Smart Display | Diary Research Study
Understanding creative use cases involving web content for Smart Displays through longitudinal research.
UX Researcher | 9 Weeks | Foundational Research | 2020
Business Needs
This project aimed to identify opportunities for bringing web content to Smart Displays for at-home journeys and daily routines. Our research explored the behaviors, needs, opportunities, and creative use cases for the web on Smart Displays outside of typical usage, which informed future product features and functionalities.
Process
1. Identify Appropriate Research Methodology (Diary Study)
- Utilized the diary study research methodology to capture pertinent information on users’ mental models in regard to the web on Smart Displays.
2. Create Diary Study Protocol and Daily Activities
- Strategized daily participant activities over seven days with three to ten entries per part that mirrored the project objectives.
- Crafted a four-part diary study, containing (1) current smart display usage, (2) smartphone and web moments, (3) web on smart display wishes, and (4) use case evaluation.
3. Program Diary Study
- Enlisted the app, dscout, to program the four-part diary study for all recruited participants.
- Managed recruitment for selected participant criteria with an external recruitment agency.
4. Launch and Begin Data Collection
- Monitored incoming data over seven days and consolidated over 500 participant entries into themes in a collaborative spreadsheet.
- Identified qualified participants to bring in for one-on-one interviews.
5. Hold Use Case Workshop
- Met with stakeholders to align on the top use cases uncovered through the diary study.
6. Conduct IDIs
- Held 15 of 35 remote one-hour interviews over the span of one week.
Analysis and Outcomes
- Created a 100-slide deck with qualitative and quantitative data pertaining to Smart Display usage and frequencies.
- Identified broad themes and 11 key use cases, including reminders, multitasking, accessibility, routines, and decreased stress, that colored participants’ Smart Display usage.
- Utilized the Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework for identifying key concept scenarios.
- Provided graphs, imagery, and iconography to accentuate qualitative data.
- Proposed opportunities and recommendations aimed to alleviate user pain points and report on creative at-home use cases for the web.
Future State Ideation
This project focused primarily on foundational research, allowing me to deliver insights and recommendations to the cross-functional teams. However, with more time and freedom to explore outside the scope of the project, I created visual designs using Figma for how I envisioned the Smart Display features.
“The Wind Down Playlist”
During the study, one participant reported feeling stressed during the pandemic and enlisted their Smart Display to listen to music all day at home as a distraction from racing thoughts.
Using this feedback, I created a “wind down” playlist dashboard to provide resources for relaxation at the end of a long day or when users felt anxious at any moment.
Included in this dashboard are the following features:
Music streaming of the user’s top songs in a downtempo genre
Podcast episodes focusing on mental well-being
Relaxing soundscapes
