Home Visits Study on Routines and Technology

A home appliance company wanted to understand the future of consumer goods through the eyes of participants at their own homes. Interviews and contextual inquiries were conducted in order to explore participant’s routines, use of technology and home space, as well as their intereset in purchasing consumer goods and smart home products.

I worked as a UX researcher in a team of 4. I helped in recruiting, designing and planning the study, moderating interviews and contextual inquiries and writing a full report.

Outcomes

Findings related to devices outside of the company’s scope were well appreciated since they opened up a new business opportunity.

Users

People of different ages, genders, and technology adoption levels, renters or home-owners, with or without kids and pets.

Most of them were Massachusetts residents.

Methodology

• 8 remote interviews through Zoom and 6 home visits/contextual inquiries were conducted.

• A short demo of a device was included by the end of the home visits, in order to understand participants’ acceptance of the device and its general usability.

Challenges

• Recruiting was challenging due to specific requirements from the client. We created a poster to motivate people into going through our screener.

• Also, we encountered some unforseen issues with the device’s battery. Participants were eager and excited to use the device, so they did not mind waiting until it was charged.

Deliverables

A report included results from the interviews and home visits with detailed findings on:

• their routines

• thier rooms usage

• the house chores they performed

• their relationship with technology and consumer goods.

The report was presented by the group to the client at their HeadQuarters.