Spectranet is one of India’s first and largest broadband providers with services ranging from corporate and retail internet, cable TV solutions and Value Added Services.

Spectranet was launching a unique wireless internet service across India and wanted a rich understanding of who the users for this service would be, their internet and mobile usage patterns and their motivations for using this service. They also wanted to build a user-centered website that would be a key piece of their marketing strategy.

Spectranet engaged Quicksand in a user research + web design project for the website for the wireless broadband line of business. The project was executed over 3 months from research to website go-live and consisted of the following phases:

1. User Research: We segmented internet users into 8 archetypes based on their”

a) Intensity Of Internet Access : How much they used internet

b) Variety Of Internet Usage : How diverse was their internet use patterns (only Email on one end and Email + Torrents + MMOPRG + Social Media on the other)

c) Mobility Of Internet Usage : Were they always connected and logged online through their office / at home / while travelling / over phone or did they just have one access location.

Out of these 8 personas, we selected 6 that fit Spectranet’s core target group and identified representative users for each of these 6 archetypes. We then visited these users in their natural environment and had extended discussions with them around their internet usage, their device ecosystems, their perceptions on brands, their latent needs and their decision making process when choosing a broadband service provider.

2. Synthesized User Needs: Based on this research, we presented insights to Spectranet along dimensions such as internet usage, usage on the go, device ecosystems etc. Also we recommended certain types of tariff plans to maximize uptake.

3. Prototypes: We created high-fidelity wire-frames for the website based on our user research and the information needs of the users. With the technology back-end and the provisioning systems for this wireless internet service still under development,  the project presented an opportunity to influence & introduce features that could be incorporated in the service. The design process therefore ended up being highly iterative and participative.

4. Visual Design: Our design team, working with the brand brief that had been newly developed at Spectranet, created the visual design for the website.

The survey recorded the feedback from about 30 subjects across New Delhi between July 2 – July 3, 2008. This data represents people from varied walks of life and demonstrates that the discerning consumer is not just the well-educated city dweller but is as much the “pan-wallah” around the curb or the migrant worker. A copy of this rich media survey is uploaded here (3.4 mb, 57 pages) and may be used with due credits.

The research questions we have addressed include the basic demographics of the respondent i.e. the person’s name, age and profession. The other set of questions are either around the mobile device they own or the telecom service provider they are subscribed to. The opportunities for innovation are typically hidden within the responses and behavior of people and these are just two facets we thought were worth
exploring.

The survey is a snapshot of the diversity of telecom users in our cities, reinforcing a few things that we must bear in mind as either a new entrant or an existing service provider in this space:

• the prevalence of mobile phone as a communication device cuts through all sections of society and therefore the same product ends up delivering almost as many unique experiences as there are consumers
• the power of social media, particularly for the uninitiated consumer, is the most defining influence on the choices they make
• the service that differentiates one provider from the other is almost non-existent and more starkly so when the consumer demands are as basic as they come

This document intends to trigger a dialogue on service design & innovation and re-focus the efforts on the wellspring of a great brand & service – the consumer. Also uploaded is short film we made of some interesting and leading user reactions.

Quicksand has been working with IDEO since early 2006, managing and facilitating design research for them in India. Services rendered include:

• research planning & design
• ethnographic research
• cultural guiding
• rich media documentation
• data synthesis

Research formats range from shadowing sessions to fly-on-the-wall observations, diads, contextual inquiries, group sessions and usually involve a combined IDEO-Quicksand team in-field. The domains of intervention have cut across products and services in sectors such as internet, mobile and telecommunications.

(project details with-held as falling under an NDA)

Quicksand was brought in as the design research team to evaluate the unique aspects of Indian education, including constraints on rural schools, teachers, children, parents and infrastructure. The research in turn led to design recommendations on:

• Suitable collaboration platforms between various stakeholders
• Concepts for content delivery, interaction and system interfaces at each consumer touch point for phase one of program implementation
• A future blueprint of the program with respect to new technology & human interventions
• Internal & external communication necessary for system roll out
• Tweak existing user interface making it relevant for the new context of education

Following are some design & research artifacts from the project.

The program was piloted at district Bardhman, four hours from Calcutta. A week long ethnographic research established some key personas, concerns and paradigms that would govern the design of the Education Helpline. The work consisted of observational studies, in-depth interviews, group discussions as well as photo and film documentation – all aimed at moving towards a richer understanding of the current context.

A short film on teachers sharing their concerns and opinion on the existing education paradigm

Synthesis of the research data led to preliminary identification of user concerns, which provided an indication of the level of complexity that would be demanded of the system. Some key findings are shown below:

The next stage of the study involved developing interaction concepts that were tested with users to establish:

• Program positioning
• Training & Capacity building amongst stakeholders
• Usability of existing interface
• Database management & build-up

SCENARIO DEVELOPMENT: Illustrations of possible scenarios from point of view of teachers, field workers and knowledge workers

CALL FLOW SCHEMATIC: An illustrated depiction of how a call generated travels through the system and the key stakeholders at each stage.

SYSTEM SCOPING: Feature specification of the system in its short, medium and long term manifest

Finally, the Quicksand design team did an audit of the existing web based user interface, navigation and database structure and made simple visual design changes that would enhance its usability. This was important from the point of view of pilot implementation and was used to brief the technology development team.

The NNOC (national network operations center) occupies a pride of place within the corporate headquarters of Reliance located at the outskirts of Mumbai. It also doubles up as an exhibition space that gives visitors a window into the company’s infrastructure, operations, services and products.

The Reliance brand team approached Quicksand with a brief to re-vision the space as an immersive & interactive experience communicating the key products, services and values of the group. What follows is the process we undertook and some pertinent design outputs. The end output from Quicksand was an experience blueprint that established the intended user experience & enablers for it.

DESIGN RESEARCH

Detailed one-on-one sessions with all business heads within Reliance helped the design team establish the guiding vision that exists within the group. It also gave early pointers to the scale, complexity and magnitude that needed to be represented within the NNOC. We also spent several days at the NNOC, experiencing it as visitors, architects and designers.

All interview transcriptions were compiled and archived for internal reference (click image below for enhanced view)

DESIGN VISIONING

Synthesis of these interviews led to the initial design vision and an expectations summary that was necessary to establish internal buy-in. These were a mix of evocative visuals and written content that summarized what internal expectations were and how they all came together under a unifying vision for Reliance.

DESIGN BLUEPRINTING

The design & experience blueprint developed on the basis of above research, involved studying the floor plans of the NNOC and a massive content hunt for

• products & services of Reliance Communications including technical specifications
• building a technology glossary of the latest interactive technologies from around the world that could be brought into the space
• benchmarking against operation centers of other global majors in telecom

The final output consisted of a virtual walk-through of the space conceived as 9 distinct zones – each zone with a set of installations that communicated the past, present and future of Reliance. Click below to preview parts of the film and the print document presented to Reliance.

(the video below is confidential. please get in touch for more details)

The concept was presented internally to the Chairperson, Mr. Anil Ambani and given to Accenture for a technology feasibility study. Further developments are awaited.

The research subjects were inspirational user profiles from the cities of Surat & Mumbai who had unusual & out-of-the-ordinary information needs. Quicksand worked alongside Google’s user experience group from Mountain View, California and their product R&D teams from Bangalore, India.

The research also got cited in a recent conference – Serious Play 2008 (click here to access article)

(project details withheld as falling under an NDA)

Quicksand partnered the advertising agency Leo Burnett in developing a concept presentation to Reliance for the new retail identity. Published below is a walk-through of the proposed design. In-store observations of consumer walk-ins, customer service and back-office operations guided much of the design process.