BLINK UX, 2024
Establish benchmark on user performances to roadmap for hardware devices
Apr – Sept'24 · Contracted UX Researcher | Duration: 5 months
Partnered with Meta to initiate their first wearable benchmarking program, moderated 100+ in-lab usability tests across 4 devices (VR headsets, AI smart glasses) to establish baseline metrics and surface optimization opportunities for C-suite product roadmap decision-making, with an implication of around 7 million active users per month.
CHALLENGES
Quick turnaround
Running a large benchmarking study for our client, I handled each study involving different products consecutively where I maintained an agile mindset, ensuring flexibility and adaptability to keep the project on track. I quickly took ownership of sessions and products to ensure smooth and steady progress throughout.
Catch client's timeline
While the client has a clear timeline for each study, I took on flexible support roles across the team—piloting sessions with Senior UXR to refine protocols and task design, then drawing on my qualitative background to analyze moderation notes that brought narrative context to our quantitative metrics in final deliverables.
REFLECTIONS
Tailor deliverables to stakeholder priorities
After learning our audience was C-suite, I restructured the research report to surface critical issues first—prioritizing urgent, actionable bugs over comprehensive documentation so executives could immediately identify what needed attention at a first glance.
Pilot testing is the key
This is a necessary step to assess the study protocol and evaluate the preparation (especially for hardware devices)!! Switching between moderator and participant roles revealed what planning missed—VR technical glitches, unclear tasks, inefficient lab layout. And it built the instincts needed to troubleshoot live sessions confidently.