Lab Day at interactive tools
4 min read
Why we regularly open our UX lab to all teams
We put users and their needs at the centre of our work – that's our motto at interactive tools. User-centricity and designing positive user experiences are a key part of our self-image. To anchor both even more firmly in our daily work, we launched a new format: Lab Day.
Testing – fast, straightforward, everyone watching
On Lab Day, all project teams can use our usability lab and observation room for testing and observation. Our UX experts support the teams in getting their ideas, designs, prototypes etc. tested collectively. This is possible thanks to our "wir-bewegen-uns" development process, which lets us work self-determined and cross-project on Thursdays.
The first lab day was a complete success. Sharing results with the team and having them tested helped us a great deal as the project progressed – even if it was sometimes painful.
Three basic ideas of the Lab Day
1. Learn
Diverse perspectives feed in, and together we consolidate key insights.
2. Exchange
We observe across teams and projects and foster interdisciplinary exchange.
3. Efficiency
We test what's there. That way little to no extra effort arises.
No fear of (user) feedback
At interactive tools we live a culture of open and appreciative feedback. This applies to our collaboration as much as to our work. With Lab Day we continue to build both our feedback culture and our user-centred focus.
We want to create a space where nobody feels that (UX) problems have to be solved alone. Instead, where it's natural and helpful to try things out, test them with people, and discuss them with others. We see how feedback simplifies decisions and makes our products better.
At the same time we show that everything is testable and no extra effort is needed. We simply test what's there and get feedback very early in the process. Ideas that don't work we discard and focus on the approaches that move us forward. This way we ultimately even gain time and become more agile.
We're aware that we don't generate feedback from specific target groups at Lab Day. Simply the cross-project exchange with quick, direct feedback from people who aren't deeply involved in the respective project moves the project teams forward. The testing sharpens everyone's awareness of the relevance of user feedback. As an agency, this further increases our UX maturity.
It's exciting to see what the other teams are currently working on and how quickly something emerges that we can test.
Team- and discipline-spanning user centricity
With Lab Day, we create a platform for more exchange between teams. At Lab Day, everyone can contribute something: regardless of discipline or client project. We observe together how test subjects handle the test objects. This makes our own project landscape tangible and the whole agency sees which solutions our teams are currently working on.
Finally, we gather the key insights and give each other input across teams. This way we benefit from each other's know-how and arrive at solutions more easily and quickly that we might not have had in view at all. Perhaps a colleague worked on a similar question just two months ago and can help. Another colleague might have an unconventional but promising idea that inspires the team towards an innovative solution.
Many of us chose interactive tools because we want to develop digital products in a user-centred way. With Lab Day, we're also opening the door to greater user centricity for smaller teams with limited research budgets.
Lab Day does not replace a UX test. However, the team receives direct feedback on interim work results in very little time and gains experience with user testing.
Is it worth it? We test the test
With our first Lab Day, we jumped in at the deep end: without lengthy preparation, we got started and tested initial work states from the teams. True to the motto fail fast, fail often.
Our conclusion: The leap was worth it! Sure, there's still the odd thing we can and want to do better next time. For us as a UX team and as an agency, this is also a learning and development process too. The first step was a success, and the next Lab Day is already marked in red on everyone's calendar.
Are you interested in user-centricity and UX research?
- Marcus Völkel
Consultingsynaigy
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