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Translating user needs & business requirements into **interaction and visual design**.  The tangible truth of your product experience. 

From _conceptual models_ setting foundation. To _wire-frames_, _mock-ups_, and beyond.  

A user-centered design process allows us to apply ourselves to any design need and Any Experience. 

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Design

For UX, the process of **creating a unique identity** to develop consistent messaging and imagery to communicate what the product stands for and what users can expect. 

The goal is to create a lasting positive impression on users and build product use loyalty. 

Branding

Design reviews are expert and heuristic reviews to identify and prioritize design and usability issues. 

They can identify immediate fixes, define near-term goals, and outline larger projects. 


Design Review

Interaction Design  is designing how users will interact with products, environments, systems, and services. 

It is architecting the flow of giving and receiving information in an experience. 


Interaction Design

A conceptual model is a simplified representation of relationships & hierarchy for a product or service. 

It helps designers think of high level solutions and guide detailed design direction. 

Conceptual Model

Wireframes are low resolution designs to give structure to concept models, but before visual design (e.g., mockups). 

They are used to first assess design concepts in more tangible product format. 


Wire-framing

Visual Design is applying the visual language that connects products to users. 

Rules & syntax, design systems, and overall look-and-feel amplify the interaction design into full product design. 


Visual Design

Motion design augments the visual and interaction design and gives more personality to your product. 

It directs users from one area to another intuitively, attracts attention and tells a story. If done right, it will engage your users from a deeper level.


Motion Design

A time-constrained, structured process for rapid ideation and design with cross-functional groups to work on a specific problem or opportunity. 

Typically conducted in 3-5 days to set a baseline for further user-centered design and development. 

Sprints

Industrial design is the **process of designing and developing products, typically tangible/touchable products** such as consumer goods, medical devices, appliances, and automobiles. 

It involves creating the overall aesthetic and functional design of a product, as well as making sure that it is easy to use, efficient, and easy to manufacture.

Industrial Design

UX prototyping is the process of creating a working model or simulation of a user interface (UI) and user experience. 

It allows testing and iteration on low to high fidelity environments, without the high-cost of full production products.

Prototyping

In a world increasingly differentiated by experiences, we’ve crafted our full UX as a Service approach into a special condensed 6-week package for new experiences and technologies: 1) contextual inquiry, 2) personas & journey maps, and 3) conceptual design.

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Emerging Technologies & "Any Experience"

Interviews are the baseline method for user research. Everything else is a proxy.

They provide deep insights on user behaviors, values, motivations, and desires.


User Interviews

Contextual Inquiry is observing users in natural environments for overall insights on real product use.  

It helps identify challenges beyond hyper-focused design & development. 




Contextual Inquiry

Personas are patterns of insights across user types based on real users.

They are a reference to help make design decisions and keep the user at the center of the design process.


Personas

Journey Maps are timeline visualizations of using a product to help broad understanding. 

They highlight issues & opportunities for key personas across different stages. 


Journey Maps

User research is used to **inform development** (formative) and **measure performance** (summative). 

What are the user (new, existing, and other _personas_) wants & needs? How do they fit with development & business priorities? 

Deeply understanding & measuring the _user journey_ leads to product success. 

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Research

User Test a product early to rapidly validate ideas. Test later to establish benchmarks. Probe uncertainty throughout. 

For any development format: paper, wireframes, mockups, prototypes, and live products.


Usability Testing

Diary studies track users and product use over time. 

They provide a rich insights across a long timeline that otherwise are missed in short design cycles. 


Diary Study

We help teams and organizations become more strategic in implementing UX process and set them up for success. 

We also help business come up with high level product strategy by identifying potential users, key use cases while considering business goals.


Strategy

Rapid sampling of users for demographic and other information to help guide design & development. 

Can be qualitative or quantitative, usually a sampling a relatively larger number of responses that can supplement more involved research. 

Surveys

Workshops are hands-on group sessions. They have many uses to spur design thinking and share knowledge.

Visioning, training, brainstorming, design sprints, project debriefs and more. 


Workshops

Dynamic front-ends illustrate how users interact with the design. Using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and more, we can bridge the gap between design and implementation, rapidly iterate upon our designs based on user feedback, and produce deliverables that can be integrated into your codebase.

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UX Engineering

Workshops empower our clients’ understanding of their users and problem space by deep diving into UX through hands-on ideation, design sprints, and shared knowledge. The process helps bring fledgling ideas to full conceptualization, and deepens understanding of users and goals.

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Interested in becoming a more user centered organization and want experts to get you started? 

EchoUser offers trainings to help teams and organizations learn about and infuse human centered design into their product or service organizations.


Training

# Aligning around a core experience vision

Our first step was to align all of the stakeholders around the product’s vision. It’s common for stakeholders to be on the same page at a general level, but diving a level deeper often exposes subtle, but important misalignments. We facilitated a guiding principles activity with stakeholders to understand each stakeholder’s perspective and drive consensus on the high level design goals. 

# User research, personas, and user stories

With a clear set of  guiding principles, we began the user research phase of the project. The newness of the FlashRay technology created an early challenge with determining the appropriate target audience to study since nobody had actually used this technology en masse. We decided to focus on current NetApp enterprise storage administrators, but focused on where these users’ needs were not being met by their current tools. The primary output of our research involved personas and a prioritized list of user-centric use cases. These served as the basis for our designs as well as usability testing later in the project.

# Transitioning from research to design - conceptual model

The first step of transitioning from research to design involved creating the conceptual model for the new FlashRay experience. An effective conceptual model is critical to creating a usable experience because it serves as the foundation for the design and we expended significant effort working with the FlashRay product team to get it right before moving into more detailed UI design.


![ConceptualModel.png](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Conceptual_Model_3c57f7f379.png)

# Wire-framing, iterative design, and user testing

With the conceptual model defined, we started to generate wireframes. This was a highly iterative process where we worked closely with the FlashRay product team. We employed a process of regularly generating design drafts, reviewing them with the FlashRay team, and updating the designs based on feedback. With each iteration, we increased both the scope and depth of the designs. At strategic points in the process, we also built interactive prototypes to conduct usability tests with target users to also drive design changes.

# Creating the visual design

Another large component of our design effort was to create a look and feel that reflected a specific product personality. NetApp knew they had a groundbreaking product and it was paramount that users would get that impression. In conjunction with the conceptual and wireframe design activities, we applied our branding process to identify and create a look and feel that would capture the FlashRay team’s goals. We held an internal branding workshop to identify the product traits and personality that NetApp wanted from the FlashRay project. We generated moodboards to hone in on the visual style and tone that the NetApp team wanted and then iterated on detailed visual designs to arrive at a specific UI look and feel. After defining an overall visual design direction, we crafted a style guide and library of assets to bring it to life.

![netapp-body3.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/netapp_body3_b6da70dcb1.jpg)

![netapp-body2.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/netapp_body2_30914b789d.jpg)

![netapp-body1.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/netapp_body1_8c8eb780c6.jpg)

# Impact

NetApp was thrilled with the final outcome. They felt it captured the unique power of the new system and would enable the new users of the system to easily and effectively operate it. Even before FlashRay was released, NetApp used prototypes based on the new UI to tout the benefits of their new technology.


Applying a comprehensive user-centered design approach from research to high fidelity design to a highly complex, technical system. 



User Research and Design 

NetApp was building a brand new flash storage solution based on a revolutionary leap in enterprise storage technology performance. This new system, named FlashRay, needed a new user experience that would enable administrator users to fully harness the power of the new technology, so NetApp turned to EchoUser to help them create the new experience. 

In an end-to-end engagement involving foundational user research, conceptual design, iterative UI design based on user testing, and visual branding, we delivered a modern, simple to use, administrator user experience that reflected the game-changing performance of FlashRay.

FlashRay Full-Service UX

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# Powerful and novel, but hard to use

With complex domains, it’s especially important to quickly understand the domain and how the product is supposed to work. We immediately immersed ourselves with key members of Drivescale’s team: the CTO, CPO, and VP of engineering (who essentially built the product), to learn the domain and understand what they felt was most important about their product as well as caused the most concern. Their goals were clear: we need to make this tool way more intuitive and also make it much clearer what value this tool provides.

# The user needs drive a new design

With a clear understanding of the client’s perspectives and goals, we began our user research.  We used a contextual interview approach with current Drivescale users to really understand who used the product and how they used it. Our research changed some basic assumptions about Drivescale’s target users. The team had assumed their personas mapped to functional roles (IT admin, IT manager, and security admin). We found that their personas actually differentiated around experience: new/inexperienced users who rely on the GUI and long term, advanced IT admins who typically create customized scripts that utilize the API. We also learned in more detail which aspects of the user experience consistently caused the most significant pain points. 

# The outcomes - design principles to focus on

Understanding the users’ pain points with the current product directly translated to our design priorities/guiding principles for the next UX: help users get the job done easily, provide a helping hand, and give the users full control. These became the basis for re-imagining the product’s conceptual model, one built around three core functions: creation, monitoring/management, and debugging.

![ConceptualModel.png](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Conceptual_Model_9f466cdf24.png)

# A highly collaborative iterative process

With the conceptual model established, we started iterating designs, starting with low fidelity sketches and evolving into higher and higher fidelity based on constant back and forth with the Drivescale team and several usability walkthroughs with target users. After 20-some iterations, we landed at a complete wireframing of the new design.

![WiresIterations.png](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Wires_Iterations_35f190a1d1.png)

# Adding the polish

Our last step was to add visual polish, to give the UX a professional look and match Drivescale’s existing branding. This also involved several iterations with the stakeholders as we experimented with different approaches around color palettes, fonts, and visual styles. 

![FinalVizcombo.png](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Final_Vizcombo_d81e7f1407.png)

# Impact

Good UX requires real process and startups operate in an environment requiring results “yesterday.” In this challenging environment, we successfully applied our user-centered design approach to Drivescale’s complex problem space to provide a UX that optimized for simplicity and power.


Creating a powerful and intuitive design for a highly technical and novel management tool.

Power and Flexibility through UX

**The Challenge:** Drivescale, a Silicon Valley startup specializing in composable infrastructure (since acquired by Twitter), was concerned that the user experience of their product was too difficult to use and prevented users from fully recognizing the product’s power.  Drivescale came to us to create a user experience that would not only be intuitive, but also reflect the power and flexibility of their product. In a three month timeframe, we applied lean UX research techniques to quickly learn about their users, reimagine their UX, and create a brand new product user experience. 


Drivescale Composable Infrastructure

# A successful product starts with an aligned team

As we dug into the team’s vision for this new product, we realized that fully aligning all of the stakeholders' individual visions would be critical. As such, we opened the project with a guiding principles workshop to get all stakeholders’ aspirations, goals, and concerns out in the open. We then translated the vision that came out of that workshop into a set of concrete guiding principles that would guide our activities going forward.

![mighty-alignment.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/mighty_alignment_1471ad7839.jpg)

# New features to entice new users, but outstanding portfolio management for all

With a clear set of guiding principles, we conducted an extensive contextual inquiry study to learn about VC users. Observing and interviewing dozens of VCs revealed two main findings: 1)  a need to design new product functionality for specific user groups; and, 2) a common need across all user groups to streamline their portfolio management experience.

# Iterating the design into a final product 

Together with the Mighty team, we modeled a new vision for the product, starting with a conceptual framework and iterating through increasingly higher fidelity wireframes. We created a prototype of the new vision and a testing protocol to validate it. After two rounds of usability testing, we had confirmation of the revised information architecture and feature set, a product roadmap for Mighty’s development team, and a list of beta testers eager for access to this revolutionary new tool they had just seen.

![mighty-wires.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/mighty_wires_c818142ead.jpg)

![mighty-finalmock.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/mighty_finalmock_2335c2f30a.jpg)

# Impact

EchoUser delivered production-ready designs for short, medium, and long-term product timelines, effectively realizing the Mighty vision to create  an end-to-end VC workflow platform that seamlessly brought together investment & dealflow management


End-to-end user research and design to create a first-in-its class product for managing venture capital.


Start-up Fintech Design

Aware of the growing divide between established VC offices and younger, tech-savvy investors, the Mighty team reached out to EchoUser to evolve their home-grown VC investment management tool into a fully formed product that would meet the needs of the industry at large. In a three month timeframe, we conducted a full user-centered design process to drive the creation of a new product that embraced its VC roots while also looking ahead to support the needs of new users. 


Mighty: Investment Management

# Introduction: AGU's Vision for GeoLEAD

The American Geophysical Union (AGU) has a vision for a new web portal called GeoLEAD, which aims to provide professional guidance to students in the geosciences to help them transition into the workforce. The portal will offer career advice, job-seeking methods, and interview preparation all in one encompassing platform. However, AGU lacked a clear understanding of what traits employers valued most in recent graduates and how recent graduates could increase their chances of getting hired in the geosciences field.

![agu-body1.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/agu_body1_a90a328c9d.jpg)

# Approach: Research Strategy and Tactical Plan

To develop GeoLEAD, AGU turned to EchoUser for help in conducting research with target students and employers to discover the key commonalities, discrepancies, and turning-points in the hiring process, and to identify ideal candidate qualities across various sub-industries.

EchoUser worked with AGU to develop a research strategy and tactical plan based on the direction provided by AGU. The initial framework called for interviews of 20 recent graduates and 20 employers, but it was soon discovered that graduate participants were unable to provide adequate insights into the hiring and job searching process. Consequently, the research efforts were refocused on employers who had distinct preferences and insights to offer regarding the types of graduates they hire and what makes their candidacy stand out.

![agu-body2.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/agu_body2_4d951fefd6.jpg)

Over the span of three weeks, EchoUser conducted in-person and remote interviews with 21 employer participants and three graduate participants, parsing data for valuable insights that could inform the design and functional composition of GeoLEAD. Through these interviews, EchoUser was able to both quantify and qualify the most important traits to employers, which were compiled into an “ideal candidate persona” and presented to AGU along with the bulk of the research findings.

# Impact: Evidence-Based Resource for Students

AGU was pleased with the research findings to the extent that they called for a second round of research. EchoUser formatted and provided an alternate version of the findings presentation as a deliverable for AGU management to use and present internally.

With these key insights, AGU will be able to offer an evidence-backed resource to students and speak to them from a position of expertise and credibility, helping students improve their candidacy for professional roles in the geosciences field. The success of the GeoLEAD platform will be almost solely reliant on accuracy and evidence-based solutions, making the research conducted by EchoUser crucial to its development.

Overall, EchoUser not only provided key UX deliverables but also enabled AGU’s UX team to conduct research, design assets, and achieve more visibility within the company.


Understanding specific user needs and flows to establish a new career services platform.


Research & Product Strategy

AGU is creating GeoLEAD, a web portal to offer professional guidance to geoscience students for a smooth transition into the workforce. GeoLEAD would provide career advice, job-seeking methods, and interview preparation in one platform. AGU enlisted EchoUser to conduct research on the traits employers value most in recent graduates and how to increase the chances of being hired. 


GeoLEAD: Career Services for Geoscience Graduates 

# Introduction

**Home is a place where we are with our loved ones**, where we feel warm and secure. Among many different staple household activities, having food at home ties closely with these fundamental needs. This is why people love preparing and cooking food at home. However, many of us inevitably end up wasting the food we don’t use. Remember the last time you found spoiled fruit or vegetables in the back of your fridge that’s been there forever? Yeah, it happens to all of us. We may feel bad as we toss out the spoiled food, but it still happens over and over.  

To increase the user adoption of our proposed solutions, they need to be easy to use and fit different types of homes and lifestyles. After all, not many people want to transform their houses into a sci-fi movie set.

# Approach  

To identify problem spaces, we interviewed 15 people who shop and cook food regularly across age groups, household types, technology comforts and shopping habits. Surprisingly, regardless of people’s unique needs and situations, there were some common themes in wasting food at home.  

![got-food-body1.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/got_food_body1_cd7d9ac0b1.jpg)

For example, many people forget what they have in their fridges, pantries or garages. As a result, the food goes bad in the dark without anyone noticing. And for those who do remember there are expiring foods to be used, they often lack the time or inspiration to cook meals at home.  

Guided by our research findings, we defined a set of principles to inform our design decisions. To make people’s lives easier and ultimately, reduce food waste at home, we wanted our solution to fit different types of lifestyles, increase the visibility of the food at home, and inspire people to cook more.  

![got-food-body2.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/got_food_body2_88c6c721d7.jpg)

# Impact  

A mobile solution “Got Food?” was created first as a way to address changing contexts. There are four components of the app:  

- Inventory shows people what they have at home 
- Shopping List lets people add shopping items and suggests what to get based on their inventory 
- Recipes encourages people to make the most use of their inventory 
- Analytics helps increase people’s awareness of their food consumption and waste.  

![got-food-body3.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/got_food_body3_ca1c227733.jpg)

However, considering our defined principles, a mobile app shouldn’t be the only answer to the problems we were trying to solve. After all, the most intuitive way to check what you have in the fridge is to open the fridge.  

After several rounds of ideation, we made use of an everyday object, a fridge magnet, to surface food information, allow direct manipulation, and encourage collaboration among family members. It’s also perfect for the less tech-savvy.  

![GotFood_Featured.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Got_Food_Featured_b7d962197e.jpg)

Engaging tangible mobile experiences to design a smart food tracker, helping people reduce food waste.


EchoUser Labs

Do you hate throwing away spoiled food? EchoUser interviewed 15 people to identify common problems and create a mobile solution called "Got Food?" with inventory, shopping list, recipe, and analytics features. But they didn't stop there - they also developed a fridge magnet to help reduce food waste and encourage collaboration among family members. Now, you can save your food and have fun doing it!


Got Food?

# Approach  

The _EchoUser UX as a Service_ model allows us to be flexible, allocating time and resources to different areas of focus as priorities shift and opportunities for development arise. We began our engagement with a Discovery Month to immerse our team in the vision, product, and context necessary to distinguish the experience Gooru wanted to create. This helped us map out the ongoing UX work over the coming months and plan ahead.  

![gooru-body1.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/gooru_body1_ffb8413b3c.jpg)

In early research stages, we facilitated a discovery workshop to determine what key emotional drivers — or “Guiding Principles” — lay behind all things Gooru. Identifying these key pieces would help anchor future designs to consistent holistic experiences. We conducted a short design sprint to further comprehend how the Gooru development process works and determine how best to incorporate a UX process.  

We identified key UX priorities with adjustable timelines over the subsequent months, but our UXaaS model allowed for ad hoc changes in UX support as needed. In one example, we had focused on designing features for the Back to School release in September 2014, which paved the way for more opportunities to interact with teachers and educators. We took the opportunity to conduct a Design Jam workshop with teachers, educators, Gooru team members, and EchoUser designers to brainstorm and design ideas for new features and concepts to further support students.  

![gooru-body2.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/gooru_body2_104c0b1877.jpg)

The full conceptualization of the product, supported by rounds of comprehensive research, revealed the need for an extensive redesign. Our team was faced with an overhaul of the entire experience, the first step being to deeply understand the current experience. This process kicked off with an “expert review” of the existing user interface, in which we evaluated aspects of the product that did and didn’t work. We conducted further research to understand the needs of both user groups, and developed personas to inform the design process.  

EchoUser created several low fidelity concepts for the new Gooru 3.0, and — with the help of the Gooru team — iterated upon the designs to reach a concept we felt would best support the users. Once a direction was established, the EchoUser team procured higher fidelity wireframes, and extensive user testing began to validate the refined concepts.  

# Impact  

EchoUser set the stage for Gooru to release a new version of their product each year. EchoUser continued after this foundational project on wire-framing, user testing, and additional visual design advancements.  

![gooru-body3.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/gooru_body3_daf02320e2.jpg)


Creating a space in which both teachers and students can seamlessly browse and share resources.


Full Service Design & Research

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Gooru’s mission is to **honor and preserve the human right to education**. To achieve their goal of making educational tools more accessible, Gooru is building a free personalized learning solution that helps teachers find, remix, and share collections of web resources for any K-12 curriculum. The nonprofit had the knowledge, relationships, and experience to drive this endeavor, but sought a partner to focus on bringing top-notch user experiences to both students and teachers. Initially, EchoUser helped design pieces of the experience; eventually, the team decided to overhaul all of Gooru’s offerings from the ground up, with the challenge of making the experience resonate for two very different users: teachers and students. 


Gooru Education Experiences

# Approach  

We kicked off the project by guiding our student mentees to conduct individual interviews in order to learn about the values, needs, and pain points of those who attend music events. We helped them prepare their discussion manuals and coached them on honing strategies for collecting high quality data.  

Once the students completed 15 interviews, we then facilitated a workshop to uncover meaning and patterns from the data they collected. After affinity diagramming their interview findings, we introduced them to methods for creating personas and journey maps.  

As we identified spectra that were represented across the interview participants, the students learned to tease apart behavioral differences and de-prioritize demographic differences. After the workshop, the students continued using the methodologies they learned to construct and digitize two personas and each of their journeys.  

![rave-body2.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/rave_body2_5948cbb030.jpg)

![rave-body3.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/rave_body3_c5d42c5495.jpg)

These artifacts were used throughout the second workshop, which focused on concept ideation and prototyping. Using a range of techniques, we led our mentees through multiple cycles of idea generation and convergence.  

After sketching out about 40 high-level concepts, they collectively chose the idea with the most potential to address the problem that they wished to resolve. From there, the students began prototyping their concept with various materials.  

![rave-body4.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/rave_body4_ad466c7d83.jpg)

# Impact  

After several rounds of iteration, the students presented Trovi. It’s a wearable tracking device that guides you to find members of your group by using arrows as a navigational compass, blinking when you’re within 30 feet.  

It’s low tech and lightweight so users don’t have to worry about internet connection or having another bulky device to carry around. Trovi improves the music experience by enabling friends to separate and reconnect as they wish without the fear of getting lost.  

The students created a physical prototype that aligned with their designs and communicated their design solution through a storyboard and poster, and wrapped up the project with a presentation at the EchoUser office in San Francisco.  

We were excited and proud to see the students showcase their strengths in absorbing and executing a range of methods, creating a solution, and communicating both process and outcome.  

![rave-body1.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/rave_body1_ea4c475562.jpg)


Collaboration with Berkeley Innovation undergraduate team to ideate, iterate, and prototype concept designs.


Rave Experience

EchoUser partnered with Berkeley Innovation to mentor a group of five undergraduate students on a design project — from problem selection to prototyping. Our goals were to enhance their understanding of the design process, improve their research and design skills, and support them in producing a project for their portfolios.  

The students decided to explore the music festival experience and ultimately refined their scope to the problem of finding friends who get lost at these live events.


The Festival Experience

# Approach  

During the initial discovery month, we conducted a series of thorough interviews to collect insights from current and potential users. Afterward, we supplemented these observations by performing an expert analysis. Translating data into practical and apprised information, we then channeled our critical findings into our areas of focus: user experience, retention, and journeys.  

## Establishing a Framework  

Our team had compiled enough information and constructed a deep enough understanding of Linkagoal’s product, target users, and problem areas to blueprint the framework that would guide the overall redesign. Insights derived from the expert analysis and user interviews informed the creation of specific architectural site components, allowing us to piece the site together on a high level.  

## Redesigning Linkagoal  

During the course of the redesign, the primary framework gave us a foundation upon which to link core objects on the site that correspond to key elements of the user experience. With this high level overview, we began to work on goals, which are the user’s core site interaction, and progressed to other key areas — the dashboard, profile, and explore page — strengthening the flow and experiential relationship between each. These improved underlying structural elements would provide a cohesive base for the Linkagoal community to share and achieve.  

We began this phase of development with conceptual wireframes, collaborating frequently and consistently between the EchoUser team as well as the Linkagoal team. After rapidly iterating our designs into medium fidelity wireframes, we then proceeded to take a number of these designs into lightweight usability testing to enhance our mockups based on user findings.  

A few iterations and another round of user testing later, we were ready to progress into high fidelity wireframes.  

![linkagoal-body1.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/linkagoal_body1_a432037538.jpg)

![linkagoal-body2.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/linkagoal_body2_866c555f0e.jpg)


Redefining the experience of a unique social network made for creating, sharing, and achieving goals.


Linkagoal is a social network where users can compose and share their personal goals while communally supporting other users to achieve their own. EchoUser was tasked with creating a more complete and engaging experience using the framework and principles of the existing product. Over the duration of seven total months, we worked with Linkagoal on a complete design overhaul for both mobile and desktop user experiences. 


Linkagoal: Redesigning for a Digital Community

# Introduction: Zuli's Mission

Zuli, formerly known as Brightblu, is a San Francisco-based startup that aims to make home automation accessible to any smartphone user through their Smartplug. The Smartplug allows smartphone owners to control standard outlets through Bluetooth, enabling users to turn anything on and off from the touch of a screen. EchoUser was tasked with designing Zuli's iOS app, end-to-end, from user research to wireframes and testing, on to high fidelity mockups and prototypes.

# Approach: Understanding User Needs with User Interviews

To understand user needs, we conducted customer research and interviews to discover what users wanted in the app. From these interviews, we identified key features such as control of lights and electronics on a room-by-room basis and a way to monitor energy usage. In this unique case, the hardware informed some of the product's more unique features, such as dimming and turning on or off based on proximity. We collaborated with Zuli's engineers to match technological capabilities with the needs of customers.

# App Design and Information Architecture

Using the results of the research phase, we devised an information architecture that mapped the application to a user's understanding of the system. We divided the app into sections such as Setup, Energy Usage Tracking, Profiles, Home Screen, Device Settings, and Space Settings. Working with Zuli's developers, we were able to bring a fully functioning app to life that encompassed the complexity of users' needs while maintaining a simple interface and user flow.

# Impact: Delivering a Unique User Experience

After several iterations, we finalized the designs for the Zuli app, a new multi-faceted product that would control the Smartplugs, monitor energy, and allow users to "set-it-and-forget-it." To provide a different and fun user experience, we added unique gestures such as a long press on the home screen to open the dimmer (if applicable) and a swipe to the left to confirm.

![zuli_body2_2.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/zuli_body2_2_b3ada272e1.jpg)

![zuli_body1_2.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/zuli_body1_2_b859b7cad5.jpg)

Our collaboration with Zuli resulted in an iOS app that not only met but exceeded the expectations of the company and its users. With its simple interface and powerful capabilities, the Zuli app delivered a unique user experience that made home automation accessible to any smartphone user.


Designing an app simple enough for any user type while retaining enough capabilities to satisfy power-users. 


Zuli, a San Francisco-based startup, tasked EchoUser with designing their iOS app for their Smartplug, which allows smartphone users to control standard outlets via Bluetooth. Through user research and collaboration with Zuli's engineers, we created a fully functioning app with unique gestures and a simple interface that exceeded expectations. The Zuli app delivers a unique user experience that makes home automation accessible to any smartphone user.


Zuli Smartplugs Design

streamline-icon-hierarchy-5.svg

NetApp FlashRay Design

Full UX research and design, and branding

# Approach 

Data without context is difficult to interpret, so we proposed the following: a multi-month user research activity focused on in-person ride-a-longs to collect human, personal sentiments regarding the transportation system and its use. 

We deployed our researchers to accompany BART riders on their daily commutes and ask targeted questions. While placing ourselves within the live environment of the rider, we were able to capture more honest and accurate responses from participants, and pick up on the sentiments that charged their answers. 

Dozens of user experience issues were identified and observed over the many ride-alongs. Riders’ top issues included cleanliness, safety, transferring, cost, and timeliness of trains. While riders care about the basics, time and money spent, they cared more about what contributed to the ride as a whole, or in other words, the trip experience. 

![bart-body1.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/bart_body1_61d3986534.jpg)

Many BART cars are originals, dating from when system was first inducted in the 1960s.

![bart-body2.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/bart_body2_a50acde7bb.jpg)

The interior hasn't changed much since. 

# Impact 

By the conclusion of our engagement, we discovered that BART and AC Transit riders are a tolerant, resilient bunch. Not only is BART experience more than riding the train itself, but a process that includes taking the BART, a bus, a taxi, and even walking to get from one destination to the next. 

While we uncovered pain points regarding the rider experience, the transit experience is encapsulated by the many facets of getting to and from any destination, including those outside of simply being on a train. We reported these quantitative and qualitative findings back to BART management to help them better understand and cater towards their dedicated riders.

Identifying pain points in the transit experience by riding alongside Bay Area passengers on their daily commutes. 


Transit Experience

BART and AC Transit had thousands of data points from their survey teams on the “rider experience.” However, they needed help extracting information from fields of data. EchoUser partnered with the BART to add a human perspective to the rider experience challenge. 


Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART)

Tendril is a cloud-based software platform that provides the infrastructure and analytics required to deliver personalized energy services. The company already had clear marketing segments, but wanted to understand true user behavior when it came to home energy usage. They wanted EchoUser to help them create defendable, research-based personas that could be used for future feature development.  

![tendril-body1.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/tendril_body1_f170840380.jpg)

# Approach  

We conducted over 20 remote and in-person interviews across the US to gain better insights into the behavior of people around energy efficiency. This involved visiting users in their homes to observe and interpret their energy-related habits. From this massive amount of qualitative and quantitative data, we created personas to represent archetype users in terms of attitudes, motivations, and behaviors concerning their energy usage.  

# Impact  

After conducting numerous interviews, we delivered our findings — particularly the spectra of behavior — in the form of personas. The personas we developed helped to ground internal and external design and business discussions, and ensured that decisions were based on real user stories, needs, and behaviors.  

![tendril-body2.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/tendril_body2_346d2a6f21.jpg)

![CMBPortfolio2020_Tendril-Website-Hero.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/CMB_Portfolio2020_Tendril_Website_Hero_324d8a1b8f.jpg)


Conducting contextual interviews to create personas that help an energy company understand their users. 


EchoUser helped a Tendril, and energy cloud company, create research-based personas for future feature development by conducting over 20 interviews to understand users' behavior in home energy usage. The personas ensured decisions were based on real user stories, needs, and behaviors, grounding design and business discussions.


Tendril User Research

# Approach  

To help Threadflip better understand their target users, we conducted interviews, online surveys, and field observations by attending and participating in actual clothes swapping events.  

We conducted six in-depth interviews and several more informal interviews drawing from several sources ranging from in-person clothing swap attendees to online clothing swappers and sellers.  

![threadflip-body3.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/threadflip_body3_f8b5d72e8e.jpg)

We also circulated a web survey asking San Francisco women if they had clothes they didn’t wear and how they shopped for or swapped clothing. Nearly all of the 350+ respondents had bought clothes online, and 90% had swapped clothes with friends and family. We asked the respondents to describe an item of clothing they didn’t wear and analyzed their answers for common themes.  

Our research findings ultimately helped inform our conceptual designs for the Threadflip website.  

# Impact  

Through our research, we found that effectively translating the clothes shopping and swapping experience from the offline to the online world is the key to Threadflip’s success. In particular, our targeted methodologies helped them drive their new startup to perfectly understand that crucial user experience.  

![threadflip-body4.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/threadflip_body4_d6d11cd8d2.jpg)


With the help of our rapid-fire user research and visual design, Threadflip brings the unique, real-life shopping experience online. 


Research & Visual Design

Prior to their acquisition by Le Tote, Threadflip was an online marketplace for people to easily swap clothes and accessories. When Threadflip was still a young startup, the company approached us with two UX challenges: find out how women swap clothes offline, then discover what women’s needs were when that experience is transformed into an online setting. 


Threadflip Fashion Marketplace

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# Approach  

Our primary goal was to assess the game’s first-time experience. We focused our assessment on studying the Badland’s appeal, leading us to analyze and evaluate what engages players and causes them to return to the game, pay money to continue playing, or conversely repel them from playing the game, at all.  

We conducted quick participant interviews to gain insight and contextualize their relationship with casual gaming, investigating broad topics such as what types of games they like to play as well as when and how often they take the time to play them. Next, we ran a usability test that began with the user discovering the game on the App Store. This allowed us to assess the participants’ experience regarding the game’s presentation and online description before downloading it. The test then proceeded with the user moving into actual gameplay, concluding with a retrospective evaluation of the gaming experience.  

![badland-body1.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/badland_body1_b774c69332.jpg)

# Impact  

Through our research, we gained specific insights into the aspects of Badland’s gameplay that increased participant retention and the likelihood of users to play the game on a long-term basis — for example, beyond the first 5-15 minutes of initial play. These insights helped diagnose specific design improvements that would improve the first-time game experience for new users, and ensured the maintenance of the aspects of gameplay that already contribute to the participants’ positive experiences.  

At a higher level, this study represents the early steps into identifying the key factors that game designers should focus on to optimize the casual gamer’s experience. 


Diving into the world of mobile gaming to identify what about first-time UX makes gamers come back for more. 


Gaming Experience

Digital gaming is a massive space teeming with its own unique set of user experience challenges. The EchoUser team was specifically interested in the casual gaming experience and focused on assessing the first-time gameplay experience “stickiness” of the mobile phone and tablet game, Badland. Our objective was to discover what makes players stick to the game as time progresses, as well as to correlate user experiences to how successful the game is in the competitive gaming market. 


Badland - Mobile Gaming Experience

# Approach

To address Nordeus' requirements, we proposed conducting a heuristic evaluation. This method allows for the rapid identification of usability issues within a user interface by having experts assess the product against established heuristic principles.

# Heuristic Review

Heuristic reviews offer timely and cost-effective feedback for designers at any stage of the design process. Although this concept has been utilized predominantly in software design for nearly three decades, we adapted it for video game evaluation.

We customized standard heuristics to assess games by examining existing literature and developing our own set tailored to gaming elements. Our heuristics resemble Nielsen's but incorporate considerations specific to gaming.

# Focus Areas

We focused on identifying areas where gaming elements were either absent or inappropriate, such as: the presence of an engaging background story, the balance between guidance and player independence, and whether the game becomes repetitive over time. If so, we sought to understand the underlying mechanics causing this repetition.

![nordeus-hero.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/nordeus_hero_072e934be8.jpg)

# Our Process

Six usability experts participated in our heuristic review. They played the game for one to two hours, taking individual notes on usability and playability. We then consolidated their feedback, assigned severity rankings to the identified issues, and provided Nordeus with a prioritized list of areas to address in the Spellsouls redesign.

# Conclusion and Recommendations

We concluded the project by delivering a comprehensive findings deck. This presentation detailed our process, usability insights, identified issues, prioritization, and recommendations for Nordeus to consider as they continued with Spellsouls' design and development. By applying a modified heuristic review to the gaming experience, we gained valuable qualitative insights that will not only inform future iterations of the Spellsouls mobile game but also guide the development of new gameplay and narratives for Nordeus' upcoming products.

![nordeus_body4.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/nordeus_body4_3f1c44ac12.jpg)


Customized heuristics and usability testing to enhance the gaming experience.


Nordeus Game Usability

[Nordeus](https://nordeus.com) is an award-winning independent mobile game developer, with 160 employees based in Belgrade and international offices in London and Dublin. Their mobile game, [Top Eleven](https://nordeus.com/games/top-eleven/), is the one of the most successful online sports games ever made, boasting over 140 million registered users.  

We teamed up with Nordeus to conduct heuristic reviews and user research on their new game, [Spellsouls](https://nordeus.com/games/spellsouls/), to discover opportunities for gameplay improvement. 


Gaming Heuristics & Usability

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# The design system as a means to harmonize design and engineering

Besides enabling a consistent user experience across TriNet’s products, we wanted the new design system to improve how designers collaborated with engineers. The inconsistent, contradictory style guides had helped to break down the design-engineering collaboration and encouraged engineers to work independently of the design team. Our work on the new design system would therefore require winning over the engineering team by showing that the design system would also benefit them by making their own jobs easier and improving the quality of their output.

# A multi-faceted approach to untangle the maze

Untangling the mishmash of style guides required a purposeful, multi-pronged approach. The first step was to decide on a foundational design system that would serve as the basis for the new design system. We conducted a brief competitive analysis of existing design systems, and along with the TriNet design team, concluded that Material Design should be the basis for the new design system.

At the same time, we completed a detailed audit of all of the existing internal Trinet style guides. We identified what the style guides actually covered, where there were overlaps, where there were contradictions within overlaps, and where the style guides had gaps in coverage for TriNet’s existing products. 

Finally, we began creating the new design system. This involved re-skinning the applicable existing Material Design elements into the TriNet look and feel. We resolved the UI contradictions specified in the previous style guides by determining the preferred design and rendering it in the Material Design/TriNet style. And finally, we created new UI designs for design elements that weren’t covered by previous TriNet style guides or Material Design.

# Collaboration as a key to acceptance

There were a lot of interested stakeholders as the design system would be affecting all of TriNet’s products. We worked directly with the designers, product owners, and engineers  from as many of the product areas as possible. We created a cadence to review and iterate key design decisions with all of the stakeholders to ensure their concerns and needs were accounted for in the final designs. 

# A unified design system put to use, immediately

We successfully created a useful design system that would serve the existing TriNet products as well as new products and functionality in their pipeline. The VP of engineering was so happy with the new design system that he mandated that going forward, the engineering team would be required to use the design system immediately. 

![trinet_ds_body.png](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/trinet_ds_body_dab25a768c.png)

We unified multiple design guides and patterns into a single design system to serve as the single source of truth for the TriNet product family.


Setting a unified design framework

TriNet asked EchoUser to create a unified design system to support its design and engineering teams. At the time, TriNet had multiple internal style guides, created by different entities and at different times. They were inconsistent, overlapped coverage in some areas, and didn’t have coverage in other areas. The style guides’ ineffectiveness caused the engineering teams to ignore them and create their own custom UI elements without regard to what others were doing elsewhere. As a result, TriNet’s products suffered from numerous UI inconsistencies that compromised the platform’s usability. 


TriNet  - Design System

Design System

As a small startup ready for its second round of funding, Stitcher wasn’t a stranger to numbers and analytics data. However, the team was having trouble understanding what made someone switch from casual to habitual user, and why new user churn numbers seemed a little high. Stitcher enlisted EchoUser’s help to solve this challenge.  

# Approach  

Considering the two distinct user types we were given, we decided to take a multi-pronged approach. The first component was RITE (rapid iterative testing and evaluation) usability testing on the existing iOS application with both entirely new users and a handful of power users. This would highlight usability trends across the two groups to be tackled in the next design sprint, while the iterative nature of the testing would allow for design advances in between sessions.  

For the second component, we enlisted six new users in a diary study activity over the course of a month, with the intention of shedding light on why new users might or might not revisit and use the Stitcher app more consistently over time.  

![stitcher-body3.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/stitcher_body3_a3ec214f1f.jpg)

# Impact  

Catering to the needs of two distinct user groups can be tough, but over the four total weeks of testing as well as the diary study, a number of problem areas surfaced that applied to both groups. These issues aren’t unique to Stitcher, and can provide focus when designing for multiple user types, ranging from content discovery to multi-tasking, transit challenges and so on. Ultimately, the EchoUser team helped guide Stitcher to provide users with every possible chance to have their own personal “A-ha!” moment.  

![stitcher-body4.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/stitcher_body4_30d6b956a6.jpg)


Iteratively mining for the”A-ha!” moment, the key point where a user goes from casual to habitual. 


The RITE Method for Internet Radio

Stitcher’s challenge was to improve the overall first-time user experience (FTUX) of the Stitcher iOS application without alienating their existing user base. 


Stitcher Iterative Test & Design

streamline-icon-notes-diary.svg

A **comprehensive user-centered design philosophy and process** across every stage of product development. 

Craft a deep understanding of the user, context, and interaction design with the product and service. 

robot.svg

Full-Service

# Understanding the what and then the why

Informatica’s data analytics showed not only the low percentage of users who converted, but when in the process most trial users dropped off - downloading an agent and successfully accomplishing a ‘task.’ With an understanding of  “what” was happening, we dove into understanding the “why” by conducting 1:1 interviews with trial users who had both converted to paid and those who had not.

![Informatica_CloudConvert_Data2.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Informatica_Cloud_Convert_Data2_8ffb273e06.jpg)

# We found multiple distinct personas

After talking to users, we uncovered three unique personas that used the Informatica Cloud trial: an IT expert at a large company, a developer at a small organization, and a business analyst at a medium-sized company. More importantly, each persona’s experience was relatively distinct. The developer and business analyst personas experienced similar challenges in the earliest stages of the trial that served as substantial blockers to continuing on. They differed with the success path - when the business analyst persona was able to get past the earliest stages, they typically went on to becoming a paid user. The developer persona, on the other hand, continued to experience frustration with other aspects, even after progressing through the early stage challenges. The IT expert persona, contrary to other personas, tended to have a positive experience throughout the entire process.

![Informatica_CloudConvert_personas(transparent).png](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Informatica_Cloud_Convert_personas_transparent_2b413038fc.png)

We illustrated key differences between each persona’s experience by creating persona-specific journey maps as well as a single combined journey map that juxtaposed all three personas’ experiences. This really highlighted the differences effectively, showing how different phases of the trial created different pain points for different personas. 

![Informatica_CloudConvert_combojourney.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Informatica_Cloud_Convert_combojourney_7bb0f2a3f9.jpg)

# Analyzing the current experience

With a deeper understanding of the personas’ experiences, we conducted a detailed heuristic analysis of the current product. This enabled us to identify existing UI issues that could be fixed in the short term.

![Informatica_CloudConvert_heuristics.png](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Informatica_Cloud_Convert_heuristics_8b566762b8.png)

# Design directions going forward

To really improve the UX, however, we needed to come up with a deeper  re-thinking and redesign of the onboarding experience. We ultimately came up with four distinct design approaches to improve the trial experience, each optimizing for different combinations of needs. With four potential design directions and a much richer understanding of their potential target users, we left Informatica with promising avenues to greatly improve their trial experience.

![Informatica_CloudConvert_wires.png](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Informatica_Cloud_Convert_wires_a74a9f8336.png)


Journey maps and heuristic analysis led to three personas and four design approaches to enrich an onboarding experience.

Research, Evaluation and Design

Informatica Cloud used a free trial model to allow potential customers to try out its full functionality with the hopes that a substantial portion would convert to full paying users. However, most did not convert to paid usage. Informatica came to EchoUser to help them understand why users weren’t converting and find ways to change the initial trial experience to increase conversions.


Informatica Cloud Conversion

Heuristic Design

# Approach  

EchoUser collaborated with the Varian team for a year-long project to develop, pilot, and implement an FDA-compliant, rigorous, repeatable process to measure, diagnose, classify, and report on the use safety and experience of its medical products. Our goal was to assess how well-designed, productive, and safe the interfaces were for conducting tasks. To achieve this, we utilized benchmark usability tests to evaluate the product’s level of usability and use safety.

![varian-body1.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/varian_body1_9d2bc82099.jpg)

Our team conducted the pilot on the TrueBeam radiotherapy machine, which is used to treat cancer by delivering targeted radiation to cancerous cells with pinpoint accuracy. This complex imaging system encompasses both hardware and software, and both patient and operator considerations. We tested the process from start to finish on a large, highly complex, and safety-critical system.

![varian-body2.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/varian_body2_1dfa58ee9c.jpg)

During the usability tests, we tested both current and potential users with possible scenarios to gauge their perceptions of the device’s current safety. The test results helped us identify areas for improvement as well as areas that performed beyond expectations.

# Outcome  

We categorized research measures across four basic Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to determine the product’s effectiveness, use safety, efficiency, and satisfaction. We used this testing methodology and measurement classification to evaluate the TrueBeam machine's usability, and identified areas that needed improvement and areas that exceeded expectations.

Our usability testing process helped Varian enhance the safety and usability of their products, improve patient experience, and maintain compliance with regulatory requirements. Through our partnership with the Varian team, we were able to provide valuable insights that helped them create safer, more effective products for cancer patients.



We defined and validated a rigorous and systematic testing methodology utilizing real technicians, which was key to finding and mitigating sources of human error. 


Standardizing Varian FDA Testing 

Varian Medical Systems was facing new FDA requirements for safety and usability human factors testing for all medical devices and software. EchoUser was tasked to develop a new process for testing medical devices and piloted this process through usability tests on the new version of Varian’s TrueBeam radiation cancer treatment machine. 

The methodology that EchoUser developed became standardized for testing a wide range of medical devices and software across Varian. 



Varian TrueBeam: Human Factors Benchmarking

# Approach  

Our investigation of dual monitor usage was comprised of two studies. The first examined a cross-section of roles in common office tasks, such as document editing, emailing, and web browsing. The second study examined specific roles in more intense, domain-specific activities, like programming, technical writing, and project management. These tests were designed to procure an inclusive, insightful results from a diverse range of activities performed using two monitors.  

# Impact  

Overall, productivity benefits were generally found across conditions; however, the results and implications were far more intricate than was assumed based on previously published studies and industry articles.  

_First_, based on individual usability scales and questionnaire results, there was an overwhelming amount of evidence that users preferred two monitors to one.  

_Second_, workload results showed a clear pattern of improved information processing, as using two monitors allowed users to significantly increase the amount of information they could process over one monitor.  

_Lastly_, time savings, the main hypothesis, showed that complex tasks, whether generic office tasks or role-specific, showed large reductions in time when using two monitors. Simpler tasks, however, did not. Most importantly to Cisco, “core” roles like developers showed dramatic time-savings in their main tasks.  

![cisco-dual-body1.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/cisco_dual_body1_960b74a131.jpg)

Ultimately, we discovered a clear advantage to using two monitors. Cursory calculations of savings were striking — conservative estimations of time-savings across the number of developers (approximately 10,000 at the time of the studies) and their time on certain tasks showed a possible real dollar savings of $56 million. Even for Cisco, that is a lot of savings.


Saving Cisco millions of dollars by proving that dual monitor usage is more efficient and cost-effective. 


Summative Study

Cisco saw the **potential to save millions** by increasing worker productivity by implementing one small change — but was the urban legend of dual monitor use true? Did two monitors really improve productivity, or did employees just want more stuff? Cisco approached EchoUser to help them quantify performance advantages of using two monitors instead of one, and whether this could lead to cost savings. 


Cisco Dual Monitor Productivity

Interdisciplinary service around psychology, engineering, industrial design, and anthropology to design and evaluate products, systems, and environments. 

Utilizes more rigorous methodology and experimental design to investigate deeper problems. 

science-brain.svg

Human Factors

## Context 

RoboSystems approached us to help build a social robot, a type of product that aligns with assistant-like home devices. You may have heard of other home robotic devices in this burgeoning field, such as Kuri and Jibo. 

RoboSystems wanted to take social robots to the next step by building something entirely new to consumer market — robotic pets. 

Our client highlighted a user group for an original concept: people who would like to own a pet, but due to certain circumstances (e.g. confined apartment space, work schedule, allergies) cannot own or care for a pet. Our partners at RoboSystems were committed to pursuing the “feel” of the product, emphasizing the need of the device to communicate emotionally with users, albeit in a non-traditional way — much like how a domesticated animal might with its owner. 

The concept of the robotic pet soon evolved into that of a social robot that can provide assistant functionality in line with those of Alexa and Google Home, but with a major focus on media and camera capabilities. Needless to say, we decided to jump straight into user research to see what pieces of this venture most resonated with target users. 

The original product concept began as a robotic “pet,” but user research soon evolved and matured our initial product concepts into a robotic assistant. We took these concepts and created high fidelity mockups to inspire and guide the product’s industrial design and development. 

![robocam-body1.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/robocam_body1_634b961baf.jpg)

## Research 

In our research sprint, we had to determine several key factors: What value do real pets bring into people’s lives? Is the concept of a robotic pet concept appealing? Is this something people would want? 

We focused on understanding what value people place on their pets, and distilled it down from there. 

After conducting market research and user interviews, our findings revealed greater opportunities in the interactive assistant space. We pivoted from the idea of a roboticized version of a traditional, domestic pet to a vision that combines the concept of a companion with a media assistant, a robot that offers the same companionship as a pet, but with a heavier focus on social medial, camera technology, and other media functionalities. 

Other concepts that emerged included a robotic nurse, robotic butler, Star Wars-esque robot companion, organic characters. However, contemporary research demonstrates that most individuals are afraid of humanoid robots. 

The pivot emerged from user research after interviews validated the concept of a robotic assistant, with many audience members resonating with the idea of an Alexa-meets-media product. They expressed an interest and need for a product that can organize things, take information from the Internet, take pictures of them and their family, follow them around, and so on. 

From there, we conducted competitive research, reconciled our design options with industry standards and user needs & expectations, and then shifted into the design phase. 

## Design 

We ultimately decided to take an abstract design approach, molding the original, lively pet concept into something more docile, and comparable to a Roomba. However, our goal was to combine that abstraction with emotion, affection, and social interaction — veering back to the original functionalities of a pet. 

Sherry Turkle, MIT professor and renowned social sciences researcher, led studies on social interactions with technology with a focus on realism and how much of it is required for people to have a connection with robots. Her published research revealed that the key to connection lies in interaction — as soon as something is “living,” or moving around, an abstract form is more appealing due to the lowered user expectations. Instead of a human-like, animatronic robot, a successful product would be abstract and non-threatening. 

Both research and design standards support the idea of simple forms to lower expectations, and that it’s not necessary — or even a good thing — to design an interactive product exactly after the real-world character it’s trying to emulate. 

![robocam-body2.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/robocam_body2_ad72d71770.jpg)

Concept design of RoboCam 

Leveraging Turkle’s findings and existing robotic design standards, we added companion qualities and “personality;” for example, the appearance of going to sleep with battery decline. With our designs, the robot welcomes you home, has friendly interactions and reactions to users, and overall still has qualities that individuals love in their pets. 
![robocam-body3.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/robocam_body3_b909b7b4d8.jpg)

RoboCam emoji design 

Our interaction designs were driven by key values users have towards their real pets: physical engagement, communication, constant proximity, playfulness, understanding, welcoming & cheering up, family and security. We believe that these offerings of companionship, built into an abstract and approachable industrial design, will resonate with users as reminiscent of a pet, but manifested as a new and original product. 

![robocam-body4.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/robocam_body4_2f26e5fff8.jpg)

Designing a robotic device that merges the concepts of a home assistant with a pet-like companion.


Industrial Design & Robotics

Designing a robotic device that merges the concepts of a home assistant with a pet-like companion. 

We delivered interaction and industrial design concepts for RoboCam, showing the client how to embody what a social robot pet should look like, how it should behave and interact with users, and how users would realistically interact with them. 

RoboCam: The Social Robot

design-tool-compass.svg

RoboCam

# Introduction

[NSF International](https://www.nsf.org/) is a nonprofit organization renowned for its product testing and certification services. Their expertise lies in ensuring brands' compliance with the World Anti-Doping Association (WADA) guidelines by putting them through stringent certification testing protocols. NSF approached EchoUser to revamp their NSF Certified for Sport mobile app, which provides users with a searchable database of certified products, including dietary supplements, protein powders, vitamins, energy drinks, sleeping pills, and other performance enhancers.

The NSF Certified for Sport app serves various end users, including national sports teams, dietitians, professional athletes, and high school football players. EchoUser's primary goal was to significantly redesign the iOS app to enhance its search functionality and user-friendliness while incorporating key features to improve the overall search process.

# User Research

Our first step was to conduct eight preliminary user interviews over two weeks to gain insights into the real needs of NSF for Sport app users and how they use the app to fulfill those needs. Based on these interviews, we developed three lightweight personas and invalidated some of our initial assumptions about user requirements.

For instance, we believed that athletes and dietitians would be interested in a new app feature to track their supplement intake over time. However, the actual users we interviewed indicated that while they do monitor blood, urine, and their overall routine, they were not interested in tracking supplements or logging detailed dietary information in an app.

![nsf-body3.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/nsf_body3_6ff8c6362a.jpg)

# Collaborative Workshop

After several weeks of interviews and conceptual designs, we conducted a day-long workshop with NSF at their headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The client team engaged in paper prototyping to ideate and test concepts on each other. The paper prototyping exercise provided valuable insights even before diving into the intricate details of a full design sprint.

The workshop enabled both teams to discover feasible solutions within technical constraints and helped clarify NSF's expectations for their app redesign. Additionally, it established a sense of ownership for NSF stakeholders over the final product designs that emerged from the workshop.

# New Features

Based on the use cases identified during our preliminary research, we devised three critical functionalities to incorporate into the next version of the NSF for Sport iOS app:

**Use Case 1**: A user has a product in hand and wants to verify its certification by searching the database.

_New Feature_: We integrated a scanning function that allows users to scan the product's barcode, and the app indicates whether the product is NSF for Sport certified or not.

![nsf-body1.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/nsf_body1_37914f453a.jpg)

**Use Case 2**: A user wants to type in a product name and view the results.

_New Feature_: We introduced "Power Search," a functionality similar to Spotify, which suggests products and auto-populates the results section based on the user's input. This feature provides relevant categories, brands, and other related information as the user types.

**Use Case 3**: A user wants to search for a product based on its intended use rather than its name, such as a certified sleep aid.

_New Feature_: We developed a "Browse" function to facilitate goal-oriented searches. This feature allows users to navigate through categories and subcategories to find certified products that meet their specific needs.

![nsf-body2.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/nsf_body2_83fe024618.jpg)

# Outcomes and Impact

We were mindful of the technical limitations of the existing database, much of which was created and categorized manually. The EchoUser team opted to design the ideal version of the app first, even if some components would only be implemented in subsequent releases (v2, v3, etc.). This approach ensured that users would eventually receive the features they needed, albeit in future updates.

One significant challenge we encountered was catering to NSF's diverse user base. We aimed to be as inclusive as possible, considering users ranging from professional athletes to parents purchasing supplements for their high school athletes.

In the end, we successfully simplified the NSF for Sport iOS app by enhancing existing user flows and introducing new ones to ensure a seamless and satisfying user experience. As part of our EchoUser UX as a Service engagement with NSF, we continued to collaborate up until the product's launch on the App Store. Our efforts resulted in an improved, user-friendly app that caters to a wide range of users, making it easier for them to find and verify certified products in line with their specific needs and preferences.


Overhauling an iOS app used by prominent sporting associations, doctors & dietitians, and amateur athletes.


Mobile Database Redesign

EchoUser partnered with NSF International to redesign their Certified for Sport mobile app, creating a more user-friendly experience. Through comprehensive user research and collaborative workshops, we developed innovative features like barcode scanning, "Power Search," and goal-oriented browsing. Our efforts resulted in an enhanced app that simplifies the search process for a diverse user base, ensuring easy access to certified performance-enhancing products.


NSF Certified for Sport

# Challenge

Castlight is a healthcare portal that helps employees make better healthcare decisions, such as finding a healthcare provider. EchoUser was brought in to improve on various sections on the site to drive user engagement and retention.  

Rewards Program  

At the time, the Rewards Program lacked recurring feedback to keep users motivated enough to return and earn points. Additionally, there were usability issues that impeded the performance of the program, such as clarifying the concept of how the points are converted to HSA dollars.  

First-Time User Experience (FTUX)  

At first, site design that catered to first-time users was limited. Employees were led into a colossal system without clear instructions or context. As a result, the site experienced a high dropout rate from users who did not understand its value.

![castlight-body1.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/castlight_body1_24abecf023.jpg)

# Approach  

Since the design of the first-time UX (FTUX) could impact many parts of the site, we involved relevant stakeholders early in the process to utilize their feedback. We started with a design jam with the Castlight team, a brainstorming session for different specialists to share their perspectives, conceptualize possible solutions, and establish one promising direction for the designer to move forward with.  

After exploring and assessing the advantages and disadvantages of each FTUX model, we honed on an unobtrusive, flexible approach, which was intended to give users contextual instructions without getting in their way as they navigated the site. We then worked with developers to create an interactive prototype in the real-app environment.  

![castlight-body2.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/castlight_body2_3c3778ee08.jpg)

# Impact  

The final usability test for the Rewards Program suggested that both “ease of understanding the concept” and “ease of taking actions” received positive response from users (5.67 and 6 respectively on a scale of 1-7; 1 being the hardest and 7 being the easiest). We then corrected further minor issues and worked with the developer to create production-ready specs and assets.  

Ongoing efforts will be to validate more concepts via A/B testing to enhance the users’ motivation of revisiting the Rewards Program. With regard towards first-time UX, we’ll also continue to validate the design through rounds of usability tests.  

![castlight-body3.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/castlight_body3_d931621fea.jpg)


Redesigning Castlight’s Employee Rewards Program for higher user engagement and increased user retention.


User retention

EchoUser helped healthcare portal Castlight improve user engagement and retention by addressing issues with their Rewards Program and first-time user experience. By involving stakeholders and utilizing feedback, EchoUser created an effective approach for FTUX resulting in positive user responses to the Rewards Program, and ongoing efforts include validating concepts through testing.


Castlight Health

# Approach  

The EchoUser team first delved into the current Pulse product, working closely with the Pulse team to understand key functionalities of the tool, as well as the company’s vision for Orchestrator. This enabled us to identify the most critical tasks the new tool needed to support: the creation and management of device configurations.  

![pulse-secure-body1.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/pulse_secure_body1_aaacfbf0eb.jpg)

We also found that the creation of configurations in Pulse was one of the biggest sources of customer complaints. With this knowledge, we decided to focus our efforts on designing configuration functionality and the overall Orchestrator framework.  

# Impact  

We applied an iterative approach — procuring design concepts and reviewing them with the product team and in-the-field users if the Pulse tool, and then implementing changes based on feedback while continuously increasing the scope and fidelity of the design wireframes. To ensure that all progress aligned with the Pulse team’s vision and development objectives, we maintained a collaborative and communicative relationship throughout.


Narrowing the focus of the redesign project down to pain points for higher product impact. 


Pulse Secure had begun to lay out development plans for Orchestrator, a software solution derived from their current product. Instead of mimicking the design of the existing Pulse product, the Pulse Secure team wanted to rethink the UX of Orchestrator from the ground up in order to significantly improve the product’s usability. 


Pulse Secure: Orchestrator Design

# Approach  

Our biggest challenge was this: normal people don’t “speak API.” As such, the existing UI — essentially an API with a skin — needed to be redesigned and re-architected. User research activities and a comprehensive iterative design process led to a product designed to deliver powerful IaaS functionality in a user-friendly package.  

First, we conducted over 12 user interviews and workshops to delve into user behavior and identify key user flows. We then translated our findings into a new product experience. A home screen provided much-needed context to novice and expert users of the complex app. We also provided complex JSON files with a visual face to help more novice users manage intricate cloud operations.  

![nimbula-body2.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/nimbula_body2_953d69a381.jpg)

# Impact  

At the end of the engagement, we delivered comprehensive research findings, as well as detailed wireframes and visual mockups that communicated how the redesigned product should look and function — and within a year, Nimbula was acquired by cloud computing giant Oracle.  

![nimbula-body1.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/nimbula_body1_c93870bfe8.jpg)


We set out to create a user-friendly interface to deliver the powerful functionality of IaaS. 


Prior to their acquisition by Oracle, Nimbula was an “Infrastructure as a Service” (IaaS) company that provided the tools for other companies to create and manage their own cloud services. They were faced with an intricate problem: how could they make their product intuitive enough for normal developers and cloud service end users without concealing its technical prowess? To solve this challenge, EchoUser conducted an end-to-end product redesign, from user research, to wireframes and testing, to pixel perfect mockups. 


Nimbula Cloud Services Research & Design

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<highlight class="quote">

><quote></quote>
>_The real value in working with EchoUser was the team transformation that they helped ignite, directing all of us on the path of UX maturity within the company_ – Design team member, Guidewire.

</highlight>

# Approach 

We kicked off this project with a presentation to 100 internal stakeholders from more than 20 product teams to introduce personas: What are they? When, why, and how do you use them? This was the first of many initiatives that aimed to both educate diverse stakeholders and build organization-wide engagement in the persona project. 

Given the high volume of personas to produce, limited user research resources, and comprehensive internal expert knowledge, we started by creating provisional personas across nine products by interviewing industry analysts, product managers, and other knowledgeable stakeholders. Recognizing that this expert-driven approach relies primarily on assumptions about users, we developed a strategy for Guidewire’s 12-person UX team to validate the personas with customers over time. 

Through our conversations with stakeholders we picked the highest priority personas and implemented two research studies to understand small business policyholders as well as personal lines (home & auto) policyholders. For each study, one in California and the other in Dublin, Ireland, we designed a highly collaborative approach that included a four-day analysis workshop with product teams and several show-and-tell sessions with key decision makers from product and marketing. 

![guidewire-body1.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/guidewire_body1_b4e5737a59.jpg)

By making the persona and journey map development process transparent and visible, we were able to accomplish the following goals: 

- Build empathy for users 

- Train the UX team in research methodologies 

- Demonstrate the value of UX 

- Gain organizational buy-in 

 

After creating the small business policyholder personas, we crafted and executed a strategy to familiarize cross-functional teams with the personas and teach them how to use them. 

We partnered with UX and Product Management teams to conduct four persona launch events in three countries, targeting an audience of engineers, quality assurance, UX designers, product managers, administrators, and industry analysts. For the 70-person launch in Foster City, we co-presented with the lead product manager to gain cross-functional buy-in and trained the UX team to moderate the break-out groups to build their skills and promote their role as UX leaders. All 20 personas were printed and displayed around Guidewire offices for teams to use in everyday conversations as they make decisions that impact users. 

![guidewire-body2.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/guidewire_body2_fc07435055.jpg)

# Impact 

At the end of this 10-month project the UX team was more engaged, collaborative, and skillful at showing and promoting the value of UX across the broader organization. Achieving higher UX maturity has enabled Guidewire to better understand their users and design better products that target their needs. 

The UX team demonstrated growth by adopting new UX practices and leading research initiatives: 

- After moderating the persona launch workshop, many noted a renewed enthusiasm and engagement from working more collaboratively and trying out new methods. They continued the shift from individual to collaborative working styles afterwards, posting their work on the wall to enhance visibility. The team owned their role in promoting the voice of users. They commonly shared stories of helping to resolve design dilemmas by asking what would work best for the persona. 


- A few UX leaders emerged, taking action to spread of value of UX throughout the organization. They started presenting their work to broad, internal audiences and became more active contributors on product teams. Specifically, they started asking more questions, sharing their perspectives, and challenging teams to define the problem before coming up with solutions. 

- They demonstrated an improved understanding of fundamental research concepts by transforming unplanned user observations into intentional interactions. They started to define research goals, create moderator guides, synthesize findings, and share what they learned with others. UX designers put their persona and journey mapping skills to practice, initiating research studies and producing artifacts and insights to inform product decisions. 

 

C-level executives and cross-functional teams demonstrated support for persona adoption and promoted a user-centered design approach to product development: 

- One product team became aware of incorrect assumptions about users and redesigned their product to align with research findings. 

- Another product team decided to expand their product offering to target a different persona and address their unmet needs.

- One Product Manager showed a shift in her thinking about users as she acted out one of the personas that her product targets in a presentation to internal stakeholders.

- The UX team accessed funding to hire their first full-time user researcher. 

- The Chief Product Officer presented our persona and journey mapping work to internal stakeholders to set expectations for adoption, and to external prospects and customers (insurers) to illustrate Guidewire’s user-centered approach. Several customers reached out to learn more from the UX team, positioning them as educators and mentors on user experience within the insurance industry. Our flexible team was able to evolve the scope of the project to address Guidewire’s needs. 

 

We delivered high fidelity personas and journey maps, but more importantly, we increased UX visibility throughout the company, enabling the broader organization to understand and drive knowledge surrounding their user base and how their products are being used. 

We’re glad to have contributed to Guidewire’s changed perception of what UX can do and what a dedicated UX team is capable of.

Transforming corporate culture with UX awareness and training, teaching strategy and persona creation for ongoing design and new business endeavors.


Persona Development

Guidewire, a company delivering property and casualty insurance software to hundreds of user types globally, approached EchoUser to create personas to deepen empathy for their diverse user base. Initially, the company lacked a clear, shared understanding of their users' behaviors, motivations, and needs, hindering their goal of defining and supporting specific user journeys. EchoUser's three-month engagement expanded to 10 months, supporting organizational adoption of the personas and enabling Guidewire's UX team to conduct research, design assets, and increase visibility within the company.
