Research methods
In-person Interviews, Moderated Usability Test
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Industry
E-commerce
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Role
Lead UX Researcher​
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Year
2023
The future of
sleeping
In this special case study, the digital and the physical world come together. We tested the prototype of a Smart Mattress: A mattress that can be personalised to any users needs, using a mobile app. This might be the next big thing in sleeping.
Research summary
In a home-made UX Lab, 10 participants were invited to try out the newest innovation in sleeping: The smart mattress. The goal of the study was to get insight in users' experience with the mattress' firmness settings and the relaxation mode, in order to inform further product development. The study shows that the intensity and the speed of firmness adjustments are below expectation. Moreover, we learned that users lack information about healthy sleeping habits and positions. This study is part of a larger research plan, and will be followed up by a 30-day trial phase.
Research question
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This bedding brand came to me with a first prototype and a clear question: How do users experience our Smart Mattress? With no previous testing, any and all insights from this study would be valuable in the development of both the physical product, and the accompanying mobile app.
Tested products
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Before we get into the details of the study, a little more context about the products we tested:
Smart Mattress
An early stage prototype of a mattress with different firmness settings, to accomodate any user. The mattress was covered with a boxspring topper.
Mobile app​​
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An MPV (minimal viable product) of the mobile app used to adjust the firmness of the mattress.
Personas​
To get a deeper understanding of the customers' goals and needs, two basic personas were created before the prototype testing started. These personas were very helpful in the recruitment phase for the next stages.
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Research design
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After welcoming the participants, they were asked to take place on the bed. There were two tasks, one for each of the core functionalities of the mattress:
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Task 1: Adjust firmness
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Task 2: Use relaxation mode
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We prepared an interview script consisting of 15 questions about the experience, and participants were encouraged to speak out loud while using the mattress and app.
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The study took an unexpected turn when the first two participants were both unable to detect any changes in firmness: The key experience that we were supposed to study. We had to think quick and concluded that the mattress topper used in the study was too thick to notice any changes. We decided to use a thinner topper for the remaining sessions. This helped get more valuable results.
Use Case 1: Set firmness​
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"The Smart Mattress offers the option to adjust its firmness. Go ahead and adjust the settings as you would if you had this bed at home. Don't forget to think out loud while doing so."
Use Case 2: Relaxation mode​
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​"The Smart Mattress also offers four relaxation modes. Please select one of them and try to relax. After a minute I will ask you about your experience."
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Home-made UX Lab
Most of my UX Research is done remotely. After all, people behave most naturally in the comfort of their own home. However, with a physical (heavy!) prototype, that was not possible.
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I therefore conducted the study at the manufacturing company where the prototype was created. I instructed the company to set up a UX Lab: A room designed to look like a bedroom with a bed, small desk, ambient lighting and some accessories.
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I spent two full days in the UX lab, conducting 10 interviews.
Results
The study resulted in very rich interview-data, consisting of spoken feedback, digital behaviour on the app, physical behaviour on the mattress, and facial expressions. I coded an analyzed everything over the course of a week. Below, two of the main insights are summarized:
01
Firmness adjustments took too much time ​
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It's no surprise considering the fast-paced world we live in. Users got impatient when the firmness adjustments could not be experienced as quickly as expected. Resulting in continuously changing positions ("Do I feel a difference if I move this way?"), fussing with the app settings ("Am I doing something wrong?") and a puzzled look on their faces.
Ideally, the product should respond quicker to the app. However, as I was aware that there were technical limitations, I recommended to add an element to the app indicating the progress. This will manage users' expectations and put them at ease.
02
Users need to be educated on healthy sleeping​
Participants indicated that although they liked the product, they were unsure how to set the hardness of each zone in a way that would be good for their body. Especially those with back problems were afraid that they would make things worse by adjusting their mattress without any professional guidance.
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It is important that the final version of the app offers this guidance. For example in the form of a survey outputting advice, or preset settings per condition. More research would be needed to make this decision.
Net Promoter Score (NPS)
The NPS measures customer loyalty by looking at their likelihood of recommending a given business or product. The NPS score was measured with a single-question survey: "How likely would you be to recommend the Smart Mattress to a friend, on a scale of 0 to 10?".
NPS scores range from -100 to +100, where a higher score is desirable. An NPS score of 20 is ok for a first prototype, but as the development of the Smart Mattress continues, the client aims to turn more users into promoters.
Note: Although the NPS is a staple method in User Research, it is important be aware of its limitations. The risk with the NPS is that it oversimplifies customer satisfaction into a single metric, which can obscure important nuances and insights. I therefore only use the NPS in combination with other methods.
Next steps​
This study was part of a larger research in the development phase of the Smart Mattress. The next step will be to create a new and improved prototypes based on the results of the study. These will then be shipped to 5 participants to try out for a month. They will report on their experience in a diary study format, in order to get insight into the long term effects of the mattress.
Learnings​
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Usually when I conduct an interview, I analyse participants' spoken feedback, digital behaviour, and facial expressions. Adding physical behaviour to the mix was a first for me. I learned to track movements and to interpret what they mean. Something I was happy to add to my research toolbox.
Curious what I can do for your project?