Strategizing Human-Centered Robotics
Developing a user-centered business strategy for a Japanese Robotics Company
Please Note: The finer details of this work (including the name of the client) have been withheld due to an NDA agreement
Diary study
In-depth Interviews
The Methods
The Impact
The research was presented to the CEO and Founder of the client and helped them identify a launch strategy for the US market .
I was awarded a “Doing-Great-Things” award, which is an internal recognition given to Blink employees for going above and beyond in their work.
My Role
User Experience Researcher
Principal UX Researcher
Project Manager
Product Manager (Client)
Engineering Lead (Client)
Collaborators
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The Problem
Our client was a Japanese robotics company looking to understand user needs and challenges of employees in retail, healthcare, and hospitality industries to fine-tune their product and business strategy for the US market.
Research objective
The client wanted us to understand the physical challenges faced by employees in the retail, healthcare, and hospitality space. They also wanted us to research the concerns folks would have with robots in their workspace.
Methods
We conducted a diary study and in-depth interviews with retail, healthcare, and hospitality employees.
Why I chose these methods:
We wanted to learn about the physical dimensions of employee workspaces and uncover vivid employee stories of challenges they faced at work. A short diary study before getting into interviews allowed us to achieve these goals and have some background information to probe further in the in-depth interviews.
Key Takeaway
We found that most employees complained about being short-staffed and would therefore welcome assistance with exacerbated physical challenges. We also uncovered several interesting findings about employee preferences for robot design and concerns regarding job security.
Impact
Our research was presented to the CEO and Founder of the company, who appreciated us bringing a user-centered lens to their product vision, being primarily an engineering-led company.
On a personal front, I was awarded a “Doing-Great-Things” award, which is an internal recognition given to Blink employees for going above and beyond in their work.
Challenges
Difficulty in recruiting employees from niche industries. We had to work closely with different vendors and carefully survey recruitment pools to make sure we got the right people in our study.