Camera+
Foxconn mid-2016 - early 2017
The Summary:
Users mainly do three things: They make stuff. They find and watch, or listen to, or read stuff. And they sometimes collect and arrange the stuff they make and find. Create > Consume > Curate.
Camera+ is the consumer product improvement for Create tasks: to rethink the camera as a tool for seeing as well as a tool for capture, make it easier to use, add features where sensible, and make it cool.
The Issues:
We needed a statistically significant data sample, pointing toward primary consumer issues with current Android camera UIs, to guide design efforts.
We also needed to dig in to other camera apps to parse out useful features from "feature race" culprits.
Finally, designers needed to rearrange camera controls for scalability, given that third party solutions for new features highjack the camera user interface in ways that don't make sense. Testing was imperative to be confident that the design still accomplished its intent -- to allow users to capture moments beautifully before they get away.
Outcome:
Shipped on Nokia 6 (China), January 7. Patents pending.
Methods Applied:
Consumer Survey
Competitive Market Analysis
Usability Testing
Primary Role:
Directed all research activities, authored protocols, mentored individual contributors, and delivered findings reports.
Collaborators:
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Design Director
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UI Designer
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Product Planner
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User Researcher
Research Details
Survey - Competitor Analysis - Testing
1 Survey of Android camera users
SurveyMonkey survey released to all mobile division employees based in Taipei.
Critical incident research asks users 'what typically goes wrong?' Our users said they often can't 'catch the moment' because the camera is too slow.
Users care most about low-light capture and overall image quality.
Most users know about manual settings, but don't know what they mean or how to use them.
2 Competitive Analysis of current Android cameras
A closer look at the camera applications of 12 popular Android devices, documenting reviews, price, application features, and application ease-of-use.
3 Iterative Usability Testing
'Microtesting' approach choosing a small handful of features, testing them with real participants, and catching problems early and often.
Where necessary, we built animations to illustrate interactions. We measured each microtest the same way, using SUS and NPS. Below are the results of the first set of microtests, showing us we had room for improvement!
We used Lookback.io to record the session activity, which uploads automatically to the Lookback service when the session completes.
Camera Testing in Action
Lookback Mobile interface
Recording Upload
Feature Highlights and Videos:
The design process was anything but straightforward. Research needed to pivot around a year-long negotiation of choices: camera system, Android N capabilities, third party software solutions, customer requests, executive mandates, culture-specific features, and more.
Users found the Compass Tool useful for way-finding but testing uncovered issues with sensor sensitivity, causing erratic behavior on-screen. The onscreen display (OSD) approach was also not successful for all users.
Manual Mode allows users to experiment with
combinations of settings and see the effects in the viewfinder. Testing here reinforced our design principle of complexity reduction for average consumers.
The OSD Color setting offered choices to help maintain contrast with the environment. Given controlled test conditions, the underlying purpose for the setting was not obvious to users.
Overview Video
Feature walkthrough
Level Tool Video
Illustrates the tool in action
Watermark Video
Illustrates styles
© 2017 by Peter Roessler.
