Understanding Users

To design successful products, we rely on our skills to understand users — what they say and what they do. To help Sonic design MyDVD 4, the leading DVD creation software, we conducted observational research — in customers’ homes — to better understand how people create DVDs today. By observing Sonic’s customers firsthand, we were able to uncover common goals, behaviors, task flows, and critical problems people encounter. The information gathered from this research led to immediate product design improvements and helped us identify important strategies for enhancing the customer’s experience. One such enhancement is the MyDVD tutorial we created to help new users understand the technology, the product, and the DVD-creation process.



User Profiles

Beyond the obvious benefits of quantitative and qualitative analysis, a major goal of observational research is to help our clients (and us) understand the customer. This is much different than relying on psychographic or demographic profiles of customers. Successful and innovative product design is best accomplished by designing for a specific customer, or small set of customers, not by designing for all customers. When new features, new designs, and new product concepts are being considered, it's critical to return to the deeply understood view of the user — What would she think? What would she do? Answering these questions correctly and quickly — because the user is known, not imagined — leads to more successful and more usable products.



Human-Centered Design

We involve users throughout design. We observe them using current products, and we observe them using paper and online prototypes to test new design concepts. It’s the only way to understand what usability problems people will encounter.

For the Sonic CinePlayer, an onscreen DVD control panel, we conducted usability tests with target customers. We refined the design, paying close attention to minute details such as shape, proximity, texture, font, controls, and interaction. By involving users, and by focusing incessantly on visual communication, we helped design a usable and emotionally engaging product.

ZDNet Review

". . . Sonic celebrated this numerical discontinuity with a redesign, converting the old, dark-and-moody interface into a model of straightforward usability. We especially like CinePlayer's minimal use of icons, which makes for an uncluttered interface that's instantly familiar."

Jan Ozer, ZDNet