Sony Design Sprint
How can we improve team synergy through ubiquitous computing in remote cross-collaboration work environments?
Team: 4 Designers
Duration: 1 day (May 2019)
My Role: Conducted secondary research to gain a better understanding of user needs in remote work environments and how technology fits into our everyday lives. Spearheaded the creation of a physical prototype to demonstrate a potential solution to the identified problems.
Empathize + Define
Our team employed a two-pronged approach to gain insights into pain points surrounding remote cross-collaboration. One group conducted user interviews while the other delved into secondary research.
Secondary Research:
As part of the secondary research duo, I analyzed a wide range of sources including news articles, research papers, message boards, and other relevant content to identify pain points and examine how ubiquitous computing is integrated into daily life.
Interview Questions:
The user interview team asked targeted questions such as how participants collaborated in their current work environment, when they last used a collaboration tool, how they used it, and their thoughts on scheduling and online meetings.
Through our research, we identified several key user needs and pain points and organized them into four main categories using an affinity diagram. This helped us better understand the users and their needs and informed the rest of our design process.
Persona + Storyboarding
To gain a deeper understanding of the problem space and user needs, we created a persona and storyboard.
Prototyping + Feedback
Through our research, we realized that screens are constantly present in our lives, yet we don't always pay attention to them. To explore this idea further, I created a physical prototype that demonstrates how screens could seamlessly integrate into our environment, acting as a natural and unobtrusive presence.
Picture Credit: Marvel’s Iron Man
I leveraged a nearby window to replicate a screen, allowing two people to collaborate as if they were in the same physical space. By using whiteboard markers, users were able to simulate the use of applications on the "screen." Additionally, I incorporated a phone to facilitate communication between the participants. Subsequently, we conducted user testing to validate the effectiveness of this concept.
User Feedback:
“UI is overwhelming, desire for a sense of space”
“Not environmentally friendly to always be ‘on’”
“Needs independent media control”
Integration of feedback
Hide unnecessary functions
Motion sensors, idle states, option to toggle between staying in same “room” or not
Toggles for sound of media on screen, and sound of environment and other person on screen.
Final Solution
By leveraging the power of technology, we envision a future where a smart and interactive "window" could provide a seamless collaboration experience for remote workers. This solution has the potential to not only improve productivity and efficiency but also foster stronger connections and a shared company culture among team members.
By addressing common issues faced by remote workers, such as communication barriers and a lack of involvement in decision-making and development processes, this solution could enable individuals to feel more co-located and immersed in a shared work environment. Ultimately, this innovative approach has the potential to revolutionize the way teams collaborate and work together in a remote setting.
2021: A step in this direction has been recently developed by Google called Project Starline: https://blog.google/technology/research/project-starline/
Conclusion
Our team presented our pitch and was evaluated by three Sony designers (including the Director of User Experience). We were awarded first place out of 15 teams for our team’s empathetic research and unique physical prototype. While we were thrilled with this outcome, the judges also provided valuable feedback suggesting that we focus more on the idea iteration stage of our process.
Looking forward, I am eager to expand our user research to gain further insights into remote work and its challenges in a post-COVID world. Additionally, I would like to invest more time in ideating and iterating on prototypes, utilizing advanced technology to develop more comprehensive solutions.