Paris Beard Trimmer

Beard Trimmer Exploration

Human Factors UX

Paris, France

Introduction

A new beard trimmer was being proposed for the European market. It was essential to identify attributes that could command broad appeal across different countries within the EU.

I was responsible for leading the research that would identify key attributes and provide insights on appearance and packaging that would be crucial for success in this region.

Findings and recommendations are withheld due to privacy, though I can provide insight on the process below.

Objectives

Gain insights into trimmer user behavior & preferences
Identify current desired attributes
Identify areas for future potential
Identify potential cross-over applications from current products in other markets

Challenges

Language barriers
Limited exposure in market
Limited existing qualitative research

Outcome

The entirety of research conducted in Paris was positive. It provided excellent direction for design. It also provided insights that enabled better alignment with the market. Updated prototypes were tested during the second round of focus groups, and they had proven to be quite successful, thus validating inferences gleaned in the first round.

Findings from this research enabled a stronger case for the development of this product, and they were helpful to offer awareness of market requirements to stakeholders.

I was responsible for the entirety of this research.
Personal contributions included:

Defining the project scope
Procuring Paris research agency
Establishing contract, and scheduling
Competitive audit
Focus group design
Writing moderating questions
Requisitioning prototypes and assisting in prototype design
Acquiring & preparing competitive samples

On-site setup
Data recording
Video review
Data analysis
Authoring findings report
Data visualization of key findings
Establishing priorities for following R&D

Methods:

Competitive Audit
User Surveys
Interviews
Focus Groups
Cultural Probes

This research consisted of user surveys, interviews, and two focus groups with a total of four moderating sessions.

The focus groups were held at two separate times. Each focus group consisted of two sessions, and each session had 12-14 participants. All respondents had been validated based on purchase behavior and demographics through a screening questionnaire.

Following the focus groups, data was placed into a spreadsheet for further analysis and cross-tabulation. Once synthesized, findings were presented to stakeholders.