IKAWA Home

Project Overview

My Role - Lead User researcher & strategist, UX/UI design support
Methodologies - In-depth qualitative interviews, personas, customer journey mapping, diary studies
Skills - Interviewing, synthesising, thematic analysis sprint facilitating,
Deliverables - Journey Maps, Personas, Research Plans, Research reports, Debriefs [suitable for various stakeholder involvement] Roadmap Generation,
Tools - Post-its, Zoom/ Microsoft Teams, Google Suite, Adobe Suite, Sketch, Miro,

Introduction

The major update to the IKAWA Home App for iOS represented more than just another tick on the software revision list. It was the fruition of years of user experience research, UX design, and robust development. Launched initially in 2017, the IKAWA Home Roaster has been part of our company's mission to profoundly impact the coffee industry from farm to cup. The recent app update marks a pivotal moment in turning this vision into a lived experience for our user community.

Strategy

For the IKAWA Home App project, the research was strategically planned to be both generative and evaluative, aiming to uncover new opportunities while also assessing existing functionalities. The focus was initially set on our core users, who are dedicated home coffee roasters and enthusiasts. They provided the most immediate and actionable feedback, aligning closely with IKAWA's revenue streams and business goals.

We adopted a dual-lens approach to dissect the customer journey: one from an internal business perspective (the features and services IKAWA offers) and another from the user’s viewpoint (their experience from discovering they could roast coffee at home, to becoming a proficient home roaster). This comprehensive examination was essential for identifying gaps in user experience, highlighting areas for potential innovation, and facilitating a more effective collaboration among different departments within the company. This strategic layer of our research became an invaluable asset, influencing not just immediate design decisions but also shaping the longer-term product roadmap.

The Problem Space: Definition and Scope

The challenge was to develop an app that was rich in features but easy to use, suited to the varying needs and behaviors of our users while aligning with business goals and our overarching social vision. The ultimate goal was to serve as the expert guide for home coffee roasting enthusiasts, enabling them to reach their personal taste goals with ease.

Research Phases and Methodology: A Detailed Look

Phase One: Discovery Through Interviews

Our first phase was primarily focused on interviews to understand our users better. These interviews led to the development of user personas and user journey maps. It was during this phase that we identified problem areas and strategic opportunities

Problem Statement and "How Might We" Statements

These interviews also helped us articulate the problem statement and formulate “How Might We” statements, shaping the trajectory of our subsequent research and design process. Here we used the analogy of typology - a map, users knew where they wanted to be, but they were not sure of how they would get there. The solution generated by IKAWA should act as a map, or a guide to help them get the results they wanted.

How might we empower users to get the results they want whilst using IKAWA as the expert guide?

Phase Two: Sprint Week

Next, we initiated a week-long design sprint, where I acted as the facilitator. Adhering to sprint methodology, we focused on ideation, development, and prototyping within this compressed timeframe.

Prototyping and Solution Development

During the sprint week, we managed to evolve potential solutions into concrete prototypes aimed at addressing the identified problems.

Phase Three: Usability Testing

To conclude the sprint week, we undertook usability testing on these prototype solutions. This quick validation process was crucial to affirm the efficacy of our design decisions. Invision was used to create clickable prototypes here.

Challenges

• Resource Limitations: Time constraints, budget, and team size posed significant challenges, pushing us to seek highly efficient ways of working. The one-week sprint method emerged as an advantageous approach, allowing us to work quickly and iteratively.

• Stakeholder Buy-In: The initial skepticism among stakeholders dissipated swiftly as they saw the immediate value of an in-depth, research-based understanding of our users. The transparency and real-time revelations of our work facilitated rapid buy-in.

• Emotional and Mental Toll of Sprints: While the fast-paced nature of sprints yielded valuable insights, they were also emotionally taxing and mentally exhausting for the team. My role as the facilitator extended beyond task management to include a focus on team well-being, leveraging empathy as a tool for sustainability.

• Interdisciplinary Applicability: One challenge was making the research insights relevant to various roles within the company. Customised summaries and actionable recommendations were created for each department, promoting a unified, company-wide approach to user-centric design.

• Immediate Action Post-Research: Following each research phase, we held focused debrief sessions with key stakeholders, outlining immediate action items and charting the roadmap for implementation.

Key Features

1. My Library: A user-centric interface for creating personalised collections of coffee and roasting recipes.

2. Recipe Dashboards: Informative and empowering, giving users a nuanced understanding of their roasting methods.

3. New Roast Degrees and Development Time Controls: Simplifying the roast-creation process, making it accessible to all users.

4. Enhanced User Interface: An improved status bar for real-time, unobtrusive updates during the user journey.

Specialties

• Strategic UX Research: Our methodologies were aligned tightly with business goals and our long-term vision for impacting the coffee industry.

• Holistic Stakeholder Engagement: Maintained an interdisciplinary dialogue for decision-making.

• Narrative-Driven Deliverables: Turned rich data into actionable insights, providing a roadmap for future iterations.

Results and Future Outlook

The user response to the upgraded app was overwhelmingly positive. This update, however, is only a phase in an ongoing journey aligned with our vision for the coffee industry. Future enhancements are already in planning, including the release of an Android version of the app.

By staying true to our users and our mission, we not only elevated the coffee roasting experience at home but also brought users closer to the coffee's journey from farm to cup. Our continued commitment to user-centered design promises an exciting future for the IKAWA Home App.

Allowing IKAWA to also further monetise as they were now able to offer a tiered app subscription.

Learnings and Future Directions

As the lead UX researcher on this project, the experience provided several key learnings that have enriched my professional skills and approach:

1. Iterative Improvements: While the sprint method was effective for quick turnarounds, future projects could benefit from interspersing longer research cycles for deeper dives into nuanced user behaviours and experiences.

2. Enhanced Stakeholder Communication: Although stakeholder buy-in was rapidly achieved, there is an opportunity to establish more structured, regular touchpoints with stakeholders for feedback and alignment throughout the project.

3. Holistic Facilitation: Balancing the emotional and mental well-being of the team with the project goals was a new facet of facilitation for me. I've learned to incorporate well-being checks and mental breaks as an integral part of sprint planning for future projects.

4. Quantitative Data Integration: While qualitative insights provide depth, supplementing this with quantitative metrics can offer a more balanced, comprehensive user understanding.

5. Post-Implementation Analysis: The next step would be to conduct a thorough evaluation of the newly implemented features and design, focusing on long-term user engagement and business impact. This will close the feedback loop and provide insights for subsequent iterations.

The IKAWA Home App project served as a rigorous, holistic training ground that has refined my methodological toolkit, stakeholder engagement strategies, and team leadership abilities. These learnings will be applied in future projects to continually elevate the efficacy and impact of my UX research.

1. Breaks Are Gold: Never underestimate a well-timed break. It refreshes the team and brings the focus back into the room. Supported by snacks of course!

2. Quick Follow-Ups: Jot down the major points right after a meeting. It's a small habit that ensures you don't lose sight of important stuff. INcludig space for a car-park or parking lot.

3. Set the Mood: A couple of ice-breakers can open people up. When everyone's relaxed, the dialogue flows better.

4. Everyone's an Expert: Involve folks from various departments. A fresh perspective can be a game-changer.

5. Have a Back-Up Plan: Tech issues happen. Always be prepared with a non-digital way to capture ideas and progress.

6. The Power of ‘No’: Sometimes you've got to say no to certain ideas, not because they're bad, but because you can't do everything at once. Prioritise!

7. Test as You Go: Don't wait until the end to start testing. Early feedback can save you a lot of time down the road.

1. NB - not all images, personas and journey maps are available due to NDAs