GOLDEN PATH USER RESEARCH
"We involved real gamers to get feedback on the pack as we made those design choices and refinements" - The Dieline article highlighting the Xbox One launch project. We believe that this was game-changing + allowed us to reach the most consumer-centric design as quickly as possible.
A Golden Path is the consumer journey for any product/service from earliest awareness through extended use, and there is an entire team of anthropologists and human-computer interaction specialists dedicated to leading this research at Microsoft.
The Xbox One Golden Path, as it was identified, included 6 steps: demand generation > retail > physical out of box experience > digital out of box experience > first use > continued discovery. I was able to plug into 5 waves of the physical out of box experience testing over an 11 week period.
Below is a sample of the cyclical workflow I moved through for each of the 5 waves. One "wave" was 2 weeks: one week in research + one week out of research synthesizing data, strategizing for the next wave and making mock ups reflecting design choices we wanted to test next.
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WAVE 1
First wave of research with bare bones structural packaging assets + hardware. Goal was to get a pulse on how the consumer sets up the hardware, as plugging the Xbox into your cable box was a new step for even the most hard-core gamers.
Assets tested
- White, unprinted packaging. 2 door top tray design with tabs to aid removal from the box. Goal: learn about usability.
- A/B test with 1-page instructions (directs you set-up instructions online) and 6-page instructions (all instructions printed). Goal: do the 1-page instructions lead to set-up success? (Team was excited about this option due to cost savings possibility).
Findings
- Users emptied the tray of all cords and cables before removing it and were confused by the 2 doors.
- Users completely missed the tabs.
- 1-page instructions was viewed as marketing junk and not viewed as set-up guide.
Approach for next wave
- Develop new tray design to test.
- "Accessory sandbox" or 1 door tray design was developed and mocked up for wave 2.
- Make tabs bright neon colored to replicate most extreme scenario.
- If they aren't seen then, scrap them. (And they weren't, so we did.)
- No-go on 1-page instructions due to complexity of hardware set up and risk of consumer unsatisfaction.