Usability Testing for Amberlight and Microsoft: How do you want to watch TV today?
The background
Mediaroom is Microsoft’s digital TV platform that helps internet service providers deliver a powerful and easy-to-use digital TV experience to their customers’ homes. More than 20 of the world’s leading service providers trust the Mediaroom IPTV software platform, including the Deutsche Telekom in Germany. Amberlight is a London-based UX consultancy and a founding member of the IUP. Amberlight and User Interface Design GmbH (UID) frequently work together on international User Research studies.
The objectives
Microsoft wanted to compare the User Experience of Mediaroom with the TV services of major competitors in several countries worldwide. They asked Amberlight to manage a User Research study in 4 European countries in order to compare the local installation of Mediaroom to local competitors. UID conducted the study for the German market.
The procedure
UID installed the Deutsche Telekom IPTV service "T-Home Entertain", which is based on Microsoft’s Mediaroom, and a competitive product in their offices and conducted quantitative Usability Tests with 30 participants. Participants used both systems to complete several tasks. UID consultants measured task times and completion rates, and using questionnaires, collected the participants’ evaluation of both services. An Expert Review of the T-Home service provided insights into strengths and weaknesses of Mediaroom’s User Experience.
The result
The results provide Microsoft with strong data at hand to quantify the value of their service’s User Experience in the German market. Participants generally responded very positively towards Mediaroom. However, both the User Research study and the Expert Review indicated areas of opportunity for further optimization of the product’s User Experience. Many of the design changes proposed by UID have already been considered by Microsoft for the next release.
Project from 2008
Weitere Informationen
The image above shows Mediaroom’s electronic program guide as implemented in Deutsche Telekom’s "T-Home Entertain" service.
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