Personal Care App Concept Study

May 2023

Company: Proctor and Gamble

Timeframe: 1 month

Role: Primary researcher

Stakeholders: Analytics Director

Methods: Concept testing, Survey

Tools: UserTesing.com, Google Sheets, Figma

The Process

Project Description

A large consumer goods corporation wanted to gauge interest in the Personal Care App (PCA) concept focused on promoting self-care geared towards parents, particularly mothers.

UserTesting partnered with this company to determine if the concept was appealing to women and to help determine how to introduce the app to the market.

Research Objectives

The company aimed to answer the following research objectives:

  • How valuable is a tool like PCA to parents?

    • How relevant is it to them?

    • How useful is it to them?

  • How interested are they in the concept?

  • How frequently would they use PCA?

  • What, if anything, would improve the app?

Approach: Unmoderated Concept Testing

Scoping and approach for this study were decided ahead of time in a package given to the stakeholders. However, given the desired timeline and how many participants we wanted to hear from, the approach made sense as an unmoderated concept test.

Participants were screened through UserTesting.com using the following criteria:

  • Age: 25 - 59

  • Household size: Mix (with at least 1 child under 18)

  • Employment status: Mix of full and part-time employment

  • Gender: Female

  • Location: United States

Participants were also separated into feedback two groups to achieve the need for in-depth feedback with one group while gathering a bigger data pool with another group. ~10% of participants were asked to go through an immersive app experience while ~90% of participants were shown a brief app experience.

  • Group 1 (n=10)

    • Reviewing app store preview

    • Onboarding experience

    • App experience: check-in, rewards, scheduling activities

  • Group 2 (n=75)

    • Reviewing app store preview

    • App experience: check-in, scheduling activities

Test Details

In the unmoderated sessions, Group 1 was asked a series of verbal, written, rating scale, and multiple choice questions about their expectations and feedback with each section of the prototype. Group 2 was asked to provide written, rating scale, and multiple choice questions about their expectations and feedback. To help answer the research questions, we evaluated metrics such as app appeal, likelihood to download the app, how often they might use the app, and whether the app concept met their expectations of a self-care app designed for women.

Excerpt from test plan

Analysis

I collaborated with a colleague to analyze the Group 1 feedback to extract sentiments and expectations by utilizing a rainbow spreadsheet. Rating scales and multiple choice responses from Groups 1 and 2 were tabulated to provide an understanding of participants’ behaviors.

Our process also involved categorizing the most important or interesting aspects of the concept as well as the weaknesses of the concept.

Throughout the analysis process, we also collected meaningful feedback through quotes and curated clips to highlight important themes in the final deliverable.

Example of rainbow spreadsheet observations

Outcome

Findings

Through this process, we were able to evaluate and validate interest in a self-care app intended for mothers and women. These insights provided the necessary direction in terms of development and were shared with the main stakeholders before a concept meeting to determine the development of the concept.

Examples of quotes and clips incorporated into deliverable slides

High level insights and associated recommendations ranked by severity

Reflection

What went well:

  • Concept tested early in the development ideation helped to identify any gaps or areas of opportunity highlighted in the summary of insights.

  • Validated interest and appeal in the app concept to provide clarity regarding continued development.

What could be improved/changed

  • Narrow research scope toward one (1) main high-fidelity prototype to achieve more in-depth insights.

  • Set expectations with stakeholders regarding research best practices to avoid confusion and participant fatigue.

  • For a mixed methods approach, interviewing the in-depth participants may have garnered even more interesting insights as we would have been able to guide participants through the experience more seamlessly.