UX Lab-in-a-box

If you have questions, or would like to discuss plans for designing and building labs, feel free to contact us:
contact@ux-study.com

Designed and built by ex-Google User Researchers, UX Lab-in-a-box is a platform for in-person qualitative research.

Highly adaptable, the system allows for quick, easy use of a wide range of research methodologies and can easily switch between usability studies in desktop, mobile, paper prototype, and many others.

The system is moveable, meaning your lab can move with your team – to a new room, a new office, or to a client location.

This hugely reduces the cost of ownership over time.

User

Study

Usability

Testing

Focus

Group

Market

Research

Training

Meeting

Video Conference

Design
Sprint

Researchers deserve better technology

Most UX Labs do not meet researcher’s needs.

They are built by keen amateurs who try their best.

Your research deserves better.


“Traditional” UX labs

> Slow to design & install – taking time from the Research team to manage the process, and leaving them without facilities until the process is complete.

> Difficult to use – most interfaces to Audio Visual systems (digital and physical) are built by keen amateurs, and are usually not intuitive and do not meet the needs of users / researchers.

> All labs are different – labs built by in-house teams, or by Audio Visual companies, lack consistency, making maintenance and training very difficult.

> “Clumsy” technology – experienced researchers will know the feeling of using most User Labs: “worry” “stress” “difficult” “frustration“.


UX Lab-in-a-box

> An existing, off-the-shelf system – tested and refined over many years by research teams from a wide range of companies and industries.

> Built using user-centred principles – Lab-in-a-box is a mature system, designed FOR researchers and iterated over many teams and many labs.

> Every lab can be built exactly the same – whether you have one lab, or a fleet of 100, Lab-in-a-box ensures consistency. It is the only way to scale research infrastructure.

> State-of-the art research platform – Lab-in-a-box is powerful, simple, automated, state-of-the-art system that massively reduces the cognitive load on User Researchers.

A platform for qualitative research

The system forms the centrepiece of UX Labs, Design centres, and any space where research or design work is to be conducted.


Simple

& Intuitive

  • Designed by User researchers
  • Built using user-centred design principles

Stream

& VC

  • Compatible with all Video Conference & Streaming technologies

(and many more)


Security

& Privacy

  • Trusted by private and public organisations around the world
  • “Privacy by design”
  • Several operating modes to match your organisation’s policies and risk level

Use as a “full lab”

UX-Study helps to design and install all elements necessary to create full, high-spec labs around Lab-in-a-box. Like everything we do, our physical spaces are “user-first”.

  • Layout & construction
  • Technology
  • Aesthetics
  • Furniture
  • Lighting
  • Acoustics
  • Soundproofing

Used to convert an existing space

The system can be wheeled into an existing office space and used to convert it into a lab in a short time; Researchers are able to use the full range of the system’s capabilities in their new, semi-permanent lab.

  • Simple & quick to install
  • Easily convert suitable office spaces
  • Efficient use of space & technology
  • Easily upgrade to a fully-installed lab in future
If you have questions, or would like to discuss plans for designing and building labs, feel free to contact us:
contact@ux-study.com

What is Lab-in-a-box?

Lab-in-a-box is a platform for qualitative user research. It is designed and built user User-Centred Design principles by User Researchers with decades of experience working for large organisations (including Google, Goldman, Sachs, Uk government).

Out-of-the-box, it can turn almost any office space into a powerful, simple-to-use User Lab, allowing User Researchers to:

  • Capture inputs from any digital devices (camera, phone, tablets, computers, etc)
  • Automatically capture and control audio
  • Mix feeds onto a single canvas
  • Add markers and notes
  • Stream the live feed:
    • directly to local observation spaces
    • streaming over local network
    • streaming over the internet
    • via any standard Video Conference technology (Zoom, Skype, etc)
  • Record sessions locally
  • Automatically store and manage recordings
  • Automatically upload to offline/local (server) or online/cloud storage (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc)

It it designed specifically to work WITH research processes, simplifying Researchers’ work and allowing them to focus on research & participants (instead of being distracted by difficult systems or tech issues).

Is Lab-in-a-box portable?

The system is moveable – it can be easily relocated between rooms and used in different locations. For example – you can have your lab fully set-up in a dedicated room most of the time, but may need to perform research in a meeting room or similar space occasionally. Lab-in-a-box can be moved between the space when needed.

The system is not portable – you would not regularly take it on a train, or to users homes nor to a cafe.

Companies move offices … teams move within offices … Lab-in-a-box allows your lab to move with you, saving time and money in the long term.

How can Lab-in-a-box be used?

There are several ways the system can be used by research teams:

  • Have no fixed / permanent lab, and use Lab-in-a-box to convert meeting spaces into labs when needed
  • Have a fixed lab built around Lab-in-a-box, and sometimes move use the main unit to other spaces to convert them for use as labs
  • Have a permanent, fixed lab built around Lab-in-a-box
  • Have a suite of labs in multiple locations – all designed and working exactly the same way – that work as a global network

All of the above options start with the same system; we build the infrastructure around depending on the size and location of the research team.

How does Lab-in-a-box connect to observers?

 Lab-in-a-box can connect to observers in a range of ways:

  • a wired connection to local video screen/s (e.g. directly wired to an observation room)
  • wireless connection to observer’s own computers / phones (via direct wifi connection to the lab)
  • connection to the organisation’s preferred streaming / video conference system
    • i.e. the system can ‘stream’ the output to Zoom, Meet, Skype, etc

Does UX-Study provide Support & Maintenance?

We provide an annual subscription service, which gives clients:

  • Regular proactive maintenance
    • Planned visits to each lab to check equipment, make any necessary software or hardware updates, give refresher training, and discussing methodologies and usage with the Research team.
  • Reactive maintenance
    • SLA-driven triage and resolution of issues, tracked through our dedicated ticketing system.
  • Access to UX-Study knowledgebase
    • This gives practical advice about the system, troubleshooting guides, and advice on research methodologies.
  • Ticketing system for issue tracking
    • A dedicated system for issue tracking.
    • Our system can also integrate with our clients’ in-house ticketing systems.
  • Regular training
    • Training for new team members, support staff, and anyone using the lab for any type of use.
  • Help with adapting existing research methodologies to best make use of Lab-in-a-box technology
    • We are Researchers; we know how to alter workflows and methodologies to take advantage of the possibilities opened-up by a system like Lab-in-a-box.
  • Backup equipment stored on-site
    • All systems have points of failure. We provide backup equipment for the things most commonly broken – cables, adapters, etc. These can be quickly and easily swapped on-site (by support staff, or Researchers) meaning there is very little downtime and studies are not impacted.

What does Lab-in-a-box cost ?

Every research team is different, and every project is different – we can give an idea of cost once we know more detail about your needs, your team, your research methodologies, and your company’s research culture.

Contact us to find out more.

If you have questions, or would like to discuss plans for designing and building labs, feel free to contact us:
contact@ux-study.com