How should a Sonos user control their listening experience five years from now?

Problem

As part of an effort to expand into new markets, the Experience Planning team at Sonos partnered with me and my research team to understand how consumer listening experiences are changing and might continue to change. The goal of this research was to inspire ideation for the future of interaction modes and equip Sonos to be a leader in the field of audio control across a range of surfaces.

ROLE

I was the senior research lead, working on a team of three with one researcher and the director of design. Along with leading the analysis of the data, it was my responsibility to organize and manage all aspects of research and ideation planning, write the survey and research protocols, lead the in-person interviews, and facilitate presentation of the findings to stakeholders. As well as my internal team, I also worked collaboratively with the Sonos XP team, which consisted of product and industrial designers, engineers, and customer insight managers.

Approach

Over 16 weeks my team designed, executed, and synthesized three agile research sprints to understand what ‘control’ means to users and determine how the listening experience and modes of desired interaction are evolving. We conducted lab and in-home prototype and usability testing, card sorting activities, and in-depth user interviews. After each sprint we synthesized the data and translated the findings into a summary deck and video collection.

Impact

We delivered three detailed reports and a collection of mixed media reference materials. Our insights and strategic recommendations continue to be used to define the product roadmap for the future of the Sonos app and hardware controls.