Services for a new automotive technology

Background: A major German car manufacturer came to us wanting to understand user motivations or barriers related to a new technology, and how service offerings can overcome those barriers or pain points in order to encourage user adoption and purchase of this technology.

Project Timeline: 6 months

Approach: A mix of workshops and Online Research Communities in China, the UK and the US.

Workshops were aimed at ideation, and idea prioritization. Activities included brainwriting, ranking of both ideas prepared prior to the workshop and ideas developed during the workshop. Participants were able to discuss, elaborate and evaluate concepts and ideas, and share with new ideas.

Online Research Communities were then programmed to validate the findings from the workshops with a higher number of participants. These forums included daily questions and activities such as drag and drop, configurators based on service options and service idea uploads (an area where participants could upload their own ideas and vote, comment and elaborate on ideas). Communities were actively moderated on a daily basis and provided spontaneous and reflective feedback from the target group.

Role: I joined this project midway, and was part of the Online Research Communities, and the US workshop. I led recruitment for the American and British Online Research Communities, set up the community platforms, and moderated the communities over the course of 10 days. I was then heavily involved in the analysis of the Online Research Communities and workshops. I led recruitment of the US workshops, and interviewed potential participants prior to inviting them to attend in order to ensure that they were the right fit. I had a major role in the writing of the report, guiding graphic designers with ideas for data visualizations and infographics.

Outcomes: Through the workshops and Online Research Communities, our team was able to provide the client with a better understanding of the target group, including their expectations, understanding of the technology, and how the technology can be integrated into consumers’ lives. Overall insights about the technology, as well as country specific findings were outlined. Strategic recommendations based on consumer understanding and insights were outlined in order to guide the development of the business model and service offerings for the new technology, which will come to market in the next few years.