Source: Electrek
UX Research Consultant
As one of the first 20 employees at Rivian, my role as a strategic and UX designer involved planning and executing ethnographic research to draw insight through observation, immersion, and interview.
Through this methodology, we were able to inform design decisions, prove or disprove assumptions, validate our decisions, and most importantly, understanding the underlying goals, decisions, wants and needs of our consumers.
The end goal was to construct a design framework for vehicle attributes, and create a viable user experience within a shared ecosystem.
We spent 3 weeks
Our research locations consisted of these three cities: Malibu, Portland, Seattle.
These are just a handful of Research Methodologies we utilized during our excursions.
These were the most robust
Observation
By immersing ourselves in the context of the environment, we were able to observe the ways in which people and various artifacts (i.e. kite surf, wet gear, coolers etc.) interfaced with their vehicles. Can a vehicle have specific modules for very specific types of activities?
Intercept Interviews
An unplanned at-the-moment interview was a natural way to talk to Jim, a camper and mountain biker. Within this encounter, we were given the chance to observe the way in which he mounted his bike onto his car.
Extreme User Interviews
Interviews with Extreme Users gave us context of family camping and the diversity of supplies needed for a one week stay. This was one of our only family oriented interviews but provided deep insight into the physical attributes a vehicle needed for a comfortable family trip.
Mobile Diaries
I became acquainted with Sophia, a van camper and blogger, who was traveling across the country in her modified Eurovan. We conversed through email and I followed her Instagram account. Her social media was a great way to capture her activities, emotions, and self reflection within the context of her environment.
Competitive Analysis
We evaluated existing offerings to evaluate features, functions, and performance that work for the user in mind. Howard explained why he would never give up his Element because it was easy to clean and pull the seats back, while stowing his surfboard securely.
Contextual Inquiry
Visiting Hillary and Adam at their home gave us an insider's view of their user experience in loading and unloading bulky paddle boards. Through interviews, we also had an understanding of their mindset, values, habits, cleanliness, and lifestyle.
Expert Interviews
Alex, a second generation Subaru driver and extreme car camper, provided an in-depth review of his vehicle and all its specifications. Although he loves his vehicle, he spoke of its limitations and possibilities of improvements.
Design Probes
The sharing economy takes many forms, including bicycles. We wanted to understand the user experience journey of Seattle's City bike share program, from kiosk interface, riding the bicycle in self, helmet rentals, to returning. Was their kiosk easy to use? What were the challenges?
POEMS Framework
The POEMS framework (people, objects, environment, messages, services) was a great way to immerse ourselves in the cultural context of Portland. What did the people care about? How did they get to and from the market? What were other modes of transportation?
Storytelling
By getting Steve to tell us stories about his surf group, he also told us stories about the camaraderie and respect within the surf culture. How they share, trade, and trust each other to the point they didn't feel the need to secure their vehicles. We were able to understand how surf culture translated into their vehicles.
Surveys & Questionnaires
Surveys were a quick, yet effective way to get as much input as possible. They were handed out in person and participants were given as much time needed to fill in their opinions. Although this is not as in depth compared to other methodologies, it provides a general scan of the project scope.
Ideation Methodologies + Content Analysis
Unfortunately I cannot divulge specific information about Project A. However, I would like to touch upon the Ideation Methodologies used to make sense of all the data.
Generative Research
Our research team consisted of an interdisciplinary group of people including Engineers, Transportation Designers, Finance, and Strategists. Having diverse perspectives lent to aggravating multiple viewpoints and identifying potential areas of interest.
Stakeholder Matrix
Our research helped us identify various stakeholders throughout the ecosystem. We identified their goals, incentives, and concerns depending on circumstances and challenges.
Personas
We took distinctive behaviors and attributes and interpreted them into personas to help guide scenarios.
Scenario Planning + Storyboarding
By focusing on a persona, we established key events and task flows within the system and illustrated possible scenarios.
Contextual Groupings
Since our research was so broad, we narrowed our focus to themed groupings. Above is an example of themes we noticed over and over again which helped define design principles and guide solutions.
Design Principles
Principles were reflective of our user group as well as the culture of the company. What our user demographic found important, so did we. Thus, we created guidelines for our principles to manifest consistently through messaging and branding.
Brainstorm Sessions
Throughout the iterative process, we continuously held brainstorm sessions to further define Personas, Scenarios, Business models, design capabilities, and principles. We held sessions between teammates of varied disciplines to extract atypical ideas.
