Timeline: Ongoing Role: UX Research Consultant
I collaborated with the Touchlab team to develop an original research proposal as we move forward with a new client in the Non Destructive Testing Industry (NDT)
In an era where constant mobile innovation is expected, your team needs to be ramping up on the future “next practices”. And as a mobile development leader wouldn’t it be great to have a guide into that future? Touchlab is that guide.
Industry and Competitive Research
Understanding the industry and competitive landscape surrounding the company is critical not only to building a feasible and competitive product but also to arm the research team with an informed and critical eye as we proceed into more contextual research.
I wrote a preliminary research report for the team to get caught up to speed on a complicated industry
SCOPE OF PRELIMARY REPORT
NDE/NDT Industry Overview and Opportunities
Competition and Awareness
The company in Context
The company Pilots and AWF Data Flows
Moving Forward with Touchlab
Industry Overview - Starting from Scratch
The purpose of NDE/NDT is to evaluate materials, components, and assemblies for the presence of defects, impurities, cracks, or corrosion, and to provide information to verify and/or adjust the remaining life prediction of equipment.
Over the last 20 years, more advanced NDT Field techniques have emerged across industry verticals. Traditional methods still run predominate because it takes a long time for new technologies to make their way into use. However, key customer industries are evolving and more and more commonly need advanced NDT.
Industry Innovation
Slow Innovation Driven by Tech and Clients
Technological advancements and innovations ramp up NDT capabilities while various government or industry mandates, regulations and codes constrain methodologies: keeping certification and standardization a top priority and reality of this stringent industry.
Process Understanding
Radiography and Ultrasonic Testing Processes
A great resource to help guide future contextual inquiry was an understanding of the more common processes that NDT engineers use.
Here is an example of detailed notes to communicate key industry processes.
Stakeholder Interviews
Speaking with key stakeholders at the Company
The company faces its own pains as a company that mostly stem from paper processes. Industry-driven pain points are shared by competitors but remain real problems.
Research Proposal
Research Proposal Summary
METHODOLOGIES
Preliminary Industry and Competitive Research
Additional Stakeholder Interviews
On-site Contextual Inquiry and Observation
On-site Shadowing
On-site Show and Tell
POEMs methodology (People, Objects, Environments, Messages, and Services.)
GOMS observation
Recording of workarounds
Recording of both easy and difficult use cases
On-site Interviews
Increase understanding of processes
Increase understanding of mental models surrounding on-site tech
Goals, motivations, behaviors, quotes
Remote or on-site “expert” Interviews
Understand data flow
Understand communication challenges
Understand pain points between users
Usability Tests of **** and other relevant device(s)
Google forms, time recordings, pictures or videos.
Fitts law measurement
Comprehension
Preferences
Comfort
Pleasures and challenges
Kicking off with Contextual Inquiry
On-the-ground observation is crucial to the success of this research phase; cooperation and coordination is required as the research team gathers observations, observes behaviors, notes extreme use cases, and plots the user journeys of key players in company processes. We place an emphasis on contextual inquiry and ethnographic research due to the reality of the busy and niche work environments.
Identifying the GOMS of the technicians and analysts should shed light on how to better their user experience and speak to their real motivations. (GOMS:Goals, Operators, Methods, Selections).
The second objective of this inquiry is to properly stage questions for following interviews and to identify key scenarios and tasks for future usability tests.