Week 07 - Demo Day Feedback

Demo Day Turnout

On demo day, MiniKin has received feedback from 9 visiting faculty members and peers.

Using a pen and notebook, I recorded down their feedback, followed by reading through and separating them into categories so I can easily refer back to them in the future, as well as identify patterns from repeated comments.

On Renaming Image File Feature

From KM

• Liked the sustainability attribute to the feature in which it helps clear up data within our computers.

• Saw it as an ethical model in looking after data in the form of a virtual assistant.

• Other suggestions:

  • A way to delete unnecessary screenshots as well

  • How MiniKin’s features can be personalized.

From IT

• Commented that he has ‘no time to organize’ his images, so this feature helps reduce cognitive load and him uploading wrong images due to their originally misleading names.

• Other suggestions:

  • IT has images with the same theme spread out in other folders. If MiniKin is able to detect those images and consolidate them into a single folder to reduce clutter.

From IZ

• Was very supportive of the feature. ‘Saving it as the content name solves such a huge pain point of mine and it will save time and cognitive overload!’ She said, making her opinion of it similar to IT’s.

• Other suggestions:

  • Currently, MiniKin asks the user for confirmation before renaming the image. IZ prefers that MiniKin immediately saves the image as the suggested name, followed by allowing the user to revert its name change or manually rename it themselves.

  • Currently, the user types in ‘yes’ and ‘no’ to confirm. IZ prefers that buttons labeled as such be used instead.

On Sleep Reminder Feature

From AX

• Found it less daunting than hearing buzzing and alarms

• Is a developer who sometimes ended up working a lot longer than they should, resulting in severe sleep deprivation. Having MiniKin implicitly remind them to go to bed on time while coding would greatly help in getting a healthy amount of sleep.

• ‘We are using tech more and more, and thus we have jobs that are integrated with tech. We need relaxation and release so we can be healthy.’ They said.

On Weather Detection Feature

From MJ

• Mentioned that her Macbook already has a weather widget which notifies her of the weather every 10 minutes, but sees the appeal of having a virtual pet telling her the weather through it wearing clothes that reflect the weather.

• Interacting with MiniKin via the speech bubble might turn the experience into an explicit one instead of implicit, thus it would be ideal to focus on MiniKin’s behaviors to drive home the implicit aspect of it.

On Hydration & Stretch Reminder Feature

From AK

• When asked about adding the mouse-detection capability to detect when the user has stopped using the computer to heed the stretch reminder, AK said it might feel invasive.

• Other suggestions:

  • Medication reminder and task reminder for people affected by ADHD.

  • Coughing when the user is doom scrolling or being unproductive.

  • Can ‘rage-quit’ when the user stops listening to its reminders after an extensive period of time.

On Appearance & Animations

From KM

• Found it refreshing that MiniKin is not a humanoid virtual assistant.

• ‘People can love a tool’, commenting on MiniKin’s cute appearance.

From IT

• Echoing KM’s comment, IT liked how MiniKin’s cute appearance makes it easier to be accepted by people

• Liked MiniKin’s subtle animation cues.

From YT

• Might forget that MiniKin is present after no interacting with it for a long time. ‘I need a reminder that MiniKin exists. Maybe he could be walking / dancing / jumping every now and then’. ’She said.

From DS

• Similar to YT’s feedback, DS recommends MiniKin having a larger range of motion for it to be more noticeable.

Noticeable Patterns in Feedback

Based on the received feedback, repeated comments involve the following:

• Cute appearance makes it stand out against other virtual assistants.

• Image renaming feature is popular in helping potential users reduce cognitive overload.

• Need for more presence to make it more noticeable and ‘remind’ users of its existence.

  • One way to address this is revise / adding of animations.