AZURE
Design Researcher Intern
Microsoft
Getting Started in Azure
Research Skills:
Online recruitment
Recruitment screening
Qualitative survey
Semi-structured interview
Virtual concept testing
Communicating research findings across organizations
PROJECT CONTEXT
WHAT GUIDANCE IS IMPORTANT FOR CUSTOMERS AS THEY ARE GETTING STARTED IN AZURE?
Identify what information is most important to customers as they get started with using the Azure platform.
WHAT INFORMATION FORMATS ARE MOST EFFECTIVE WHEN GETTING STARTED IN AZURE?
Document the different resource formats where customers find information on getting started.
DESIGN AND RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
DESK RESEARCH
Explored previous findings of the research team to understand challenges and needs for getting started with Azure, and engaged with other teams across our organization to understand and integrate their previous and ongoing work to improve the extensibility of the research project.
STUDY RECRUITMENT
Designed a recruitment survey to identify customer's experience levels with Azure and other cloud platforming tools, and recruit customers with varied job titles and work experiences.
QUALITATIVE SURVEY
Engaged ~50 customers in a virtual survey to capture how customers search for guidance and implement new knowledge in Azure. Included multiple choice, long text, and rank order questions.
SEMI-STRUCTURED VIRTUAL INTERVIEWS
Interviewed 5 customers to gather in-depth information on when they need specific guidance, what formats are most supportive, and how that experience might be represented in Azure's portal. Invited members of the research team and the lead designer on the project. Led post-interview debriefs with the research team to capture important takeaways and perspectives across all observers.
DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS
Collaborated with lead designers to develop a set of design principles informed by the content of the survey and interviews.
DESIGN CONCEPT VALIDATION
Led 5 virtual feedback sessions to validate the design principles presented in a semi-functional Figma prototype. Included semi-structured questions about perceptions of the concept. Debriefed after each session with lead designer and research team to identify changes for the next iteration of the concepts.
PRESENTATION
Ensured future team's success by sharing the research approach, findings, insights, and recommendations in multiple public forums and through shareable and accessible reports available at the end of the internship.