Smart Questions for a Smarter World

A useful way to explore a subject with fresh eyes is to start with a bold question.

The talented people in my Customer Experience (CX) and User Experience (UX) teams ask themselves bold questions to help deliver ways our tech can add value to our customers.

One such question is: Can ‘Smart Devices’ in the home deliver stronger value by working with PCs and core devices such as smartphones, tablets, and monitors, in more complementary ways? This question is relevant to our customers who, post-pandemic, find the lines blurred between work, play, and learning. They now use multiple devices in the home to be productive, stay entertained, and make life a bit easier.

What’s Next for Device User Experience?

To explore this question further, I sat down with Lincoln Hancock and Hallie Clark, from Lenovo’s Next UX team, to discuss the potential of multiple devices to work ‘Smarter Together’.

Dilip: Hi Lincoln and Hallie. Thank you for your time. So our readers can understand what Lenovo Next UX does, could you describe your work on the global user experience team?

Lincoln: Sure. I’m a UX designer who collaborates with researchers to test new technology ideas to discover ‘what’s next?’ The best way to describe our work on the Next UX team is we look just beyond the horizon to help people imagine tech experiences that could be possible in the near future and what opportunities might exist for Lenovo. For example, we’ve recently been studying how new technology might support more inclusive and equitable experiences for both remote and in-person participants in hybrid meetings.

Hallie: I’m a UX researcher. My role is to always act as the voice of our users. I do this by sharing meaningful user quotes, research data and user feedback from multiple sources in multiple languages from surveys, user interviews, customer reviews and more, to share in our Next UX discussions. Of note, during the pandemic, we had to shift how we conducted user testing research by introducing new remote methodologies such as online workshops and video diary studies. I believe it’s important to have users physically experience new concepts and ideas, but when we were forced to be remote, we had to find creative ways to get qualitative insights.

Dilip: I’m keen to explore with you the potential of devices to work ‘Smarter Together’. Why is this important for users?

Lincoln: As technology – PCs, smartphones, tablets and other smart devices – becomes more present in more parts of life, we’re seeing that people use multiple devices together to accomplish everyday tasks. So “user experience” is about more than a user’s journey with any one device — it involves a mix of devices. We have an opportunity to deliver a more unified experience across an ecosystem of devices — improving Lenovo-to-Lenovo experiences but also improving how our new devices work with devices users may already own.

Hallie: If there is more than one Lenovo device in the home, we ask ourselves: “how can they work better together or complement each other to add value to the user experience?”

Dilip: I like that question. It speaks to a higher goal – the creation of technology as a solution rather than a disconnected series of separate devices.

Device UX Wants to be Free (From Barriers)

Lincoln: Yes. The idea of ‘Smarter Together’ drives home the importance of removing barriers between the experiences a user has with the different devices in their life. Not all users want to be ‘locked into’ a single device ecosystem either, they want to mix and match devices. Our user research shows the smartphone is central to their experience. In practice, this might mean, for instance, they want to be able easily to send something from their phone to their PC or tablet, and vice versa.

Hallie: Agreed, this line of inquiry highlights the need to be thoughtful about how devices could work together. I like to think of ‘Smarter Together’ as multiple devices adding up to something greater than what a user can experience with each one individually.

Dilip: Nice. Can you give me an example of a potential scenario where a user would expect their device to work better or ‘smarter’ with other devices?

Hallie: Yes. This scenario is from one of our UX research projects. A tablet could deliver greater value if its usefulness increases based on its interaction with other devices as you do different things. While the tablet is in the kitchen it can act as a screen for Google Assistant or Alexa to help guide meal preparation. If you need to get work done in your spare room or home office, the same tablet will recognize the keyboard already set up on your desk, and become a work productivity solution. Once work has finished for the day, the same tablet pairs with the large display on your living room wall to stream movies for family movie night.

Dilip: That example of transitioning between the kitchen and the home office on the same device is a good one. A tablet works well as an information display, but sometimes it might not be the best choice for a work productivity tool. Extending its functionality when it’s in proximity to an office peripheral – the keyboard – is clever.

‘Smarter Together’ Helps People Achieve Complex Goals

Lincoln: Hallie’s tablet example and our research to date shows people want technology to either simplify their lives or help them maintain balance between work from home and living at home.

Dilip: Or perhaps blend the two together?

Lincoln: Precisely. These are complex goals that describe needs beyond simply obtaining a device for remote work or learn from home. People want to meet goals and improve their lives without having to worry about how all their devices will work together, or being concerned about security. The idea is for their experience across all their devices to be seamless.

Hallie: We, on the Next UX team, believe ‘smart devices’ such as speakers or displays, when they work seamlessly with ‘core devices’ such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones can help people achieve the complex goals Lincoln refers to and in a modern way.

Dilip: This feels like a maturation of the smart technology discussion. “I want to better organize my life” can seem as simple as automatically switching on the lights when I walk into a room, but it includes so much more.

Lincoln: Yes. A ‘Smarter Together’ device ecosystem should also include the option for a user to start anywhere with their device interactions. For example, if you have your smartphone in your hand for a video call, you should have the option to seamlessly move to another device without restarting the call.

Dilip: I can imagine this working in the other direction too. I might begin a video meeting on my desktop PC but choose to switch to my phone if I need to ‘walk and talk’ part way through the call.

Hallie: Yes. Regardless of where you start, there is an opportunity to add value from different user starting points and different directions if devices work well together.

Lincoln: I’d like to emphasize ‘Smarter Together’ is more than simply switching screens in a frictionless manner. It could also encompass wanting to have a better audio experience while listening to your favorite playlist or simply seeking the most comfortable location in your home to work or be entertained.

‘Smarter Together’ Complements People’s Digital Wardrobes

Dilip: The scope for ‘Smarter Together’ is obviously large and ambitious. Has your research uncovered anything users wish they had now?

Hallie: That’s a great question. Our research shows people regard their smartphone as their primary core device. The UX challenge is they want the freedom to choose their favorite smartphone, but have it work seamlessly with the other devices – laptop, tablet, etc. – in their digital wardrobe.

Lincoln: Yes, and one user’s digital wardrobe will differ from another user.

Dilip: This has been a valuable discussion. Considering how user goals are often met by use of more than one device presents new opportunities to offer more value in everyday UX scenarios.

Lincoln: Yes, and we can add value in many directions – a core device may enhance a smart device experience, for instance, or a smart device may enrich an experience involving the core device. For example, the complex process of capturing video or audio on your smartphone, then taking that media to your PC for editing, then back again to your smartphone to share on social media – we can make all those steps easier and more seamless.

Hallie: ‘Smarter Together’ encourages us as UX designers and researchers to look at the broader UX across all devices.

Dilip: Thank you, Lincoln and Hallie, excited to see Lenovo exploring the possibilities.

About the Author

Dilip Bhatia is Lenovo’s Chief Customer Experience Officer and Vice President of User & Customer Experience, PC & Smart Devices. As Lenovo’s Chief Customer Officer, Dilip drives the company to achieve its goal of being the leader in the PC, smart device, data center and mobility space. Start a conversation with him here or on Twitter.