Recall our visit from last week.  Our client has developed a child safety product that is now in the testing lab of a major retailer.  Students in the Consumer Behavior class had proposed promotion materials that would be used on point of purchase shippers.  The client had approached an advertising specialist to morph the ideas of those students into a point of purchase shipper that we were going to test; those were to be delivered for us to start testing today.  Unfortunately, the advertising person did not have the materials ready at the end of last week as promised.  When our client went to pick them up late this afternoon, the day before class, the advertiser had instead created an individual package wrapper rather than the shipper.  Rather than try again to get the proper materials before class time from someone who appears to be incompetent, our client decided to take the packaging prototypes that were made and later use a non-local agency for the shipper promotion.  We will test the product alone with the package wrapper.

The good news is that this will make the testing more quick and more portable.  What that means is that we can increase the sample size without creating undue inconvenience for you.  You can easily take the product with its wrapper, hidden in a bag, to work, to school, to friends, etc. as long as the study participant is unaware of what is the product or the nature of the product.

So:

1. Conduct your study on a sample of FIFTEEN people who are unfamiliar with this product or the nature of your study according to the following strict quota:
   • Your sample must include seven moms who have at least one child who currently uses a car seat.
   • Your sample must include four dads who have at least one child who currently uses a car seat.  You may use a mom and a dad from the same family as long as neither knows the nature of the study before participating.
   • Your sample must use EITHER four people who are not a mom or dad with children in car seats, but who have a good friend or relative who does
     -OR- four people who are not a mom or dad with children in car seats and who don't have any good friends or relatives who do.

2. You may work in teams to conduct sessions to make these observations.  If you conduct a session with other class members, however, you must take your own notes (you are not merely sharing a photocopy of someone else's notes) and you must independently write your own report.

3. At the end of each session, you must debrief the participant with regard to confidentiality, anonymity, and how you will be reporting the data.

4. In conducting each session, use the following as your topic guide; ask each participant (subject) to perform the following tasks or to answer the following questions:
   1. Inform the subject that we are testing a new product for a client in our marketing research class.  Tell him/her that you simply want to see how s/he reacts to the product.  Otherwise, say as little as possible and move as quickly as possible to showing the product in order to keep the participant's reaction as natural as possible.

   2. Pull the product, in its package wrapper, out of the bag and place it on the table.  Look at your watch to start timing in seconds. 
   3. Observe and note the participant's reactions and behaviors, keeping a careful watch on time.
      • When does the participant pick up the product? 
      • What does s/he do with it? 
      • When does s/he read the instructions?
      • When does the participant take off the wrapper? 
      • When does the particpant indicate completion by saying, "When/where can I buy this?" or "How much will it cost?" or "Wow, this is exactly what I need!" or "What is this thing?"

        If the participant asks you any questions about the product, (e.g., what is it) indicate that the point of the study is to observe this kind of reaction, and so you cannot say yet.  If possible, it is better to say this with mere "I dunno" body language than to elaborate in words.

   4. When the subject seems to be done inspecting the product, do a cognitive response task ("What were you thinking . . .")
   5. Probe especially negative or positive issues of the cognitive responses.

   6. Take two behavioral intentions measures:
      • How much would be your interest in buying it?
      • What would you be willing to pay?

   7. Debrief the participant: Your notes won't be submitted to the professor with any identifying information; the report won't contain any identifying information; thanks for the help; don't tell the next participant about it if others are waiting.

5. Your written report must contain the following elements:
   1. research objectives
   2. methodology
   3. findings:
      1. utility: does the packaging inform and persuade?
      2. usability: did the prospective buyer easily figure out how to use the product?
      3. likability: does the user like the product and packaging?
      4. attitude: how likely is it that individuals would make an impulse purchase?
   4. conclusions
   5. recommendations

6. In a separate folder, include the original handwritten notes of your observations of study participants.  Do NOT put the participant's name on your observation notes.

7. Bring TWO copies of your report to class on 3 NOV - one for the client, one for the professor.  There will be no draft runs; the report is expected to be spotless.

8. Make an eight minute presentation to the client in class on 3 NOV.  Do not repeat the objectives and methodology for the presentation; merely report your findings, conclusions, and recommendations.

References:
The following references are important background material for a usability study, but might be of limited value in the project as it ultimately was delivered to us.  Nonetheless, questions on the final exam are likely to be taken from these:

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980503.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/991212.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000319.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20010121.html