UX Soup

New vehicles are increasingly outfitted with advanced technology that is poorly communicated to the consumer and even to the dealer. Chris and Diana sit down with Dr Bryan Reimer from MIT about how mental models of ADAS system designers and users do not overlap. In his opinion -and we at Strategy Analytics agree with him-, we need to work together and we need to use real world data to a greater de...

Join Chris as he takes Diana and Lisa through his journey of a recent and particularly frustrating customer service experience with an internet provider. Trying not to be overly critical, they point out the positive experiences as well as provide recommendations for where someone in charge of the customer experience across different silos could have saved Chris a lot of time and hassle. Send us yo...

Lisa welcomes Di O'Neill from Strategy Analytics to the podcast to discuss smart surfaces and fabrics. They discuss use cases in automotive, buildings, and healthcare along with key enablers. In Condensed Soup, they share their favorite uses for smart surfaces. Di O'Neill at SA SA research on smart surfaces Want to talk more about smart surfaces and fabrics? Email us at UXSoup@strategyanalytics.co...

Chris welcomes Dr. Myra Blanco from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute to discuss human factors and user experience topics with commercial vehicles, including long-haul trucking, delivery vehicles, and drone delivery. They cover automated delivery vehicles as an equity equalizer, accommodating for "technology immigrants", issues with testing self-driving vehicles, and the role that humans...

UX principles are applied nearly everywhere, including sports. From analyzing human performance data, communicating recommendations to athletes and coaches, understanding skill acquisition, and shifting to user (athlete)-centered training, the field of sports science research has exploded thanks in part to the proliferation of performance tracking technology. Chris welcomes to the podcast Dr. Rob...

Banking has changed enormously over the past decade. With online banks and apps that can do almost anything, how well do they meet user needs? How is the banking experience differ between the US and Europe? In Condensed Soup, Chris, Lisa, and Diana discuss their best or worst banking experience. Want to share your opinion on the user experience of banking and banking apps? Email us at UXSoup@strat...

Icons are all around us in our personal computers and electronic devices to represent functions that we use daily, such as saving a document or attaching a file to an email. The first versions of these icons were created using metaphors or analogies related to the ways the tasks were previously performed, to ease the transition into a more digital framework. However, many of these initial versions...

We all enjoy those everyday experiences that make our life more pleasant, but we also suffer little annoyances with everyday products and services. Lisa, Chris, and Diana reflect on both the good and the bad, providing suggestions for removing friction points in the things we use frequently. In Condensed Soup, they discuss their most recent memorable experience with non-everyday things. Want to sh...

As vaccination rates increase, travel corridors are slowly opening up. What does international travel look like during this time? Lisa recently traveled from the US to the UK and takes Diana and Chris through a user journey of her journey across the pond. What parts of the process were different? What could be done more efficiently? Would Lisa be open to traveling again? Questions? Comments? Email...

What are other use cases relatable voice agents could support to improve the in-vehicle user experience? How do researchers conduct studies using anthropomorphic agents? Join Chris, Diana, and Dr Gary Burnett from Nottingham University in part two of their conversation, to find out how relatable agents can minimise driver fatigue and support trust on automated vehicles. Dr Gary Burnett SA research...

What are anthropomorphic or relatable agents? What are the challenges researchers and designers face to make them natural? What work still needs to be done? Join Chris, Diana, and Dr. Gary Burnett from Nottingham University, to find out more about those challenges, and in which in-vehicle use cases they best suited to enhance the overall experience of getting from A to B. Dr Gary Burnett SA resear...

How can OEMs design self-driving vehicles so they don't cause motion sickness? This will be of upmost importance with higher levels of automation, even before achieving full automation at Level 5. At some point, the driver will be expected to take control from the vehicle, or may desire to do so. How will it be ensured that the driver is fit to drive? Diana and Chris welcome Dr. Joseph Smyth from...

Lisa welcomes back Dr. Paul Tennent from the Mixed Reality Lab at the University of Nottingham for Part Two of their discussion on soma experiences. In this episode they discuss fearsome experiences and substitutional reality, including the gas mask experience, using mixed reality to relive history, and feeding an infinite line of Elvis impersonators. Dr. Paul Tennent and the Mixed Reality Lab at...

How can users better describe their bodily experiences when interacting with virtual or augmented reality? What happens when their body movements are deliberately misaligned with what they are seeing? Lisa welcomes Dr. Paul Tennent from the Mixed Reality Lab at the University of Nottingham to talk about these soma experiences, including the VR Swing, the Baby Game, and what it would feel like to b...

Is listening to the AM/FM radio while driving dead? Diana Franganillo, Director of In-Vehicle User Experience at Strategy Analytics, makes her UX Soup debut and joins Chris in answering this question, discussing what has always set radio apart, UX issues with radio, and what radio needs to do to maintain and grow listenership. In Condensed Soup they reminisce about their favorite memories with rad...

Chris welcomes David MacQueen, Executive Director of the Virtual and Augmented Reality service at Strategy Analytics, to discuss use cases and UX issues for enterprise AR applications, including healthcare, manufacturing and the military. They also discuss implications for the consumer AR market and Apple's upcoming foray into AR glasses. Virtual and Augmented Reality service AR Industry and Acade...

The annual Google I/O developer event was held May 18-20 and several announcements were made regarding Android 12 and advancements in AI, AR, and other areas. Lisa and Chris discuss the UX impact of these announcements, and in Condensed Soup Lisa talks about how they would enhance her artwork. Report on Google I/O event Questions? Comments? Email us at UXSoup@strategyanalytics.com Chris on LinkedI...

CHI is the must-see HMI conference every year. This year it was virtual, with the leading academic and industry researchers presenting their latest findings. Lisa talks with Chris about a select few HMI research papers that caught her eye, including ones on self-driving cars, virtual reality for older adults, and creating mHealth apps for veterans and active duty personnel. Questions? Comments? Em...

Contactless payment systems like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay haven't caught on in the West like they have in China. What UX issues are holding them back? What features might entice them to use them more? Chris and Lisa discuss their recent research on contactless payments and in Condensed Soup, Chris talks about his memorable coffee-buying experience in China. SA research on contactless payments Que...

More and more carmakers are committing to electric vehicles in the coming years. Chris and Lisa discuss consumer acceptance of EVs, concerns consumers have, the importance of navigation systems for EVs, and EV-specific HMI. In Condensed Soup the discuss their best or worst EV experiences. Consumer interest in electric vehicles Questions? Comments? Email us at UXSoup@strategyanalytics.com Chris on...

Chris welcomes Ben Lundin from Strategy Analytics' Connected Mobility Service to discuss ride hailing, car sharing, bike & scooter sharing, and public transport. They talk about the impact of the pandemic on mobility services, UX issues for mobility, and how self-driving cars fit. In Condensed Soup, Chris and Ben discuss their best, worst, or funniest mobility service experience. UX Research o...

Robot vacuum cleaners, robot companions, robot police dogs...robots have been in the spotlight, with new ones appearing at CES every year. In this episode, Lisa and Chris take a look at some of the key use cases and UX issues for robotics. In Condensed Soup they talk about their own favorite use case for them. Research on robotics Episode Transcript Questions? Comments? Email us at UXSoup@strategy...

Could I interest you in a free cup of coffee? Advertisements that interact with you via voice recognition are in development. Could these actually work? In what use cases would they be appropriate? What are the UX issues that need to be addressed so that advertisers do not turn off their target customers? Chris and Lisa discuss these topics and more in this week's episode. Research on in-vehicle c...

Lisa welcomes Karen Purcell from Cornell University to UX Soup to discuss an ongoing NSF-funded citizen science project where they are co-creating an app for underserved communities to monitor noise pollution. They discuss the challenges faced in taking on such an ambitious project and provide advice for researchers trying to change the way science is done to make it more inclusive. The Noise Proj...

Renee and Chris from Episode 11 make a return visit to talk with Lisa about what has changed from last time with the user experience of distance learning at the high school and university levels, the challenges they continue to face in meeting the needs of students, teachers, and parents while adhering to policies not written for distance learning, and how much they expect this past year to impact...