Uncovering Behaviours around Low-cost Smartphones

Research questions

As the advent of low-cost smartphones began to get centerstage in markets like India and China, Nokia’s design team was curious to understand how this technology was shaping behaviors and routines of users. It became vital to understand 5 Ws of low-cost smartphone usage—WHAT people do with their phones (practices/routines), WHY they are doing this (motivations) as well as WHEN, WHERE and with WHOM they are doing it (context). Our research was focused on the interactions between users and technology, it took form in three distinct inquiries:

Contextual Usage: What are the profiles of typical users? Has smartphone technology triggered new ways to use other mobile and smart devices such as phones, laptops, tablets?

Linguistic Pursuits: How do users leverage language and transliteration as tools for negotiating relationships and projecting social status?

Behavioural Shifts: How do the unique constraints and affordages of low-cost hardware trigger behaviors that differ from high-end mobile devices or traditional PCs?

Process

Our approach was grounded in deep immersion, moving into the messy, vibrant contexts of users' daily lives. Research tools for these specific inquiries required methodological lenses:

• In-Situ Documentation: We documented a diverse set of users across Delhi and Bangalore, in their homes, workplaces, and during transit. We used shadowing and fly-on-the-wall observations to capture how users interacted with their devices on a micro-level. The research guideline highlighted behaviours that were most interesting to the design team, these included camera usage, impact of micro-tasks, mobility around the city, data storage and the influence of immediate environment.
• Expert & Group Perspectives: To triangulate insights from ethnographic observations, the team also reached out to experts. For instance, since language is a symbol of social identity, the team conducted expert interviews to understand how users communicate and convey meaning through text input on their phones. Similarly, other focus group discussions also focused on views on competing phones
• Visual Maps: By developing situation maps and ecosystem maps immediately following participant interactions, the team was able to synthesize complex usage routines and environmental variables into structured references for film editing and workshop reporting. These maps were aided by shot lists to capture the depth of the user experience.

Research outputs & visual assets

These three projects, spread over 3 years, culminated in a variety of visual outputs ranging from short documentaries, facilitated workshops and a report with the main findings and design recommendations for internal stakeholders.

Videos and photographs were useful tools to expand on the intimate relationship users have with their mobile devices. These also aided the design team in understanding current needs and usage to analyse future needs.

Using selected video fragments, we translated raw ethnographic data into visual maps, user stories, and strategic decks. These culminated into co-creation workshops that fed directly into the client’s product development pipeline, helping them refine their offerings for the next generation of global smartphone users. Finally, group sessions were conducted with users of competing devices to bridge the gap between Indian field sites and global design studios with international stakeholders.