Surface Headphones

A woman wearing Microsoft Surface Headphones and sitting on a couch

Overview

Note: In compliance with my non-disclosure agreements, I have omitted confidential information about this project.

Goal

The study explored and gathered feedback on people's experiences with unboxing, setup, first-time use, and first two weeks’ use of Microsoft Surface Headphones to understand customer sentiment and product strengths and weaknesses in order to establish foundational knowledge and leverage it in the design and development of Surface Headphones 2.

Method

2-part study with 19 participants who were considering buying new headphones and were provided the headphones during the study:

  1. User testing sessions focused on unboxing, initial setup and use, and first impressions

  2. Online diary study over 2 weeks with 5 check-ins that included comments, video, photos, and ratings

My Role

  • Wrote the protocols and materials (e.g. session guides, scripts, questions)

  • Conducted/moderated the sessions

  • Took notes and video

  • Analyzed and organized the data

  • Created reports, including items such as key takeaways, details, metrics, video clips, and recommendations

  • Presented results to stakeholders across multiple teams

I collaborated with finance, project management, two other researchers who assisted with presentation content, an external recruiter for participants, and an external testing facility.

Impact

The findings served as the primary source of rich qualitative feedback, especially on “delighters” and areas that can be improved, to help inform the design of Surface Headphones 2.