Understanding the competitive landscape of Gen Z technology use by Ana B. Praia

Understanding the competitive landscape of Gen Z technology use

Ana B. Praia

User Researcher

UX Researcher

Data Analyst

Google Drive

Note: This case involves confidential information that cannot be disclosed. If you require further details, please contact me directly.

This project aimed to explore, understand, and outline the behaviors of Brazilian Gen Z technology users.

This project took place in June 2022 in Brazil.

This project was conducted remotely by a team of 3 UXRs based in Brazil in partnership with 2 UXRs and 1 project manager in the US. The first step was a two-week diary study with 105 participants and the final step was an in-depth interview with 12 selected participants.

The impact of this project is huge as the insights we got from it will impact the Client's strategy toward the next billion internet users in the next few years.

Tools

Google Forms

Indeemo

Google suite

Team

3 end-to-end UX Researchers (Brazil)

2 supporting UX Researchers (US)

1 project manager

My role

Lead UX Researcher

Session moderator

Recruiter

Timeline

6+ weeks

Definition + recruitment: 10 days

Diary Study: 1 week

User Interviews: 3 days

Data analysis & results: 3 weeks

Identifying the problem and outlining the research objectives

In May 2023, we were approached by the client with the following question: "How well do we know the online behavior of GenZ users in Brazil today?".

While conducting desk research we soon realized that we didn't know much yet. As we were looking at a specific group of users, it became clear that the nature of this study was going to be exploratory, as there wasn't a problem clearly defined beforehand.

Due to this, we started talking and brainstorming the main points we wanted to find out but kept them as broad as possible and did not make assumptions from the get-go that would deter us from looking at the data with an open mind. After doing that, we went on to define our research methods.

Brainstorming sessions helped guide our interests before defining our methods

Defining research methods

Many aspects were considered when defining a research method, including the number of participants we aimed to recruit. Considering that the impact of the data could affect over a billion users in the future, we decided to recruit the highest number of participants we could within our budget. With this, 105 participants were recruited and we split our research into 2 phases.

Phase 1 - The choice of a diary study as a research method was based on the fact that we wanted to understand what the context of use looks like when people are living their everyday lives.

Upon talking with our client, we agreed that the 7-day diary study would aim to have at least 90 participants finish the tasks.

Knowing the hardships of getting so many people engaged for 7 days (including a weekend and mid-week holiday) and considering that our research budget allowed us to, we decided to play safe by starting with 15 participants above the minimum quota.

As part of the tasks, participants had to upload evidence of their technology use every day together with a Forms survey talking about it in more depth. This helped with data validation ensuring that all topics were being discussed by the participants. Through the survey, we managed to get clear answers from most participants even if they were not too engaged in uploading good-quality evidence of their daily use.

Phase 2 - This part of the research consisted of selecting 12 participants with distinct contexts of use to participate in a remote 75-minute interview to further explore their digital habits and behaviors.

The Research in numbers

Our audience

Defining the audience was a challenge. Brazil is very diverse and has a population of over 200 million people, and it's one of the top 3 countries that use our client's products the most.

With this being said, we went back to the client with this and followed the advice to recruit based on a mix of the following criteria:

Experienced Internet Users and Novice Internet Users (we used the Client's methods to assess the level of use of each participant. Further details can not be shared due to a non-disclosure agreement)

Split group of minors and adults (13-18 / 18-24 / 24-30-year-olds)

All genders

All devices (Android / iOS)

Phase 1: Diary study

As mentioned before, we were aiming to explore the context of use and observe real-time user behavior, so we decided to set up a 7-day diary study on a digital ethnography platform called Indeemo. The participants were sent instructions on how to download and use the platform 3 days before fieldwork started to make sure all their questions were answered.

As a small team, using Indeemo was great for us because we needed to automatize everything we could to keep control of our large participant sample.

Phase 1 breakdown

7 days total for the diary study (including the weekend)

20-minute daily entries

“Structured diary experience” - the participant was expected to share evidence of their technology use

Daily notifications to remind participants of their tasks

Daily surveys on specific topics at the end of each day

Indeemo platform can be used on a desktop or mobile

Getting users to talk is not always easy so we started by getting to know them better

The breakdown of themes of the 7-day tasks was:

Identity and hobbies.

Technology landscape

Content preferences

Online shopping

Search preferences

Downloads and uploads

Trust

Through the platform, participants were able to receive task notification reminders, check their progress, contact the research team, and upload their tasks. We also built a FAQ session for quick help in case they needed extra help.

Phase 2: Interviews

The interview phase started only 3 days after we finished the diary study fieldwork.

As participants completed their daily tasks and surveys, we took a couple of hours every day to analyze their answers and highlight the most interesting use cases so we could quickly select the ideal participants to be interviewed by the end of phase 1.

For the interview guides, we followed a similar topic structure to the diary tasks, but we added relevant follow-up questions and probes. Our objective was to dive deeper into their experiences and contexts of the use of technology. We invited for the second phase 12 participants from a mix of regions, genders, socioeconomic statuses, ages, and device types.

Lastly, we also made sure that we studied each participant and their habits based on the diary data before the interview to make sure we did not skip any interesting topics that they could talk more in-depth about that would be interesting for us to know.

Interview guide flow (example)

Analyzing data and extracting insights

By the end of phase 1, we had over 2800 uploads on Indeemo to go through and only 3 weeks to deliver a report. Predicting the large volume of information, we made sure to automatized most of what we could before our fieldwork started so we would not be overwhelmed over data analysis.

We connected the Indeemo database to a datasheet to quickly extract and enter our data. We added formulas to this datasheet so we could organize and highlight what was important as well as turn this information into countable data.

It is worth stressing that the Client wanted a report that contained mostly quantitative results with some interesting use cases highlighted. For them, this was an easier way to exemplify the results we got for the stakeholders to understand the Brazilian context of use better.

14 days after we completed both phases of the research, we delivered a joint report alongside the US, Indonesian, and German teams who performed similar studies focused on Generation Z in their countries.

Data collection on Sheets

Key learning and challenges

01

My main challenge in this research was overcoming the different learning curves within such a large participant sample.

Some participants had issues understanding what others considered to be simple tasks such as recording a video selfie, while a few of them encountered difficulties in using Indeemo. As Brazil is a huge country, there were also many cultural differences and digital literacy levels, so trying to maintain consistency between the tasks was a challenge.

Building a FAC and a communication plan, in addition to anticipating the participants' possible difficulties, was a differentiator and something that I will take to my future projects.

02

When coming up with a research plan, we made sure we had as many conversations as possible with the Client to understand their expectations from the get-go.

I believe that taking this step is crucial for any project. Working in a small team and anticipating a large volume of data to analyze, prompted us to consider ways to organize, store, and analyze the data before we began working in the field.

This project was being carried out in three different countries - Germany, Indonesia, and the USA - simultaneously. To facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing, we reached out to teams in each country to exchange our insights, learn from each other's experiences, discuss challenges, and explore solutions together.

03

Lastly, it became evident to all involved that there is no recipe to research.

It is impossible to predict every possible outcome, even with detailed planning, communication with other teams, and weeks of preparation. This is particularly true in exploratory studies, like the one described in this case study, where the results cannot be imagined in advance.

From my own experience, I understand that as a researcher, it can be challenging to navigate unexpected challenges and stay on track to achieve your goals. However, The most valuable skills for a researcher are problem-solving, calmness, and open-mindedness. With these skills, you can tackle unexpected challenges confidently, stay focused on your goals, and adapt to changing circumstances.

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Posted Apr 15, 2024

A cross-country exploratory Brazil UX study with 105 Gen Z tech users to aid Client's strategy for the next billion internet users.

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