User Researching and App Prototyping: The Doodad Speakers

Contemplating Home Connectivity

I was tasked with tackling a user experience design that revolved around home connectivity. I interviewed 7 people about their home experience to try and suss out a common pain point. I wanted to get some insight into their behavior while relaxing or working at home. Being a former Drum and Bass DJ (Late 90's… to date myself) and avid music seeker, my curiosity naturally leaned towards user’s habits around in-home audio.

Questions:

I started with broad questions like, “what do you do when you get home after a long day?” to get a sense if the user would a good canidate. Then I focused on more pointed questions surrounding audio in the home like, “how do you listen to music at home if you do?”

I affinity mapped my findings multiple times to zoom in on a specific problem. I was initially unable to create a user problem group substantial enough or specific enough. I had to revisit my interviewees more questions to specify the issue.

Success.

The common problem: “I have one fixed location where my music and audio comes from at home. I bring a mobile device or laptop with me to other rooms if I am listening to music there.”

Product Development and Prototyping

My solution to the various pain points is movable multiset speaker. In thinking about a product I kept some key things in mind

• simplicity
• usability
• enjoyment both physical and virtual
• A speaker that is versatile

FEEDBACK

Via peer feedback some I was presented with simple changes that had not dawned on me:

• Volume control for every speaker
• Usability by different household members
• An easier way to Navigate through

This process was enlightening and punctuated the concept that “I am not the user,” and need to input of everyone.

The Product: Doodad Speakers

DOODADS: Speakers that can be placed throughout the house and controlled by a mobile device. It’s basically Sonos for the cost conscious, playful and design savvy. They can be brought in the car, camping, to the beach, etc. They also connect to create one large speaker for those moments when you just need more. Check out the app pop-protoype below:

Note: Only the open mouth and closed mouth controls are live.

Presenting:

An important lesson was learned and some of my points for improvement really became clear to me. I realized that in presenting the information needs to be concise and notes will be my friend. Another realization was that no matter how incredible an idea is, (not that my idea was particularly incredible next to the concepts presented by peers) it needs proper representation or the idea is lost, or can get lost in the fray. Valuable stuff.

A future for Doodads?

I’m currently talking to a few of my design buddies to see if these are feasible. Hopeful? Nah. But having a blast anyway, and the experience alone was invaluable.