Taking the Lab out of Mobile Usability

TAKING THE LAB OUT OF

MOBILE USABILITYEthnographic User Research

• Experience Architect : Akendi

• User Experience Researcher: Macadamian

• Sound and UI Designer: Distil Interactive

• User Experience Consultant/Researcher: HOTLab

Carleton

• 5+ years in human factors, user research, design

• MA Psychology (Human Computer Interaction)

PATRICK NOONAN

PICKING THE RIGHT TOOL

3 SHORTCOMINGS OF MOBILE USABILITY

TESTING

Absence

of Context

Task

Selection

Learnability

CASE STUDY

THE PROBLEMMobile phone manufacturer approached Akendi seeking

insights on the release of their new device.

Wow

OUR APPROACH13 new owners of the phone had their experience tracked

for the first 2 weeks of ownership

FOLLOW-UP4 months after the initial study, we were able to contact

our 13 user again for follow-up interviews

RESULTS• Accidental Discovery

• The Social Environment

• Laptop Replacements

• Show-Off Features

• Out of Box

WHAT WE LEARNED

THINGS ARE DIFFERENT OUTSIDE THE LAB

ASSUMPTIONS CAN BE FLAWED

THE EXPERIENCE IS ONGOING

CLIENT ENGAGEMENT IS PART OF THE JOB

ENSURE THE RESEARCH QUESTION IS WELL

DEFINED

THANK YOU!