Avakin Life Discovery Lab
UX research for players across the globe, encompassing their virtual identities, and within the context of the Metaverse.
Problem:
Performing behavioral and attitudinal research within a virtual environment, encompassing the virtual personas of participants from at least three distinct countries: USA, Brazil, and UK.
Solution:
Establish a Virtual 3D Laboratory within the game, developing mechanisms to generate comprehensive user feedback and track observable interactions across the game’s various locations, experiences, and objects.
Impact:
Attained faster and more actionable improvements in spaces and experiences, while enhanced the quality of feedback through greater research contextualization and a more ecological setting, resulting in more effective changes. Additionally, fostered a nurturing effect that contributed to higher retention of ambassadors.
We need better numbers. Or not?
How a contextual inquiry revealed that what users think they need is actually a symptom of another more pressing need
Problem:
Numerous departments possessed a vast assortment of unsorted anecdotal user input from the time before the establishment of UX Research. They needed to understand the main user problems and opportunities, and believed it all had to do with better data.
Conclusion:
The whole journey of user types (personas) was mapped. Besides other important conclusions, the most impactful one was that the best value to be delivered was related to a way to help users create ads, not better data.
Impact:
This research was conducted prior to the AI boom. As a result of this research, Replai embarked on a project in a novel domain where AI would generate combinations of clients’ advertising elements based on user prompts and comprehensive data on the most effective elements. This initiative took place before the emergence of MidJourney.
Best banner location is nowhere to be seen
Comparative quant/qual study for banner positioning using eye-tracking + RTA
Problem:
Find what was the best placement for the new upselling banner in the bank’s mobile app. There were several existing banners in the app, in different locations.
Conclusion:
No placement is better since users demonstrated banner blindness to all existing banner locations. This blindness occurred even when they were previously primed toward the banner information. Banners also proved to reduce the effectiveness of the app’s top tasks.
Impact:
Product owners and Marketing directors understood the inefficacy of these banners and their impact on UX and removed banners in some app locations, but not all.
“Her way of communicating complicated research in an easy, actionable way is a rare talent. Ines’ Virtual User Research Lab has been an essential part of this journey, especially for my marketing discipline.”
— Marja Konttinen, Former Marketing Director at Decentraland, Rovio, Flare Games, Lockwood
“Through a fantastic mix of hard work, process and creativity she constantly pushed us to be better every day.
— Francisco Pacheco, Co-founder and CPO at Replai
On top of it Ines is amazing to work with, she leads by example and is never afraid of doing whatever needs to be done.”
“Aside from her role working with qualitative data, she takes into account quantitative data and works together with data scientists and analysts. She has good communication skills and she is very good in creating and delivering presentations of her results.”
— Maria Manolopoulou, PhD in Astrophysics, Senior Data Scientist at Lockwood Publishing Ltd
Some companies I’ve worked with
Gaming
Banking
SaaS
Agency
Retail
AI