Categories: General

Colombia Firefox OS Field Tests: Intuitive Integration

In my previous blog posts, I shared our Colombian Firefox OS study design and outlined the Firefox OS user journey and its first two stages, Meeting Expectations and Exploration. As a refresher, take a look at our journey graphic (created by our awesome research partners at Sylver Consulting).

Firefox OS Journey

Firefox OS Journey

Intuitive Integration was the final stage of the Firefox OS Journey for our 24 former feature phone owners. Overall, the stages of the journey occurred at different times for different people. In the Intuitive Integration stage, participants had adapted to the Firefox OS phone and the mobile Internet had become important and integrated into their lives.  Most importantly, “a phone” had become “my phone.” This stage is important because it potentially marks the beginning of a life of mobile Internet usage.

Mobile Journey Across Time

Mobile Journey Across Time

Some hallmarks of this stage:

  • Participants were able to confidently discuss the apps they downloaded and used.
  • We saw a command-and-control attitude about the phone: “The mere fact of having the phone is total enjoyment. It has everything. Wherever I am I can verify what I want, consult what I want. I love all that,” said Valentina.
  • Lots of confidence: ““It [Firefox OS phone] has changed the way I access the Internet. By having the Internet at hand I feel more freedom to get connected, at any time and in any place. If it is something urgent, I don’t have to wait until I go home or to the cyber cafe; this [device] gives me the chance to check the information I need without having to wait at all,” explained Arturo.

How can we help users in the Intuitive Integration phase?

In earlier phases of the journey customers told us that getting the essentials right is important. The same thing is true in this phase. Small usability problems are very painful when they occur in your favorite tool.

  • Be future-focused: keep expanding the Firefox OS ecosystem through more and better apps. Beyond apps, what other services can we provide around security, cost control, and data portability?
  • Connectivity was not ideal in Bogotá. Around the world, many of our users may have limited connectivity (or limited funds to pay for data). Can our phone design support usage in low-connectivity environments?

I’d like to thank our research partner Sylver Consulting for their amazing work on this project. The entire Mozilla User Research team supported this work, particularly Lindsay Kenzig, Dominik Strohmeier, Cori Schauer, and our intern Stella Zubeck. Chris Lee, Clarissa Sorenson, and Diana Livits were among the many Mozillians who helped us both in the US and on the ground in Colombia.