Introduction
Diary studies are a valuable research method that allows UX Designers to gain insight into a user's environment to identify areas of concern and opportunities for design improvement.
A diary study was chosen to gather rich data on our user's behaviours, feelings and thoughts surrounding their waiting experiences.
What are the behaviours and feelings SHAPING people's waiting experience?
Project breakdown
goal
Use the data and insight gathered to understand how Organization Y's educational media fits into people's waiting experience.
Planning Phase
running the study
Six participants were recruited to be part of the study which ran for three consecutive days. An online survey was emailed to participants containing both structured (users had pre-filled options to choose from) and unstructured questions (open-ended questions) in regards to their waiting experiences.
Participants were asked to submit an entry as well as a photograph every time they were waiting, with a minimum of three daily entry submissions.
In order to better monitors our participants' responses, daily email reminders were sent to complete the survey.
data analysis
An affinity diagram was created to organize the data in identifiable patterns between our participants. Colour coding the data was based on categories that had been established in the online survey.
Why were they waiting?
What were their behaviours while waiting?
What were their feelings while waiting?
What were their thoughts while waiting?
TOP 3 RESPONSES SORTED BY CATEGORY
Why were you waiting?
What were you doing while waiting?
How did you feel while waiting?
Further analysis of the waiting experience uncovered six themes
Reflections & Next Steps
Our research shows that users spent most of their time on their mobile phone or engaging with a form of media while waiting–Good News for Organization Y!
Although there was a mix of positive and negative feelings surrounding the experience, it seems that waiting as a whole elicited negative affective responses such as anxiety and worry.
Based on our findings, our research suggests that Organization Y create media that meets two requirements, which may improve the user experience:
Media that elicits positive feelings and moods
Media that can easily be accessed on a mobile device or platform