked out. The past boyfriends could not take her infatuation of Hello Kitty. Most of them think that she is still immature or that she is wasting her time working as a sales assistant.

Tracy's parents loves her very much and are both working. They fully support her achieving dream and understands her situation as they are very understanding. They did not give her the money to set up her business earlier as they want her to understand the hardship of earning money. Though she always buy Hello Kitty products, she only buys the ones that are worth owning or those that she really likes. When she comes back home with a new product of Hello Kitty, she will show it off to her parents and they do not get angry but instead shares her joy. Tracy loves her parents very much as she knows people that were forced to give up all their Hello Kitty products because of the disapproval of their parents.

Four Pleasure Analysis of Tracy

1. Physio-Pleasure

She has a job that requires her to be on her feet the whole day but it is not really physically demanding.

On her free days, she has a lot of things that keeps her occupied for example, chatting with her fellow Hello Kitty fans, keeping track of her auctions of her products online, creating new products and going shopping with her friends. (Need Pleasure)

Sometimes, she goes to the spa or for a massage with her friends but tries to avoid the places because of the costs. (Appreciation Pleasure)

2. Socio-Pleasure

She loves going out with both her own friends and those organised by the forum members. She is happy when she can show off her collections to some of the forum members and when her friends complements her own handmade accessories. (Appreciation Pleasure)

She yearns for a boyfriend that understands her and accepts her being a fan of Hello Kitty. She is very appreciative of her parents support for her realising her dream of setting up a business. (Need Pleasure)

3. Psycho-Pleasure

Sometimes, she encounters difficult customers but is not able to vent her anger. When she reaches home, she will release the anger by grumbling to her parents or sometimes grumbling to her Hello Kitty soft toys. (Need Pleasure)

She is quite a good designer and uses that talent to earn more money by making accessories to sell. She feels extremely happy when a bidder complements her products and thus helps her drive her towards her dream. (Need Pleasure)

4. Ideo-Pleasure

Tracy being a designer of her own products naturally makes her sense of fashion better than others. She likes to dress simply though but knows how to dress up for occasions. (Need Pleasure)

She always tries not to act like a young kid in front of her friends especially guys as she does not want to be labeled as being immature. (Need Pleasure)

She admires people out there who enjoys what they are doing and strives to be like them. She tries not to end up like a typical person where work becomes a chore. (Appreciation Pleasure)

Products Benefit Specification

should look sleek and not too child-like

she is a designer and naturally wants something that is nice and not look too childish in front of everyone.

make it like a limited Hello Kitty edition regardless of the brand (optional)

it would make a nice collectors item for her and is able to show off to the other forum members.

should have features

WIFI - she is able to surf the net at her workplace during her free time to check on her auctions
at least 2 mega-pixels - she is able to take pictures of her products instead of using another camera
should have a place to hang her own custom made accessories - she can show off her custom-made designs to her friends and also do some business
video player - she is able to watch her Hello Kitty cartoons on the go
external memory storage - she can store all her Hello Kitty pictures or videos or themes

Assignment 1: Products and Emotion

2008-01-27T01:46:00.000-08:00

What strikes me for this lesson is what Patrick W. Jordan says about User Needs.

'Usability has moved from being what marketing professionals call a "satisfier" to being a "dissatisfier" '

I think that this is really true. In the past, there was not even a television in any household. When the television was created, everyone wanted one and was satisfied even to have a small one. Fast foward to now; having a television is a normal thing to everyone but when someone buys a new television home, he/she will be dis-satisfied with something.

The 3 levels of brain processing are what people have been complaining about products everywhere in the world. From this lesson, I have learned the actual names for them.

Visceral
Behavioural
Reflective

And now for the assignment.

This week's assignment is to find 3 examples of visceral, behavioural and reflective design. I will be focusing on P.C. speakers.

Coming up... The winner for visceral design is the

Philips Multimedia Speakers 2.0

Visceral:
The reason why I chose this design is that it looks sleek and not too complicated with holes here and there like other speakers. It also does not look too thick and bulky.

Behavioural:
The sound quality is not too good though but still acceptable. It is compact and slim; suitable for tight places at home or to bring outdoor.

Reflective:
It is like any other speakers out there.

Next up.... The winner for behavioural design is the

Creative GigaWorks HD50

Visceral:
It does not really look nice. It looks bare and looks like it will spoil easily. The tweeters are exposed and it increases the worry.

Behavioural:
It is actually quite powerful and does not need a subwoofer but produces good bass. It also uses high definition sound drivers. It is also quite compact.

Reflective:
It is one of the better speakers out on the market but it also is not a show-off.

Lastly...... The winner for reflective design is....

Bose Companion 2 Series II Multimedia Speakers

Visceral:
It looks like a normal pair of speakers out there. Not really appealing to me though. Looks really to simple and small.

Behavioural:
The sound is better than some of the better speakers. Not really very powerful.

Reflective:
I will not mind having this speaker in my room due to the brand. It looks simple and all but one look at the brand and it changes one's view of it.

References:
http://www.bose.com/images/home_entertainment/products/p_companion2_l.jpg
http://images.sg.creative.com/images/products/large/17041_1.png
http://www.consumer.philips.com/catalog/SP/SPA1210_05_webImage370.jpg

Assignment 0 - Find a bad design

2008-01-21T01:04:00.000-08:00

This shelter can be found around my block. It was built so that people can cross the road while being sheltered. Due to the shelter being built so high up and not being wide enough, the rain still gets in and causes the people to still get wet.

Personal / Public Review

During one of the rainy days, I was using this shelter to get from one block to another. Thinking that I would be able to escape from the rain, I crossed this road but to my horror, it did not really shelter you from the rain. When i reached the other side of the road i was all wet. I regretted not taking out my umbrella.

When I asked my neighbours how they felt about having it there, they also had the same experience that I did. Some of them also complained that when they were carrying things in both they always ran across in order not to get too wet. When I was going out one rainy day, i noticed that people still crossed the road with they umbrella held on top of them.

Lessons learnt from interaction

From the experience that I had and the reaction of the residents, i have learned that when crossing the road that has that kind of shelter, it is still better to take out the umbrella so as to prevent yourself from getting wet.

Reflection on product

From this example, i think that everything that is created or made should hold the people that are using it everyday in regard. This shelter that is built is from the money of the residents that are living nearby. It should be be built there just for the sake of it being there just like the residents, they will not pay money for something that is useless to them. User experience is very important to whether a product made is successful. Commercial products are also the same, the users ultimately has the last say as to whether they are willing to spend money on the product.