PREFACE
The completion of my studies as a student at the Hochschule should not be the end of our connection. For the second time, I took on a project in the study programme UX design as a lecturer at Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt.
introduction
As part of their degree programme, every student has to take part in a cooperation project with a company in which they work on a specified topic. I represented my former employer MediaMarktSaturn Retail Group as a cooperation partner to work on the topics we were given. In the second projects, a user-centred design approach was chosen for the development of Digital Service Conceptes. This means that students should develop digital service concepts for customers.
The following provides an overview of the my teaching part, the given tasks for the students and the results of the study projects.
user centered design approach
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User Centered Design (UCD) is a design philosophy that focuses on the needs, desires and constraints of the end user at all stages of the design process and development cycle. Products developed using the UCD method are optimized for the end user, and the focus is on how the end user needs or wants to use a product, rather than forcing the end user to change their behavior in order to use the product.
User-centered design is a common process in software development where the typical UCD activities are divided into four phases of the development lifecycle: Analysis, Design, Implementation and Deployment.
The international standard ISO 13407: Human-centered design process forms the basis for UCD. This standard defines a process over the entire development lifecycle, but does not specify the exact methods used for user-centered design.
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Project step by step
​understanding the context of use and defining usage requirements
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EMPATHIZE
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The aim of the project was to improve the shopping experience of certain target groups defined in advance by MediaMarktSaturn. In the first step, specific user interviews were conducted in the stores in order to better understand the customer and to determine what their needs and problems are and who this customer group actually is.
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Teaching part: Training students in user interviews
Define
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With the results and a concrete target image of the customers in mind, the task of the students in this step was to concretise the customer image in the form of personas, to build customer journeys in order to visualise all touchpoints but also painpoints of the customers to MediaMarkt/Saturn and to develop customer journeys.
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Teaching part: Building target group personas, developing customer journeys
​develop concepts and test conepts
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IDEATE
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Based on the knowledge of the customer and the defined touch and paint points, the next step was to develop ideas in a creative workshop, evaluate them and transform them into concrete concepts.
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Teaching part: Introduction to creative methods for generating ideas, showing how to evaluate and select ideas and translate them into concrete approaches
prototype​
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Elaboration of the concept approaches into first prototypes, which are made available to the customer for testing purposes.
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Teaching part: Guidance for the development of prototypes
implement concepts
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TEST
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The developed prototypes were made available to potential customers (test users) in a „usability speed dating“ format. Hypotheses created in advance were tested in predefined steps and the results were noted. Subsequently, in a further loop, the prototypes were revised with regard to user feedback.
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Teaching part: Training in setting up hypotheses and the construction of usability testing and support during the user tests
finalize concepts
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design
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Conversion of the revised prototypes into a final design for presentation.
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Teaching part: Providing assistance in the design phase regarding design rules, using a styleguide and so on
target groups
At the beginning of the project, the students were given 3 customer groups by MediaMarkt/Saturn to examine in more detail and to make digital products available for them at the end of the project that fullfil the needs of this group.
customer journey mapping
In order to evaluate where the specific group of shoppers have contact points with MediaMarkt or Saturn, a customer journey map was developed.
usability testing
With test users, the students had the opportunity to have their prototypes tested and to note down feedback in order to subsequently improve their product on the basis of this. Due to Corona, the concepts were presented online to the test users and the testers gave their feedback virtually.
final results​
comparision platform
Sustainability label & Sustainability parcour
Sustainability app
A comparison platform that is implemented as a website and can be accessed both via PC and mobile devices. It complements the MediaMarkt online shop and links to it at appropriate points.
The website gives the customer the option to maximise the quality of his search considerably and to adapt it to his individual requirements. In addition to saving an enormous amount of time, this concept also allows models with powerful no-name processors to be displayed, as the search is based solely on technical data and is not restricted by brand names. By dividing the list of results into „top selection“ and „other items“, the user is shown the most suitable products. The first part shows the top selection at a glance, which represents the four most relevant results that best meet the priorities.
The idea works similarly to the energy efficiency classes that are attached to products. This kind of pictorial communication of energy values is known and familiar to everyone. But instead of communicating the energy consumption, the sustainability within the manufacturing process is communicated. Thus, in connection with the energy efficiency classes, the customer has a proof of the operation of the product and with this idea, an information about the sustainability in the production. Thus, the efficiency classes in combination with the sustainability label form a closed process, from the beginning of production to the actual use.
Publicising the sustainability label through a course for the customer to present this idea in an interactive and playful way. The parkour is structured and built as follows: There is a small area with information boards inside the shop, which arouses the customer’s interest. Here, the customer is informed about sustainability and taught about the sustainability seals.
An app for the user’s smartphone, as well as for tablets, which are to be placed on the shelves in the store. In the app, it is possible to search for products and compare them with regard to their sustainability. This comparison is made possible by a specially developed categorisation system. Accordingly, the products are divided into classes from one to five, with one being the best and five the worst. In addition, the categories are colour-coded similarly to the already established energy efficiency classes, so that it is even quicker to see what the numbers express. The app also allows products to be scanned in-store via barcode, making it quick and easy for customers to access the information we provide.