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Study Succes Unleashed

Exploring Student Needs and Unraveling
the Surface Book Solution

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Company
Microsoft

Role
UX-Researcher
No team

Location
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Year
2017

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Methods

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Design Thinking, Usability Research,Task Analysis, Surveys,
Interviews & Observations

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Tools

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Microsoft Surface Book
Microsoft Whiteboard
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Powerpoint

anchor: MicrosoftPortfolioscrolldownpage

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1. Who is Microsoft?

Really? Okay, you can Google that, haha. Anyways, let me bring you up-to-speed about the Surface line up. Microsoft Surface is a series of touchscreen-based personal computers, tablets, and interactive whiteboards designed and developed by Microsoft to be premium devices that set examples for manufacturers of other Windows-compatible products.

​At the time the Surface Book (one of them) wasn’t very well-known amongst students.

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2. The challenge 

How can Microsoft Netherlands, with the Surface Book, reach the target group of students by mapping the requirements of the target group for new and existing laptop use?​"

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3. The Solution

Instead of thinking technology-driven, I decided to think user-driven. What does a student actually do in their daily 'student life,' and how do they achieve their learning goals? And what are these goals?
The solution? First, take a deep dive into the users. Once I have a clear picture of the students and their goals, I can start comparing whether these goals are better achieved with the Surface Book. Are they? Let's find out: 3...2...1... Go.

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4. Services

Well... In the beginning, I had no idea. So, I just started with talking to the (potential) end users.
In the end, I chose to use (drum roll) design thinking. Find out more by scrolling down. ;)

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5. So? What did I do?

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​Proces-ing: When 'Trail and Error' Becomes the Process!

Let me walk you through it. 

We begin at the 'heart of the circle,' the end user.
In the first phase, I engaged with students to understand their daily lives, study tasks, and how they would achieve their study goals. This helped me grasp the challenges I was facing (at that point, I had no clue how to approach this problem). I conducted interviews and surveys, and also explored laptop usage and study goals. Desk research aided in identifying the unique features of the Surface Book.

Once I had a better understanding of the users and their digital habits, I moved on to the Define phase. Here, I combined qualitative and quantitative approaches with 218 students to define their existing methods of achieving study goals using computers. Finally, I had something concrete, right?

Now, it was time to test whether the Surface Book could make achieving study goals faster, more fun, and more efficient (you get the idea)
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I conducted tests with five students to assess if the Surface Book could enhance study goal achievements. They completed study tasks and shared their feedback on speed, enjoyment, and efficiency. The "new way of working" involved touch and 2-in-1 functionality, which was evaluated alongside their current laptop usage.

Timeline with photo's (yeah!)

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The Design Thinking Timeline:

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Outcome & Learnings

I translated the results into a toolbox of which elements the Surface Book scored better than the current usage and which did not. With the help of this toolbox, Microsoft could create awareness of the desirability factors for student and their goals. 
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I learned the basics of doing UX-Research during this internship. Furthermore, I learned how to function within a corporation like Microsoft. That sounds professional right?​

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Psst. There is more

I also authored an article for this research internship experience. See here:​

See Article