This document describes the Anticipated eXperience Evaluation (AXE) approach for evaluating early product concepts. AXE uses visual stimuli and interviews to help users imagine using a concept and reveal their expectations, experiences, and values. Attributes of the concept are connected to different dimensions of anticipated user experience. The analytical framework codes data by linking concrete product features to attributes and consequences. Analyzing data through this framework provides insights for improving concepts and understanding user expectations.

1. Anticipated experiences: Early product concept
evaluation!
MA Lutz Gegner!
1Department of Design!
School of Art, Design and Architecture!
Aalto University, Finland!

2. Agenda!
•! Background!
•! The AXE approach!
•! Q&A!

3. Background!

4. Product perception and consequences!
PRODUCT FEATURES!
content!
presentation!
functionality!
interaction!
PERCEIVED PRODUCT CHARACTER!
Pragmatic attributes!
manipulation!
Hedonic attributes!
Identification!
Stimulation!
evocation!
CONSEQUENCES!
appeal!
pleasure!
satisfaction!
SITUATION!
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5. Pragmatic attributes!

6. Hedonic Attributes: Identification!

7. Hedonic Attributes: Stimulation!

8. Hedonic Attributes: Evocation!

9. Designing for UX!
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10. People do not have a need to make a phone call!

11. But they might rather want to feel related!

12. The enjoyment comes from various sources like… "!
•! …Autonomy – “I can do what I want, the way I want it”!
Independence, freedom, ideals!
•! …Competence – “I am good in what I do”!
Performance, control, challenge, skills!
•! …Relatedness – “I feel close to the people I care about”!
Family, romance, presence, immediacy, emotional expression!

13. or… "!
•! …Stimulation – “I was experiencing new activities”!
Curiosity, mystery, play, coincidence, novelty!
•! …Popularity – “I have impact on what others do”!
Power, status, recognition, fashion, helping!
•! …Security – “I’m safe from threats and uncertainties”!
Order, calmness, familiarity, routines, relaxation!
…Physical thriving – “I’m healthy and physically active”!
…Meaning – “My activities have a deeper meaning”!
…Competition – “I’m better than others”!
…Collecting – “I’m preserving meaningful objects”!

14. We can think of products as experience enablers…!

15. …that allow us to achieve goals!

16. Anticipated eXperience Evaluation !

17. Anticipated eXperience Evaluation!
Identifying opportunities!
Market/User research!
Understanding opportunities!
Conceptualizing opportunities!
Product concepts!
Realizing opportunities!
Concept Details!
Program planning!
Transition!Fuzzyfrontend!
Program approval!
ConceptGeneration!
Protecting Innovation!
Adapted from Cagan and Vogel 2002!

18. Challenges in early concept evaluation!
•! Abstract nature of concepts!
•! What are the critical issues that need to be discussed? Which are
the relevant questions to ask?!
•! How to engage participants, making evaluation more fun?!
•! How to support participants to talk about their expectations,
experiences, emotions and values?!
•! How to obtain data on perceived use value, that also provides
inspirations and new (surprising) knowledge?!

19. Motivation for a new approach!
•! Abundance of methods for studying users’ experiences with
products but those addressing concept-level products are rare "
(see Vermeeren et al 2010) !
•! Majority of concept evaluations are done by experts!
•! Lack of universally applicable user-evaluation approaches
concerning user experience!
•! Di#culty in understanding peoples references when they make their
evaluations!
•! Challenge of transferring user-data into design recommendations!

20. The AXE approach!
•! AXE stands for Anticipated eXperience Evaluation!
•! AXE is a qualitative method that gives an initial perspective on the
user experience for a product or a service. !
•! It involves singular users in an interview setting. The method builds on
using visual stimuli to make evaluation participants imagine a use
situation and to reveal their attitudes, use practices and valuations.!
•! AXE is both an evaluative method and a method for collecting
inspirations for improving the product concept. !
•! The results connect perceived product attributes with di$erent
dimensions of user experience!

21. The AXE tool!
•! AXE is based on the idea of projective techniques - it makes use of
ambiguous stimuli to help participants express their attitudes,
opinions and beliefs towards the product concept.!
•! AttrakDi$2 (Hassenzahl 2003) served as base for the tool!
•! designed to display semantic di$erentials visually!
•! a tool conceived for evaluation interviews!
•! developed and iterated in several studies !

22. Visual semantic differentials!
undemanding! demanding!

23. Visual semantic differentials!

24. Visual semantic differentials!

25. AXE process!
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26. Concept briefing!
•! Overall concept description!
•! Early concept narratives in second person singular form!
•! Illustrations, mock-ups, paper prototypes etc… !
•! All material visible to the participant at any time, to avoid
misunderstanding and as reference!

27. Interview process!
•! Familiarizing participants with evaluation procedure!
•! participants are asked to indicate which of the presented images he/
she more closely associates with the concept in question.!
•! choices serve as a platform for the facilitator to start a conversation
around the concept. (e.g. why the participant associates the concept
more with image A instead of image B)!
•! facilitator asks continuation questions that probe deeper into the
choice and establish a connection between attributes and
consequences!
•! Indication of preference to understand participants evaluation of
concept!

28. Analyzing data!
•! Subsequent to interviews data is transcribed!
•! Partitioned into manageable segments!
•! Each segment should carry a single observation!
•! An observation can be, for instance, an expression of attitude
towards the concept, claim about a function or a comparison
between two attributes.. !
!(p) “This image reminds me of calmness. I don’t think this concept is
very calm. If it didn’t send push notifications, it would be calmer and
I would like it more.” !

29. Coding data!
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30. Analytical framework!
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31. Summing-up!
•! Experiential aspects of products are elusive, both because they are
di#cult for users to express and they are di#cult for researchers to
interpret. !
•! di#culties can be attributed to the use of language itself and some
to the abstract nature of both concepts and experiences !
•! Using visual stimuli as a starting point for evaluating a concept has
proven itself a very viable option !
•! The analytical framework for AXE was formed through multiple
iterations and extended throughout the process!
•! Analyzed data can be easily communicated to design teams as it
links concrete product features with associated attributes.!
•! Understanding users’ expectations provides rich insights and
inspirations for improving and redirecting product concepts!

32. References:!
•! Cagan, J. and Vogel, C.M. Creating Breakthrough Products: Innovation from
Product Planning to Program Approval. FT Press, 2001.!
•! Roto, V. User Experience from Product Creation Perspective. Towards a UX
Manifesto, (2007), 31.!
•! Hassenzahl, M. and Roto, V. Being and Doing - A perspective on user experience
and its measurement. Interfaces Magazine 72, (2007), 10–12.!
•! Vermeeren, A.P.O.S., Law, E.L.-C., Roto, V., Obrist, M., Hoonhout, J., and
Väänänen-Vainio-Mattila, K. User experience evaluation methods: current state
and development needs. Proceedings of the 6th Nordic Conference on Human-
Computer Interaction: Extending Boundaries, (2010), 521–530.!
•! Hassenzahl, M. The thing and I: understanding the relationship between user and
product. In M.A. Blythe, K. Overbeeke, A.F. Monk and P.C. Wright, eds., Funology:
from usability to enjoyment. Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003, 31–42.!
•! Gegner, L. and Runonen, M. For What it is Worth: Anticipated eXperience
Evaluation. 8th International Conference on Design and Emotion, Central Saint
Martins University of the Arts London with the Design and Emotion Society (2012).!

33. Comments and questions!
Contact: !
lutz.gegner@aalto.fi!
mikael.runonen@aalto.fi!
My research group:!
http://designresearch.aalto.fi/groups/edg/!