The company was developing the next generation of their very popular head mounted eye tracking glasses. There had not been a dedicated UX designer on the team until I got assigned to the project. Another designer and a consultant had, in turns, done work with requirement gathering early in the project, but up until I started, the project had been run mostly as a pure tech project solving engineering problems instead of user problems and with the main goal to replace the company’s previous product with a “better” one. My role in the project was one of a User researcher, UX expert working with the Industrial designer and the mechanical designer, as well as project leader for a small sub-project in which I was doing everything from UX research, design, requirements specification, coordinating testing and sourcing.
Examples of actions in the project as the…
…UX designer/researcher
Ergonomics test of initial design
Purpose: Evaluate usability of initial design
Design: Simple reading test
Participants: Colleagues of various race, gender and size
Research team: Interviews performed by me and the business unit manager. This in order to share insights and understanding of challengers with the management team.
Outcome:
The research resulted in an almost complete redesign of the glasses as it turned out the initial design did not work well in practice when doing common tasks, e.g., reading. It also became apparent that the design did not accommodate for long hair or people of various head shapes or sizes.
Each new design iteration got 3D printed and retested. Several design iterations were tested and modified before going to expensive, functional prototypes.
The design and development team did more research into ergonomics and connected with manufacturers of regular glasses to learn from them when fine-tuning the design.
Project management and internal stakeholders realized that design is an iterative process and not a one off purchase and iterating is necessary for the success of the product on a global market.
In addition, I was put in charge of selecting and sourcing peripherals such as cables and bags to ensure a good user experience and ergonomics of them as well.
…Sub-project leader for product peripherals
Design of carrier bag for the equipment to be used in field research
Purpose: Provide the users with a stylish bag that also keeps the equipment safe and the researchers workflow smooth
Methods used: Interviews with potential users, iterative design in collaboration with a German supplier
Outcome:
A bag of a light, durable material which was stain resistant and similar to a regular shoulder bag in order not to stand out and hence reduce the risk of theft of the very expensive equipment held inside.
The design of the bag allowed for the equipment to be packed safely, but also easily accessible when needed without having to put down the bag which fit the workflow of the users very well.
The design was liked much enough for the bag to be reused for another project. The bag is also popular among employees to transport other things due to its size, pockets and wide shoulder strap.