Enhancing Home Office experience by building a new product — Design Thinking Project
Beginning of my UX Journey:
Hi, I’m Naveen, a Jr Analyst turned as a full-time UX Design learner. My journey in UX design began from the UX Design Kickstarter workshop as well as UX mastery course conducted by Growth School under the mentorship of Mr. Anudeep Ayyagari.
Link below to the Design Thinking Project file 👇
This is a Design Thinking project. The 5 phases of Design Thinking are:
The ultimate goal of this Design Thinking project is to empathizing with the users, analyzing the root problems/gaps in their user experience, finding solutions for their problems, prototyping the solutions, testing the solutions with the users to get feedbacks, re-iterating the process and enhancing the user experience
In this project, several groups of 7 people each were allocated. Each of us in the group were allocated to pick any one problem topic area in their house and start working on that to make the user’s experience better with their respective problem areas.
And from the options given, I’ve chosen my topic area as Home Office.
Based on the research, I’ve found that after this Covid issue, work from home has become a serious situation and it also became a convenient way to work from their comfort zone for most of the employees. Keeping that in mind, I’ve started my Design Thinking project.
1. Empathize Stage:
Here comes the 1st part of this Design Thinking project, which is Empathize stage.
Empathizing is an ability to get more insights from the users by analyzing the user’s perspectives and digging deeper into the Root of their problems.
Always EXPECT the UNEXPECTED.
In this stage, we need to interview our own group members in a 1v1 call (who are actually meant to be our users) to find out the nature of their usage and the problems they’re facing with the respective areas. But before getting our hands dirty on this project, the most important thing which we should always remember is that You ≠ User.
It felt new to me as this is my first interview which I’m conducting with the users. But I had enough confidence in framing my questions well. I’ve conducted the interview in a conversational manner, so that the users felt much more comfortable with me sharing their thoughts and answers.
I’ve framed my questions in a conversational manner and those questions can be customizable for some users if needed based on the situation. My questions were listed below,
1. The first part begins with the introduction about the user, knowing some basic stuff about the user like their name, age, occupation, etc,.
2. Do you have a separate and suitable space like an Office in your home for your office work?
2a. If yes, what are all the things / features your home office has?
2b. If not, what are all your thoughts / ideas of creating your own home office, if you’re planning to build one?
3. Why do you prefer working at a workspace in your home instead of working at your office?
4. How comfortably are you able to maintain an easy work-life balance?
4a. What are all the stuff in your home office that makes you to maintain a healthy work-life balance?
4b. What are all the things that you think which will make your work-life easy from working at your own home office?
5. While working from your home office, how often do you take breaks?
5a. During your break time, how much do you feel comfortable while resting in your home office?
5b. In what are all the ways and what are all the things in your home office makes you to feel comfortable and spend some refreshing times while taking rest in your breaktime?
6. Other than you, who are all the people visit and use your home office?
6a. What are all the purposes of them to use your home office ?
6b. And, what are all the things / products that makes those people feel comfortable to relax , wait , discuss in your home office?
7. What are all the differences between working from office and working from your home office in your point of view and which environment do you prefer to work from and why?
8. What are all the struggles you’re facing while working from your home office instead of working from your office environment?
9. What are all the things you like the most in your home office and why?
10. What are all the things you dislike the most in your home office and why?
With these questions, I went forward and conducted the 1v1 call (interview) with the users.
After getting some answers from the users, I’ve got some valuable insights.
2. Define Stage:
This is the 2nd Stage of this project and in this stage, the task is to only concentrate on defining the user’s problems instead of coming up with the solutions.
If you don’t define the root problem, you’ll never reach a valuable solution.
- Jacob Lew
I dig deeper into the user’s problems which I’ve got from the interview, which itself leads to the root cause of their problems.
Here is the list of problems which I’ve got from the user interview,
Reasons for Why those problems are important for the users:
Finding the reasons for the WHY type questions is a more important factor in UX Designing to get insights of the root problems.
3. Ideate Stage:
In this stage, after getting the insights from the users, we should come up with various solutions which solve the user’s problems with the respective area.
For this stage, I’ve used the technique called “Crazy 8 Technique”, which is we should push ourselves to the extreme level to come up with 8 different ideas / solutions in 8 minutes for each problem and that's the thing I’ve implemented in my Ideate stage to get more solutions for various problems of the users.
Here is the list of my ideas / solutions:
1. Not having a comfortable and well-organized work table.
- Having a table with a wheel base will be easy to change the position of the table anytime easily.
- Placing a switch / toggle which helps to increase or decrease the height of the table.
- Having multiple attached drawers with more storage space will help the user to place more accessories, stationaries, etc. in it and will also help to keep the top surface of the table clean and neat.
- Having a fan at the backside of the table which exhausts the heat produced by the laptop and desktops.
2. Lack of good lighting and ventilation.
- Having huge sized windows or multiple windows helps in good lighting and ventilation.
- Having an smart AC and temperature-controlled fans will keep the room cool and also helps in reducing the heat produced by the laptops, etc.
- Having color temperature-controlled lights around the room will provide good lighting in the night times and the color of the lights can also be customizable as per the user’s wish.
- Having a temperature-controlled fan with air purifier is highly helpful for good air flow around the room with purified air for the user.
3. Can’t access more products easily.
- Placing important things within reachable distance.
- Setting up the office table in the center of the home office, where the important products are all around the user will be easily accessible.
4. Not having a comfortable chair for working comfortably.
- A well comfortable chair with a wheel base to move around easily.
- A fully adjustable powered chair like height, recline, incline, adjustable head rest and arm rest, etc,.
- A powered chair (with ventilated seats and power adjustment) with attached laptop stand.
- A powered chair with massage function which keeps the user comfortable whenever they need a massage.
5. Distractions like noise from outside, opening & closing windows often for lighting and ventilation, opening & closing doors often for allowing others to enter and use their home office.
- Can install sound-proofing walls all around the room to reduce the noise.
- Having a device which produces PINK NOISE, which is helpful for producing an even sound with less distraction.
- Installing sound proof Windows and Doors helps to reduce the outdoor noise.
- Having a Switch in the user’s desk to automatically open and close the doors and windows to avoid distractions like opening & closing the doors manually all the time.
6. Poor internet connectivity
- Having a Wi-Fi range extender (like an additional modem) can help to solve the internet connectivity issues.
- Placing the Wi-Fi modem near the outside view from the window can help to experience good internet connectivity without any disruptions.
- Placing the Wi-Fi modem in the home office instead of placing it anywhere else in the home, to get uninterrupted internet connectivity.
7. Not having a reminder-like product, which often reminds them to take breaks, reminds them of some important events, relax themselves, also to make the users concentrate on their healthy lifestyle, etc.
- Having a reminder-like product on the home office table is really helpful to remind you of each and every important event and break times which you never want to miss at any cost.
- Using a separate smart reminder like product instead of using mobile phone’s reminder or alarm will definitely be helpful to not get distracted by using mobile phone for long time while the user is in the working hours.
- Having an alarm clock as a reminder.
- Can use smart watches which constantly motivate the user to complete tasks, taking breaks for lunch, water, snacks, relaxation. And can also be used to monitor our health, etc.
8. Not having a separate table, chair, couch for others who visit and uses the home office as well as the user to sit & relax, for discussing something, to work, etc,.
- Having additional things like chair, table, couch, etc,. for others who can relax, wait, discuss or even the user themself can spend their break time, shift their laptops for a change of position, etc,.
- A multipurpose table which offers multiple functions like using it as a full fletched table, folding it and using it as a coffee table, etc.
- 2 cushion chairs attached themselves like a sofa unit for relaxation, spending break time, sitting and working, etc. Can be splitted up into 2 chair units.
9. Not having more storage spaces for storing products like mouse, pen drives, books, cables, indoor plants, stationary items, etc.
- Having an office table with more drawers to place most important things, which is also easily accessible.
- Having more racks set up in the home office helps to place all the things in one place so that more space will be saved.
- Having a moveable storage drawer which can be easily portable anywhere easily.
10. Home offices with small work spaces look congested & it is difficult for users to arrange more things and have tension-free work.
- Can build a home office with enough space to place everything.
- Having space saving features like cupboards, shelves, etc,. Where we can accommodate most of the things and can save space.
- Having only the important things inside the home office instead of having lots of products which the user uses rarely will definitely save more space even if it is a small room.
11. Not having an entertainment system for joyful working.
- Having a TV with home theater setup will be helpful for the user to relax themselves by watching movies, videos and even listening to music while the user is in their breaktime or even in their work time.
- Having a smart assistant device like Amazon Alexa, Google home, etc. in the home office table will be easily accessible by the user and can listen to music / any audios whenever they want.
- Having some entertainment products like puzzles, rubic cube, etc. It is very helpful in relaxing the user’s mind by getting rid of mobile phones and computers for some time.
12. Not able to easily clean the home office often.
- Having a robot vacuum cleaner which automatically cleans the floors even if the user is working in the home office. It's also a time-saving factor for the user.
- Having self-cleaning products which automatically clean themselves will make our work easy for cleaning the room
- Having dust filters all around the room will filter the dust which enters into the room and keeps the room clean.
13. The harsher lighting from the windows in the afternoon makes the room heat up quickly.
- Having windows coated with cooling sheets reduces the harsh sunlight and heat that enters into the room.
- Installing cool roof tiles & wall tiles inside the walls and roofs will prevent the heat which enters the room and it’ll always keep the room cool.
- Having an AC or an Air cooler near the working table will reduce the heat for the user as well as for the laptop, accessories, etc.
Now, out of these ideas, I should pick out my top 3 ideas,
My Top 3 Ideas:
- 💡 Placing a switch / toggle which helps to increase or decrease the height of the table - While working from the home office, most of the user won’t feel comfortable of the height of the working table. By implementing this idea, the user feels much more comfortable to work with their laptop/computer in a convenient height.
- 💡 A powered electric chair (with ventilated seats and power adjustment) with attached laptop stand - A comfortable chair is a Mandatory thing while working. For that, the chair with ventilated seats provides good air conditioning for the back and bottom rest of the user & the multiple memory functions let the users to set their favorite and comfortable position of the chair whenever they want. So that the user can work comfortably for long hours. And the chair attached to a laptop stand lets the user keep the laptop on the stand and work from anywhere comfortably.
- 💡 2 cushion chairs attached themselves like a sofa unit - Resting and relaxing are the major factors for the user who works for long hours. For that having 2 or more cushion chairs can be used to sit and relax in breaktime & can be used as sofa unit to lie down for taking rest and sleep. Those sofa unit setups can also be used to work for a change of position while working.
4. Prototype Stage:
Prototyping is a stage where we can able to build our idea into actual presentation.
For this stage, finally I’ve selected one of my top 3 ideas for prototyping.
I’ve chosen Idea - 2 for prototyping,
💡 A powered electric chair (with ventilated seats and power adjustment) with attached laptop stand: -
Reasons for WHY I’ve chosen to prototype a chair :
Most of the users face discomforts with their chair and also the users work in their home office for long hours sitting in the same place. So, I’ve finally decided to build a Fully functional electric powered chair for the users to work comfortably for several hours without any discomfort.
My inspirational Board:
This is the overall look of the prototype chair from all sides: -
A few example pictures (not exact images) of how the chair looks like:
About the prototype: -
I wanted to build a feature loaded and fully powered electric chair for the user's comfort and practicality.
Most of this chair’s features were inspired by high-end cars which offer those comfortable and premium features. So, the quality and functionality of this chair will be at a premium level.
This is an electric chair with 2 large capacity in-built batteries for enough power supply, placed inside the bottom bay/container of the chair. It has a unique charging port which supports fast charging and it’s also highly capable of lasting long for a day easily.
I’ve also placed a highly capable smooth motorized setup inside the bottom bay for power adjustment functionalities.
With the help of the motorized setup, the chair comes with power adjustable seats for smooth inclining and reclining functions with minimum effort.
The chair contains ventilation functions with temperature control for bottom and back rest separately. It has tiny little pores over the seats for the ventilation for the user. For ventilation facility, I’ve implemented multiple tiny fans behind the seats with good amount of protection to it.
And also, for the user’s convenience, I’ve implemented 3 sets of Memory functions for the seats to set multiple memories of the seat adjustment and also for the ventilation functions as per the user’s wish.
I’ve placed several buttons and nobs for each function separately, so that the users won’t find any difficulties in accessing all the functions.
I’ve placed an ON / OFF switch to turn ON and OFF the power supply. Users can turn OFF the switch whenever the chair is not in use, and it’ll increase the battery life.
In addition to all of these features, I’ve also implemented a small LED digital display for showing Battery percentage, Low battery indication, memory indication, etc.
This chair also comes with an attachable / detachable laptop stand with adjustable joints, through which the user can work with their laptop by not even sitting nearby their work table. It provides more convenience for the user to work from their comfortable space and also it can be mounted on either sides of the chair with the respective port. If not in use, the user themselves can simply detach it from the chair easily.
🔥 This chair provides the most comfortable experience for the user with all those features packed inside it.
5. Testing Stage:
🔥 Getting feedbacks, understanding the problems, re-iterating the solutions are the most important things to be successful, not only in designing but in every aspect of life.
We should not feel bad about getting feedback, instead we should take each and every feedback as the most important and valuable thing to make our product better in future.
Even after completing the prototype, I know that I’ll even get feedback on it, because every individual is unique in their thought process. So, I prepared myself and went for my testing with all the users. This time, it’s not a 1v1 call like the interview part, instead it’s a whole group call where all of my group members were connected in a call and I’ve presented my prototype with all of them and got feedback on it
The list of my feedbacks are:
1. Appreciation Part:-
After presenting my prototype with my users, I’ve got appreciation and got comments that, “I’ve made a nice presentation, made a lot of efforts like thinking creatively, have answered each and every questions / doubts of my users without getting stuck, thinking from the user’s perspectives & convenience of the user, inspired by lot of things which is evolved in the outside world, having good design thinking skills, etc,.”
2. Feedbacks Part:-
🔥 Although one gets a lot of appreciation, they still get feedbacks for some improvements / changes / suggestions to be made.
As expected, I’ve got some valuable feedbacks from the users. They are,
- How will the chair work with those electrical functionalities, when there is out of charge as well as power shortage in the home?
- Charging port for laptops and mobiles?
- A cup holder or a tray to hold some items?
- How about the use of Eco-friendly components to be used instead of plastics?
- Extendable arm rest?
After getting all the feedbacks from the users, I observed and understood that, what are the major changes to be made and why are they importantly to be made to deliver a better User-experience.
Here is the list of feedbacks from the users, that I’ll implement in the product to deliver a better user experience.
- Charging port for the laptops, mobiles.
- How about the use of Eco-friendly components to be used instead of plastics.
- Extendable arm rest.
- How will the chair work with those electrical functionalities, when there is out of charge as well as power shortage in the home.
Additionally, I’ll implement another feature called Weight sensor which is not mentioned in the feedback from the users, but I’ve additionally got inspired by electric cars and implemented it in a creative manner by using my design thinking knowledge.
3. Solutions Part:-
A. Additional ports for charging laptops & mobiles :-
Will implement 2 USB Type-C ports near the chair’s charging port. One port with max. of 10 Watts (suitable for mobiles) power o/p and another port with max. Of 30 Watts (suitable for laptops) power o/p. 2 devices can be charged simultaneously. Will cover all the charging ports with rubber caps to prevent water and dust entering into it. The only down side of implementing these charging ports is that the battery’s charge will slightly get reduced while using additional power output.
B. How about the use of Eco-friendly components to be used instead of plastics :-
Eco-friendly products like Bamboo, etc. will be used instead of plastics. Bamboo is very sturdy and eco-friendly when comparable to plastics. It reduces the heat in a natural way so that the components inside the chair won’t get heated up.
C. Extendable arm rest :-
I’ll split the arm rest into 2 parts. So that the top portion of the arm rest will be movable to some extent to provide additional arm support for the user. It’ll also improve the user experience.
D. How will the chair work with those electrical functionalities, when there is out of charge as well as power shortage in the home :-
I’ll implement 3 things inside the bottom bay of the chair to get solutions for this problem. They are,
- The motorized setup will now be a 2-way motor, which is itself an electrical motor as well as an mechanical motor.
- A sensor which automatically detects and instructs the motorized setup to change itself as an mechanical motor from an electrical motor, when the battery is below than 5 %.
- A weight sensing sensor which senses the weight of the user and automatically charges the battery according to the movement of the user and the amount of weight placed on the chair (like the battery charges while applying brakes in an electric car).
After implementing all the changes, the improved prototype was much more welcomed by the users and they’ve felt much more comfortable with this final outcome. After so many thinking and iterations, the final product delivered a better User-experience.
✅ Key Learnings:
After completing my 1st ever project, I’ve got a lot of Leanings as well as Un-learnings from this entire Design Thinking project.
The important key takeaways from this entire Design thinking project are,
✔️ While designing for the users, we should keep our biased mind-set aside and should think from the user’s perspective. We should always think from the user’s point of view instead of thinking that we’re the users. You ≠ user
✔️ Defining a problem well, is a problem half solved.
✔️ Always focus and trust the process instead of worrying about the final outcome.
✔️ Don’t regret for getting feedbacks. Instead of that, take valuable insights from the feedbacks with a positive attitude and act on it in an iterative manner.
✔️ We can’t able to solve every problem at a time, solving 1 problem at a time is ok. End of the day, focus on the thought process.
✔️ Being an imperfectionist is not a major deal to worry about. Always remember that, Your Imperfection is Your Uniqueness.
After completing this project, I’ve got a lot of perspectives of what Design thinking is. I’m sure that I’ll give my best and very much willing to learn more from each of my mistakes and feedbacks everyday. I’m very much willing to grab opportunities and excited to deal with upcoming projects as well.
🔥 A very hearty thanks to all my group members who were with me and motivates me in every situation whenever I stuck somewhere. I’ve got great support from my group members in every stage of this project.
🔥 Finally, I’m very much thankful to my awesome mentor Mr. Anudeep Ayyagari, who always motivates me and gives a whole positivity in each and every stage of this whole project. I learned a lot from him throughout the project, out of those, my favorite mantra is Always be a #studentforlife…!
Thank you for spending your valuable time and reading my whole case study till the end. If you have any feedback / suggestions for me, kindly let me know in the comments, as I’m curious to get feedback from you. All of your feedbacks are highly appreciable and useful for me to improve myself in future. Thank You once again.
#studentforlife…!
