Opportunity

Cisco was in the process of designing a new application and intended to begin initial user testing of the solution. To determine the best approach for user testing and to focus their research, Cisco engaged with ThoughtMatrix to conduct rapid ethnographies with subjects that represented the target audience for the new Web application.

Solution

ThoughtMatrix first conducted an internal review to develop the ethnography approach, user personas and tasks. Upon completing the groundwork, ThoughtMatrix recruited subjects and conducted live recordings of each subject in their offices. By using a dual camera approach, we captured the users' screen and facial expressions simultaneously, providing the clearest possible picture of the users' reaction to using the application.

Results

Cisco was able to isolate specific user flows that delivered the experience the users required. The organization was also able to identify key areas of improvement in the interactions that proved invaluable to live users of the program.

The Cisco product team has been able to use the findings and recommendations from the rapid ethnography to inform product marketing, development and management on how to evolve their product for future enhancements.