Seeing the bigger picture

Abstract

This case study discusses a 2-week field trial of Google Maps for Mobile with 24 participants (in London, Manchester, Hamburg, Munich). The field trial served as a pilot, because it combined many methods previously used individually: group briefing sessions, recorded usage, multiple telephone interviews for additional context around recorded use, and 1:1 debriefs in a lab setting with the development team observing. In this paper we describe our approach, as well as substantive and methodological findings. Insights were gained along several dimensions: user experience at different levels of product familiarity (e.g. from download/install to habitual use); specific usability fixes (100+) as well as product strategy drivers; and hurdles to user experience arising from the mobile eco-system (e.g. carrier and handset platforms).