In 2006, The Windows Live Calendar team was stuck in a loop of usability feedback and design tweaks that failed to drive up satisfaction. Their online service had too many “me too” features; they were following Google Calendar’s lead with little strategic direction and no innovation. They needed a fresh perspective.
I planned and pitched a robust ethnographic study on users' calendaring habits, online and on paper. I partnered with local usability firm Blink Interactive to implement the study. The fieldwork uncovered subtle motivations and explicit unmet user needs, culminating in a report detailing behavioral insights and strategic recommendations. Our findings laid the groundwork for the Live team to gain a clear competitive edge over Google Calendar.
The initial Windows Live interface was barely distinguishable from the Google Calendar interface.
I teamed with Blink Interactive to conduct, record and analyze the customer site visits and the follow-on diary study.
A dozen participants were interviewed, and seven were selected for a follow-up diary study. Each participant was cross-referenced with existing Microsoft personas, to build on and expand the existing user research across team initiatives.
I added video excerpts to the final presentation, to give the team a taste of the real-life attitudes and needs of our users.
The findings from the executive summary were supported with additional slides offering details for each theme.
Summary findings from both studies are organized into functional sections, to ensure the work is relevant and actionable.
