Electrolux
Project information
- Services: Tests and evaluations
- Client: Electrolux
- Project dates: 2007 - 2015
Projects in brief
Obtaining qualitative user feedback on new household products.
Background
Electrolux is a world-leading international company in household appliances and white goods. Every year, millions of consumers in more than 120 countries buy their products. We at Usability Partners have had the privilege of working with Electrolux for many years.
We have evaluated a variety of interfaces that Electrolux have developed over the years, in an interesting and varying collaboration where we have worked on many different types of products in different development phases.
Something that Electrolux particularly valued about our work was the concrete change proposals we presented for each project as well as our explanations of why we were not convinced about certain solutions they had developed. Electrolux have been able to utilize the information and lessons learned after each study with us when moving forward in other projects.
Our work
Given that Electrolux has end users all over the world, it is important to maintain a design language that transcends language barriers. In other words, ensuring that icons and other design elements are intuitive and self-explanatory for the global user base, regardless of origin.
Over the years we have not only conducted user tests and expert evaluations of interfaces/displays found on a variety of Electrolux product types, but we have also conducted user tests and evaluations of their intranet. The product list is long, but a selection of the household appliances we tested are refrigerators, ovens, dishwashers, hobs, washing machines and fridges/freezers.
When conducting user studies we had to construct different lab installations for each product/prototype. In some cases, we have evaluated existing household appliances and in other cases we have tested prototypes rendered on a touchscreen monitor to mimic new household appliance interfaces.
By tailoring our usability test lab environments to the specific needs of each study, we have been able to conduct thorough evaluations that provide valuable insights into the usability and effectiveness of the products in question.
The result
Electrolux has appreciated our cooperation. Above all, they have been positively surprised by our concrete proposals for improvement, and that we have justified why we did not believe in certain solutions. They have also been able to take findings and 'lessons learnt' with them into subsequent projects.
"Electrolux has been a particularly interesting client to work with as we've been able to conduct a wide variety of different UX research activities and work with so many different kinds of user interfaces - not only for their consumer products but also Electrolux employees."
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