MFP ethnography
Research the way multi-function printers (MFPs) are used in office environments in order to validate the design and development cost of adding a touch-screen component.
Team
Associate creative director, sr. interaction designer, sr. industrial designer, sr. researcher
Constraints
Travel, audio quality, printer drivers
Project type
UX research report
Platform
Contextual inquiry, printed insights report, insights video montage
My role
Sr. interaction designer
(consultant)
Timeline
2011
Problem discovery
I listened attentively to educators, shopkeepers, legal assistants, entrepreneurs, and financial analysts.
I took video recordings of every contextual inquiry, took notes, and annotated them with timecode.
The intent was to uncover patterns of use (or misuse) of multifunction printers across a variety of use cases.
Highlights & insights
I created a highlight reel of the themes uncovered during my sessions with multifunction printer users. I sequenced six heuristic findings first and saved the MFP showstopper for the finale.
Counter-intuitive proposal
At the end of the research, the client had a choice to make. Would they keep striving for perfection, or would they meet people half-way and embrace the user workaround?
Responsibilities
Capture and edit video of user interviews. Understand user desires and frustrations. Document, analyze, and propose new product workflows.
Deliverables
Presentation of research insights, thematic, opportunity-based videos, proposal for experience workflow evolution.