In-Depth Interviews on Coaching & Safety

1hr structured interviews | 10 participants

Methodology

At this stage of the coaching project, our team needed fresh foundational data on customers' coaching workflows, needs, and preferences, and we also had an early-stage prototype with myriad features that required validation and prioritization. I was tasked with constructing an interview format that succinctly addressed these many needs while accounting for a wide range of potential coaching experiences—from large companies with established processes to micro family-owned businesses. I constructed my guide to accommodate for both 'yes' and 'no' answers, resulting in a thorough, responsive flow through key topics, including:

• General Discussion of Coaching Processes

• Prototype Walkthrough (Led by me via screen share)

• Free Exploration (Led by participant via screen share)

Dovetail Trailblazing

With interviewing complete, I turned to Dovetail—Verizon Connect's new research repository—to analyze the data. I dove in headfirst and was the first member of the research team to analyze data and construct a research readout entirely using Dovetail (versus the team's traditional method of creating Google Slides powerpoints). This new format was a huge hit with my stakeholders on the Safety team, because I could easily cite my sources directly to interview transcripts and incorporate far more customer testimonials than before. This format was adopted by the research team and became our standard readout methodology.

Impact

Regarding research impact, my readout gave our design and product teams a deeper understanding of customers' existing coaching workflows and their immediate and long-term needs concerning core features. It greenlit the core design of the prototype reviewed, offered noteworthy iteration suggestions, identified areas for further research, and helped prioritize future coaching roadmap items.

In-Depth Interviews on Mobile Coaching & Driver Experience

45min semi-structured interviews | 7 participants

Methodology

With the previous rounds of research complete, our team shifted priorities to specific research areas we knew the least about and would most significantly impact later phases of coaching platform implementation. Two of these areas, mobile coaching and the driver experience, became the responsibility of myself and my teammate Colin Smith.

In research planning, we determined that getting an unbiased picture of drivers' wants and needs from fleet managers, our typical interview participants, was impossible. We needed to talk to drivers too. To consolidate resources and speed up our research timelines, Colin and I combined these two topics into one interview, allowing us to tackle both user groups without planning 4 separate research studies. In the end, I spoke to fleet managers about these combined topics while Colin spoke to drivers. Key topics included:

• Walk me through a typical day where you use your mobile devices for coaching?

  • Do you use Verizon apps?

• How often do you coach on mobile versus on desktop?

• How much Reveal data do you share with your drivers?

  • Do you think your drivers want to see their data?

AI Adoption

While conducting interviews, I shared initial reactions and highlights with Colin over Slack and in our 1:1s—a process I have streamlined using Gemini's note-taking features in my more recent work. We exchanged learnings and key insights as they formed so we could complement and reference each other's work in our readouts.

After loading all the interviews into Dovetail, I once again constructed my research readout using an iteration of my process described above. Also, it was at this time that I first incorporated AI into my workflow: Dovetail had recently launched a beta for an AI summary tool, which I used to create high level overviews for each of my written insights. I was once again the first teammate on the research team to adopt and share my experience with these new features.

Impact

The impact of this research, in complement with Colin's driver research, helped our team to prioritize roadmap initiatives relating to mobile coaching and would serve as the foundation for driver needs workshops in future years of work.

Safety Score Task Analysis Evaluation

30min structured interviews | 5 participants

Methodology

As research continued, so did design work. One designer on the team, Daragh, expressed an interest in diving deeper into research, and his work on the coaching platform's safety score functionality needed validation. This was an opportunity for me to step in and assist Daragh in conducting task-based usability tests for his prototyped experience, and I worked closely with him in regular 1:1s to develop a research brief, research questions, select research methodology, and prepare a UserTesting test. We decided against an unmoderated flow because developing a prototype that supported free exploration required much more work, and facilitating an interview would give Daragh a higher-quality research experience.

Mentorship

After leading the first two interviews, I let Daragh facilitate the remainder. I also let him take charge of the bulk of the analysis, providing recommendations where needed. Ultimately, we developed a Dovetail research readout using my established processes and co-presented our research findings to the broader cross-functional team. I encouraged Daragh to take charge of the most important insights, including recommendations for next steps.

Impact

This research impacted roadmap decisions for safety score development and directly led to the customization research below, but it was also an important milestone for both Daragh and me: he elevated his experience with evaluative research, and I had my first experience with formal 1:1 mentorship of a junior team member. This experience directly prepared me for future direct mentorship roles, including my work on the Driver Exoneration Journey Mapping project.