Defining the Opportunity Space
Alexa Social
Defining the Opportunity Space
Alexa Social
Alexa Social was a net-new organization formed to increase the utility of Alexa through increasing the number of interactions. Alexa Social today is a multimodal voice + touch experience that allows users to 'follow' news, 'share' photos, music, and links, and 'react.'
As sole researcher for Social, I defined the opportunity space for this new 0-to-1 product area and domain. Through structured mixed-methods research, I developed frameworks, defined unmet needs and high-level customer goals, and conducted and facilitated research to launch the first Alexa Social set of features. This part of the program defined the customer need, the opportunity space, helped build the vision and 3-5 year plan.
Challenge
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‘Social’ was a new organization and product area for Alexa, yet fragmented across entrenched organizations (Each team had a different definition and implementation)
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I was hired to sift through the multiple external and internal interpretations and help determine what was the right focus for the organization at this point in time.
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What does “social” mean for Alexa?
What concepts demonstrate the vision of Alexa Social?
Key Activities
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Built upon existing literature review, conducted foundational diary study to prioritize customer needs
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Developed first CXO (customer experience outcomes) framework for Alexa Social
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Informed concept jam and design sprint work and 3-5 Year Plan
Methodology
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Mixed-methods approach sought to understand the ‘whys’ for behavior.
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Survey of 296 online adults. Subset of 16 these respondents for a 10-day diary study.
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Translated insights into jobs-to-be-done and developed a cross-referenced framework to inform and inspire design ideation through the concept jam process.
Concept jam output after 3 days of intense ideation informed by research.
Impact
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Established a cadence for this research in the roadmap for early stage concepts. Saved resources later on.
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Brought voice designers at the start of the project
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Improved quality of design practice and shortened design cycle.
Team
Thank you to our core Alexa Social team for an amazing concept jam series: Mike Suraci, Matthew Giuliari, Rob Haitani, Anna Demyanik, Jonathan Jolivette, and Sheida Koufigar. In these uncertain times, celebrating successful moments is so important! See LinkedIn post.