Dell 2

Project Goal:

The primary goal of this research is to understand how business users within enterprise corporations are using notebook computers to conduct work activities and what similarities and differences exist among this group of users. Specifically, discover if there are different segments of technical sophistication and notebook needs among employees within enterprise companies, thus allowing for notebook segmentation to better address these needs. 

Research:

To accomplish the project goal, the research team conducted 36 one-on-one phone interviews with enterprise employees. This allowed the team to quickly speak with participants from a variety of industries and regions. Prior to each phone interview participants were asked to email a photo of themselves, their notebook, and their office environment to provide the researcher with some context of the participant’s work environment during the phone interview. Each interview lasted approximately one hour in length and was guided by a research protocol with qualitative questions (both open ended and directed) about their office environment and notebook usage and expectations. Participants were also asked to rate a variety of notebook factors (e.g. weight, durability, and style) and discuss their ideal notebook. 

Through a detailed synthesis and analysis processes the team was able to to define seven key segmentation factors. Each participant was then categorized based on the segmentation factors. This organization allowed the team to select participants from key categories of interest for an additional round of research.
In order to convey the context of the enterprise environment and needs of notebook users to managers and designers, the team conducted a second round of research consisting of video diaries, photo diaries, and online video interviews. For the video diaries a select group of participants were sent a Flip video camera with a list of objectives for them to document with the camera. Other participants were sent an instruction booklet of items to document with their digital cameras for the photo diaries and asked to participate in an online video interview. 

Results:

The research created an initial understanding of the factors on which the enterprise notebook computer users could be grouped and segmented. In addition, inspirational boards for key user segments were created based on the photo diaries, as well as an inspirational video based on the video diaries and online interviews. These materials immersed managers and designers in the context of their customer and guided the design of notebook computers derived from need based user segments.