Week 09 - Design Interview Research Findings
Number of Interviewees
This week, I conducted 6 design research interviews. The following sections contain my findings for each feature, suggestions from interviewees, and preliminary data analysis. A more concise data analysis would be conducted in the following week.
Event Notifications
Overall Statistics
100% recognized that MiniKin was wearing a party hat.
33.3% associated it with a birthday celebration.
When made aware of what the feature is, 100% feel that the idea of a birthday is clearly communicated, although 33.3% expressed confusion as to whose birthday it was, whether it was their own, someone else’s or MiniKin’s birthday.
5 in 6 interviewees add birthdays to their digital calendar.
100% like being reminded of birthdays. One interviewee said, “I think some of the great things about it (being reminded). For my friends and also the people you want to connect with more.”
Improvement Suggestions
Make the feature optional
Does not see the point of the notification being there the whole day, should be a one-off thing.
Visual cue to encourage interaction, such as the birthday hat being highlighted for the user to click or hover over to reveal whose birthday it is
MiniKin can produce a present and say ‘maybe give your friend a present!’ and then stow it away.
If it is the user’s birthday, make it extra special by offering them a birthday cake
Adding a birthday confetti raining down ever so often, having that around would make it more apparent.
Weather Updates
Overall Statistics
100% recognized that MiniKin was wearing a raincoat.
100% inferred that MiniKin is informing them that it is raining. However, 50% were confused on whether it is trying to tell them it is raining currently or later in the day.
When made aware of what the feature is, 100% feels that the idea of a birthday is clearly communicated, with 66.7% expressing that it is due to the raindrops design on MiniKin’s poncho.
When on the computer, 66.7% still use their phone check the weather, though one interviewee noted that they defer to their computer to look up specifics that are more niche, such as how clouds are moving across the coast, or changes in tide levels.
100% check the weather at least once a day, with 83.3% often doing so before they leave a location.
66.7% found MiniKin’s changing of outfits more helpful than their current method of finding out the current weather. Those that do not think so, cited that this opinion might change if more details are added, with precipitation being the most common detail.
Improvement Suggestions
66.7% requested for clear day indications. The most popular outfit for this request is sunglasses.
66.7% reminded me there are many different types of rain, such as sprinkle, shower, and thunderstorms. Some suggestions to indicate this is to make the gear more specific to the rain type (e.g. rainboots and umbrellas for heavier rain) or changing the size of the raindrops on the poncho.
Perhaps I can incorporate these with animation, such as MiniKin struggling against heavy winds, or changing the iconography on the poncho, such as lightning symbols for stormy weather.
Reveal more details pertaining to the outfit, (e.g. raincoat = show precipitation, windbreaker = show wind speed, sunglasses = UV exposure)
Wellness Checks
Overall Statistics
100% pointed out MiniKin drinking water before I addressed this feature. However, none of them pointed out stretching.
66.7% inferred that MiniKin is reminding them to hydrate. For those that did not, one of the comments were that ‘It doesn’t really tell me anything.’, The other interviewee inferred that it was hot outside.
When made aware of what the feature is, 66.7% feel the intention is clearly communicated. For those that disagreed, their reasons were:
The animation was too short or subtle, and that if they were looking away they would have missed it
The habit of drinking water is not integrated into their daily lifestyle and it would take more working sessions with MiniKin to change their opinion.
When asked if they currently practice hydrating and stretching diligently:
100% practice hydrating habits.
50% specificallyhydrate within the 15 minute to 30 minute window that MiniKin is programmed to perform its wellness checks, which align with the secondary research findings.
33.3% practice stretching habits.
When asked how often they hydrate, the reasons vary, though 5 out of 6 have practiced hydrating based on time throughout the day, while the other interviewee hydrates only when they finish a task. This interviewee is the same person who mentioned that they did not associate the hydration reminder animation with anything.
Based on this discovery, it makes me wonder whether a user has a reduced chance of recognizing an implicit reminder if the activity associated with it is not integrated into their daily lives
In terms of how much water they drink, 16 ounces and 40 ounces were listed numbers by two of the interviewees. ‘I have those big water bottles, a 40 ounce one, I fill it up twice and drink it throughout the day. I fill up the bottle at 9am. By 12.30pm or when I decide to get lunch, I should finish it by then and refill it for the second time.’, one of them said.
Only 1 out of 6 are currently using any apps for these wellness check reminders. When asked why, one reason that stood out to me was that her cats help her remember. ‘My cats, if they're drinking water I'm like ‘Oh yeah, water’. So what's around me, if they are stretching or drinking water I will pay attention.’
Tying back to the how animals establish emotional connection and how virtual pets adapt this into their infrastructure, this interviewee’s cats and MiniKin are similar in helping to improve the daily lives of their owners / users.
5 out of 6 interviewees feel that MiniKin’s wellness check feature would be useful to them, especially the stretching aspect, mainly because they do not practice it often or at all.
Improvement Suggestions
Some of the following suggestions are direct quotes from interviewees.
General:
Having a control panel to set when MiniKin should send out reminders.
Make the animations more noticeable, because it now looks like an idle animation.
Maybe adding sound, like a ‘bloop’.
Have MiniKin hold its reminders for 5 to 10 minutes before giving up, and add this missed reminder to a log for users to refer back to on the times they missed the reminders. If the user notices the reminders, they can click/hover over MiniKin to acknowledge it.
Hydration:
The intent is to encourage, so it should directly engage in the viewer more. Maybe something like him doing a ‘Cheers!’ gesture,raising a glass towards the user and then proceeds to drink water with them.
Having a difference about what beverages he drinks, (e.g during the morning a cup of coffee, and drinking a cup of tea in the late afternoon) to show the passage of time if you are not looking actively at the clock.
There was a trend where there are large cups that basically by a certain time you should have drank to a certain point. Maybe you can do something like that for MiniKin. Like he drinks from a water cooler that depletes throughout the day.
Add an element of anticipation where there could be some sort of animation to indicate that I am getting a little bit thirsty, like maybe have MiniKin ready an empty cup.'
Stretching:
It would be a little nice if there were subtleties like arm or leg stretches, maybe take a quick little stroll.
*NEW* Eating:
I was also thinking I will get so focused and just forget to eat. And there are a lot of people like that, so it’d be nice that literally every 3 hours MiniKin’s just like ‘hmm’ and rubs his tummy (laughs) That would be the most helpful feature for me.
When you are not around a bunch of co-workers who start to leave and go downstairs to get lunch and it's just you in your house it's very easy to forget (to eat).
This was a key insight to me, and made me wonder if MiniKin demographic could be more catered to remote workers, since in-office co-workers act as implicit reminders towards each other.
Bedtime Reminders
Overall Statistics
100% recognized that MiniKin’s action of falling asleep.
5 out 6 inferred that it is a bedtime reminder. The other interviewee inferred it as taking a break.
When made aware of what the feature is, 66.7% feels that the reminder was clearly communicated. For the two interviewees who though otherwise, both their reasons were that MiniKin was still in his poncho and birthday hat. Below are their quotes:
He is still dressed up in his previous gear, wearing a specific gear such as pyjamas, the permanence of him wearing sleepwear would convey that a bit better.
‘Him sleeping wasn't the first thing that came to mind. It took a lot of processing to understand that because the first things I noticed were what he was wearing.’
What was another key insight was, for one interviewee, even though the reminder was clearly communicated, she empathized with MiniKin, saying he ‘looks so uncomfortable with his raincoat on. Having him wear sleepwear gives off a feeling of comfort.’
This display of empathy could be a glimpse of the interviewee establishing a connection with MiniKin.
100% DO NOT employ any methods to remind them to get enough sleep, with two interviewees stating they get so focused working that they did not realize the time flying by, resulting in them sleeping late and not getting enough sleep. As quoted by one of them:
‘Oftentimes I'll be on my computer and I just it's like midnight and I'm like, ‘What the heck? Where did the time go?’ And it would impede my hours of sleep and I would wake up feeling terrible the next day because I have to wake up early. It’s a big issue for me.’
67.7% stated that this feature would be useful for those whose lifestyles involve working on their computers at night. Half of this number are currently practicing such a lifestyle. The other half have lived it but currently do not.
This was another key insight that supplements my earlier deduction that MiniKin’s demographic could be more catered to remote workers, particularly those that work into the night.
Interestingly, two interviewees stated they felt sleepy looking at MiniKin.
(yawns) ‘I wasn't tired coming here (to the interview). Just looking at him sleeping makes me tired. My mirror neurons are strong.’
‘I’m already getting tired looking at him.’
Improvement Suggestions
50% suggested MiniKin wear sleepwear to better communicate its reminder better. Other suggestions include having him sit instead of stand, wearing a night cap and clutching a teddy bear.
Since MiniKin cannot wear two outfits at the same time, I asked these participants on what they would prioritize: Weather, or sleep reminder, during the night. All of them said sleep reminder, with their reasons following the same vein:
‘I think if it's bedtime, you wouldn't be going outside and you wouldn't necessarily be telling someone happy birthday. You'd be going to sleep.’
The inclusion of a tiny snoring noise, or a lullaby sound.
The ability to detect that the user working, such as still clicking on the computer screen, and would get annoyed as he’s trying to sleep or if he is already sleeping he wakes up groggy and yawning, because it is not the best time to be working.
The interviewee who suggested this also mentioned whether there’s a way to track productivity levels during late hours.
General Opinion
Overall Statistics
100% mentioned that MiniKin was cute. With 50% being audibly endearing towards him when describing his behavior to me.
‘He's very cute, I love him.’
This quote got me thinking if cuteness could be another quality that contributes to the establishment of emotional connection between virtual pets and their users. And that the same applies to real-life pets and their owners.
50% suggested color customization options, mainly to match the color of their desktop.
Regarding their favorite feature, the ranking is as follows:
Hydration reminder (3 votes)
Weather update (2 votes)
Bedtime reminder (1 vote)
In terms of MiniKin’s presence, two interviewees suggested making MiniKini movable instead of having him permanently rooted to the bottom right of the taskbar. Another suggestion was to make him minimizable into a small icon in the taskbar, or a way to reduce the space he takes up on the screen.
Two interviewees also suggested being provided more time with MiniKin to assess him better, with one interviewee stating a day of having MiniKin around would yield a more accurate opinion of him.
This suggestion is incredibly useful in deciding how I can conduct future primary research with MiniKin.
One interviewee also muses on being able to pet MiniKin. I did not bring up MiniKin’s petting capabilities during the interview session, so hearing this was heartening.
‘If you can pet MiniKin, I would feel more connected to him.’
