WHO WE ARE
By choosing new experience you'll be tapping into the skills of a team of senior user researchers who are qualified in psychology, anthropology, human-computer interaction (HCI), ergonomics, and information design.
We’re equally adept at working on UK-specific projects, or multi-cultural projects across Europe, and the US.
We work from London with partners in France, Germany Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, USA, South America and Asia.
HOW WE WORK
Understanding how your customers experience your products and services can help you answer some complex, strategic questions. That's why we take time to thoroughly scope out all our projects. We take care to help you articulate exactly what you need to know. And we carefully design the research to ensure you get useful findings that you can act on.
We encourage you to take an active part in the project – from planning, through to fieldwork and analysis. While we are collecting data we can post daily reports on a dedicated project extranet so you can see what findings are coming in and comment or discuss them with us.
We take care to report back research findings in a way that keeps everyone’s needs in mind. For example if you needed to get buy-in from key stakeholders we may report back in a workshop format rather than as a typical presentation.
Our clients tell us they find us easy and enjoyable to work with: friendly, flexible, committed and approachable.
Our Team
Simon Rubens is founder and Director of new experience. He has experience of working across a wide range of markets and clients. Over the last three years Simon has become increasingly involved in IoT (Internet of Things) research and has conducted research into connected devices for DECC, ETI and Centrica Connected Home. Before starting new experience he was Director of User Experience at leading user experience firm Sapient, and before that, a senior consultant at brand consulting firm Siegel & Gale. He has a BSc in psychology and an MSc with distinction in ergonomics from UCL. Simon has had numerous papers, citations and articles published. He is a member of the UK Usability Professionals' Association, the Ergonomics Society and the MRS.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. How long do research projects take?
Ethnographic research projects usually take 5-8 weeks. Usability and participatory design projects 2-4 weeks although they can involve successive rounds of research. We need about 7 working days to recruit participants before we can start any fieldwork. Normally we work on a fixed time, fixed price basis.
2. How much do user research projects cost?
This depends on the type of project, what methods we are using and the number of research participants. Normally we work on a fixed time, fixed price basis.
3. What research methods do you use?
Our methods are qualitative and come from anthropology and human-computer interaction (HCI) rather than from market research. We use anthropology-derived ethnographic methods such as guerrilla observation, shadowing, self-reporting and contextual interviews. Our HCI-based methods include concept development workshops, card sorting and usability testing.
4. How many participants do you involve in research?
We typically recruit 8-12 participants per country. We will agree with you profiles and a screener to ensure participants accurately reflect your key audience segments. The numbers may seem small but that is because we are looking to identify important attitudes and behaviours rather than measure how many times these crop up in a population.
5. How do you get hold of participants for user research?
Usually we use a third-party agency that specialises in recruiting participants from its own extensive, UK-wide database. Where appropriate we can also recruit from our clients’ customer lists.
6. Do you only do research?
No, we often work with our clients to translate our research findings into product and service concepts, use cases, personas and information architecture.
7. How involved do you need us to be?
We like to work in close collaboration with you throughout a project but we recognise your time is limited. We will set up a dedicated project extranet at the start of a project to provide visibility for all documents and data.
As a minimum we require your participation in a kick-off workshop and our findings presentation. Ideally you will view some research while it is happening and perhaps attend an internal data review session.
8. What deliverables do we get from you?
During ethnographic fieldwork we create regular 'mini reports' on each participant. We video all research for you to refer to in digital format and, when requested, create edited highlights. Most final deliverables are PowerPoint presentations. If you want to inspire your whole team to buy into the research results, we can facilitate 'opportunity development' workshops at your offices.
9. Can you provide client references?
Yes, we are happy to give you contact details for clients you can talk to.
10. Can you handle international user research projects?
Yes. We have successfully managed international research projects for clients including Orange, Hutchison Whampoa, Hiscox, Visit England, Sony Ericsson and Vodafone. We have close working relationships with consultants in France, Italy, Germany, Spain, USA, South America and Asia. If you need to include other countries we will be able to find suitable partners.
11. How many people work on each project?
A typical project involves 2-3 researchers, more when other countries are involved.
12. Are you part of a larger group of companies?
No, we are a nimble, privately-owned company that has been trading since 2003.
13. Where are you based?
Our offices are in Chiswick, West London. You can reach us by Underground or by car.
see map for directions.
14. What qualifications do I need to work for new experience?
You would ideally have a Masters or a PhD in a social science discipline such as psychology, anthropology, ergonomics or human-computer interaction. We are always interested in hearing from talented and enthusiastic people.
15. How do you ensure effective project management?
We plan projects carefully from the start and we make use of a dedicated project extranet for document sharing and communications, creating a clear audit trail of decisions and document approval.
16. What sectors do your work in?
We mostly help clients develop technology-based products and services in telecommunications, financial services, retail, entertainment and leisure, public sector, and increasingly 'smart home' and the Internet of Things.