Research: Dimming Visors Case Study
A comprehensive case study on applying UXR methods to a new in-vehicle product changing a legacy experience.
Role
Lead Researcher
Industry
Automotive
Project Overview
The dimming visors use electrochromism technology to dim a piece of glass going from fully clear to fully opaque, and can be set to have multiple levels of "dimness" in between. Within the vehicle, using this technology to replace a traditional cloth visor changes an experience that drivers have been accustomed to for decades.
The product team came to me when they had installed the first in-vehicle prototype of this, they wanted to understand what users first impressions were to this, what kind of value it added to their driving experience, and where opportunities were for design changes prior to showcasing this for the first time at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES).
Approach
Because the goals of this study were around gathering qualitative feedback from users, including their first impressions, I designed an unmoderated diary study. I wanted to capture their feedback in-vehicle as opposed to showing them this on a tabletop display to help meet the goals of understanding where users found value and how their overall experience was. To achieve this I worked with the engineering team to install a camera and microphone recording system in the vehicle to capture both audio and video, with controls that the participants could use to start and stop recordings as a way to provide their feedback while using the product and maintaining safety while driving.
Methodology
Participants took the prototype vehicle home with them for a night to experience this product in different lighting environments during their evening and morning commutes. We also incorporated surveys and an optional passenger experience as a way to capture more feedback. I utilized thematic analysis with video and transcripts, and cross referenced this with the survey data. I also conducted a sentiment analysis to understand how users felt about their experience using this product.
Insights Summary
To the right you'll see the key insights I delivered to the team, along with supporting qualitative data, video clips, and quotes. My method for analyzing this data was to watch the recorded videos, read transcripts, and cross reference surveys to conduct a thematic analysis. In addition I also delivered recommendations for continued development of this product to the design team.
Sentiment Summary
Below is an example of the sentiment analysis I did to help stakeholders understand where users found value in the product and features.
Positive
Users who primarily wear eyeglasses found value in the sunglasses type protection the visor provided while keeping a clear field of view.
Users liked how unobtrusive the visor felt: "I feel like traditional ones, as soon as it's done, I'm quick to put it up, but with this one I don't feel restricted, I'm comfortable with it staying down even when it's not necessarily needed"
Users felt this visor was generally safer than traditional visors because of the ability to see stoplights and other objects.
Participants were impressed with how quickly the dimming happened and how integrated the visors appeared in this car.
Overall, participants agreed that this option looked impressive, high-end, sleek, and was an eye-catching feature.
Users wanted to see an auto dimming feature for when they didn't want to manually control the visors.
Users missed the extendable feature when the visor was moved to the side window.
Overall participants felt that the controls should be moved to somewhere closer to the visor to avoid needing to look down.
The darkest setting was too dark for many users because they could not see red lights through it, and it blocked anything in shadows, which they felt defeated the purpose of the visor.
The material of the edges around the glass seemed to refract light and cause it to glow which was distracting when the visor was dimmed.
Impact & Conclusion
This study provided stakeholders with important data that drove roadmap and design decisions through product development. It also provided the sales and marketing team with helpful insights to understand the value proposition and how to position this at future trade shows. Within the product group, this was one of the first studies to be conducted at this stage of product development, and had a lasting impact on the involvement of research earlier in other product verticals, as well as continued research opportunities within this product.
Looking back on this project, I learned so much from planning through execution and analysis. At the time I conducted this study, my team didn't have any research analysis tools, so I conducted my thematic analysis manually, as well as the sentiment analysis using tools I had on hand within the Microsoft 360 suite. I documented the inefficiencies of this process for large scale research projects, and used that data to gain momentum to adopt EnjoyHQ and UserTesting.com to further help scale user experience research within the design studio at Gentex.