Moi, the Wearable
UX Research Project
Objective
Moi, The Wearable
Due to my interest in wearable technology, I decided to find the pain points within the existing wearables market for my first UX Research project for a future prototype. I had two months to research, create personas, create a qualification survey, interview users, and gather data from existing smartwatches.
Methods: User Qualifying Survey, User Personas, Affinity Map, Learning Plan, User Interviews, Comparative Assessment, and Card Sorting.
Tools: Airtable, Miro, Medium, Figma, Illustrator, Photoshop, Prezi.
Card Sorting Overview
Barriers
Cost of new wearables
Lack of variety of colors and shapes
Personal space and privacy issues with personal data
Small screen size
Short battery life
Lack of killer apps
Looks like a toy
Steep learning curve
Button functions
Why Wearables?
While dominated by a few companies, the wearables market has massive growth potential, primarily due to the barriers to entry for different population segments. The top three barriers for new users are cost, user-friendliness, and accessibility. To remove those barriers, based on my research, I found that the price should be at most $200. There is a steep learning curve for average users, dependent on familiarity with WatchOS or WearOS. Accessibility is arguably the most important of these barriers. If the text or screen is too small, this presents a problem for impaired vision. And are the buttons and touchscreen easy for people with limited mobility?
While past indicators prove that while the target user base salary might be higher and closer to $100,000, Moi wants to create an affordable tech option for those who fall into a similar age range but a $50,000 salary range. Moi is interested in bridging the gap in cost-effective tech for everyone, particularly those in the target user base.
The problem to understand is how to increase sales of a new wearable called Moi. The wearable tracks biofeedback in daily activities and stress triggers to reduce stress levels. Financial key performer indicators include marketing tracking generated sales leads, the sales team tracking new revenue, and beta testers will measure how users engage with a trial run launch of the Moi Prototype.
Research Objectives (Initial)
The current wearables user base desires a fashion-forward and affordable wearable.
The proposed idea is to create a discreet wearable and more of a fashion accessory, i.e., Tamagotchi, influenced by Habitica, etc.
Who would subsidize the cost of the wearable with health insurance, HSA, or FSA cards to give users more options to pay for the wearable?
Beta testing the prototype for pain points with the product.
Problem Statements
Christina is a busy licensed therapist who owns a smartwatch but is concerned about the accuracy of the sleep metrics, and this contributes to her not meeting her health goals.
How might we improve the sleep metrics so that she can reach her goals?
How might we supplement an integrated feature to track sleep metrics more accurately?
How might we invest in current technology to measure biometrics accurately?
Mike is a system administrator who owns a smartwatch but due to health issues needs a medically accurate smartwatch to measure oxygen levels that is affordable.
How might we find a device that meets his medical needs?
How might we integrate more payment options so that he can use his HSA card to cover the costs of the device?
How might we determine the legitimacy of a smartwatch that meets his medical needs?
User Personas based on the target market
Key Findings / Summary
There is still room for improvement in the existing wearables market.
The retail cost of a new wearable should be at most $200.
Pain Points to solve: battery life, accessibility, text legibility (the now discontinued Pebble mastered that with their easy-to-read E-ink).
Instead of using many apps that shorten battery life, focus on essential biometrics like stress, energy, and sleep.
Next Steps / Insights
Lo-Fidelity and High Fidelity prototypes, Test and Iterate.
Focus primarily on the accuracy of essential biometrics; stress, energy, and sleep.
Have users from a range of age groups to test accessibility and work out any remaining issues.