Visualizing User Interaction

Data-Driven Insights to
Monitor Arm Design

Hilights

Led a 3-week prototype test that transformed monitor arm force testing data into actionable insights, driving an 8% cost reduction and patent application. Visualized complex force patterns from 6 participants to validate design decisions and eliminate unnecessary components.

Time: June 2024 (3 weeks)
Role: UX Designer & Test Moderator
Involvement: Prototype testing, data visualization, stakeholder communication
Team: 2 PMs, 4 Industrial Designers, 2 UX Researchers, 1 Firmware Engineer

tl;dr

In Summary, here's what I accomplished:

  • Designed and moderated prototype tests with 6 participants to collect quantitative force data and qualitative user feedback
  • Visualized distinct force patterns in Tableau to prevent accidental motor activation during different adjustments
  • Used force-over-time visualizations to validate motor viability, eliminating need for side button
  • Improved cross-team communication by visualizing complex force data for 7+ stakeholders

Results & Impacts

  • Drove 8% cost reduction through data-backed design decisions
  • Contributed to 1 patent application through visualization of curved axis force patterns

Market Gap

Current Monitor Arms Require over 3.5 kg Force for Adjustment

US Market Gap

BenQ’s research identified a critical pain point in US monitor arms: users need to apply over 3.5 kg force for height adjustments. This excessive force often discourages users from making adjustments, defeating the product’s purpose.

US Market Monitor Arm

Other Market Gaps

  • Wall-mounted arms may have a limited adjustment range.
  • Cable management is challenging, with wires often exposed and difficult to organize.

Prototype Solution

A Motor Assists Height Adjustment

To solve this, the Industrial Design team created a prototype with pressure sensors and a motor. When users apply force to adjust height, the motor activates to assist them, reducing the required force to around 2 kg.

New Problem Arise: Risk of Accidental Activation

While the motor solves the force issue, it introduces a new challenge: the risk of accidental activation. Users make various adjustments to their monitors (tilt, swivel, depth, angle) – how do we ensure the motor only activates for height adjustments?

How Might We

Ensure the motor won’t be accidentally triggered during non-height adjustments?

Business Requirements

  • Identify at what force level should the screen start to raise and lower
  • Identify optimal activation force (ideally under 2 kg)
  • Determine if a separate activation button is needed for height adjustments
  • Validate adjustment intuitiveness and identify distinct force patterns for different adjustments

Prototype Test

Validating Motor Activation Through Force Pattern Analysis

I conducted prototype tests with 6 participants to identify distinct force patterns between height and other adjustments, ensuring the motor only activates when users intend to adjust height.

1.

Participants freely interact with prototype

Observe the participant's natural adjustment behaviors and preferences.

2.

Vertical force measurement during adjustment

Measure the vertical force during tilt, swivel, depth, angle, and literal adjustment.

3.

Measure preferred height adjustment force

Measures the participants' preferred force for raising and lowering the screen.

4.

Interview and collect feedback on prototype

Understand the reasons behind adjustment behavior.

Data Collection Strategy

Record Full Force Range to Prevent Misleading Outliers

Initial Approach

Product manager requested to only record maximum force applied during each adjustment.

My Concern

Maximum values could be misleading outliers, not representing actual usage patterns.

Strategic Solution

  • Recorded continuous force changes throughout all adjustments
  • Identified true activation thresholds and risks
Swivel

Impact

This comprehensive data helped identify safe force thresholds that prevent accidental motor activation during non-height adjustments.

Data Visualization Strategy

From Raw Numbers to Visual Patterns

Initial Approach

Team planned to record data in Google Sheets, focusing only on numeric values.

My Concern

Raw numbers wouldn’t effectively show force patterns and relationships between different adjustments.

Strategic Solution

  • Used Tableau to visualize force patterns over time
  • Created visual comparisons between different adjustment types
  • Transformed point data into line graphs to show force transitions
Color-Coding for Monitor Adjustment
Color-Coding for Monitor Adjustment
Data Visualization
From Data Point to Line Graph ​

Impact

Clear visualizations helped firmware engineers set appropriate force thresholds and drove PM’s decisions on motor specifications.

Let’s see how these visualizations
drove our design decisions

Finding 1

Distinct Force Patterns: Confirming Motor Viability

Our visualizations revealed clear differences between height adjustments and other movements (tilt, swivel, depth, angle, lateral):

Different Movements Tell Different Stories

  • Height adjustments showed consistent, intentional force patterns
  • Other adjustments had notably different force signatures
  • The distinct patterns proved we could reliably detect when users want to adjust height
The results support the experimental hypothesis.

Finding 2

Challenging Initial Assumptions About User Force

Initial Concern

  • Team considered adding a side button for height adjustments
  • Unclear what force levels would feel natural to users

What Data Showed

  • Force patterns were more consistent than expected
  • Users naturally applied distinct forces for height vs. other adjustments

Impact

  • Eliminated need for side button, reducing costs by 8%
  • Set different thresholds for upward vs. downward movement based on user behavior

Lower Downward Force

I recommend a lower downward force than upward force because participants expressed concerns about potentially damaging the screen during lowering.

Participant 4
💬 Participant 4: I kinda worried about pushing too hard, you know? The screen might crash down onto the desk

Finding 3

Data Validates Design Hypothesis, Leading to Patent

Initial Hypothesis

Industrial Design team identified “Shiver 2” as the most challenging axis for force application.

What data showed

  • Quantitative force patterns confirmed design team’s concerns
  • User interviews revealed consistent struggles with this specific movement
  • Force visualizations highlighted unique patterns at this axis point
Shiver 2

Impact

  • The industrial design team designed a new curved axis for Shiver 2
  • Led to 1 patent application

Literal Adjustment

Medium Risk

  • Involves all three shiver points, with “Shiver 2” showing consistently higher force needs
  • Clear asymmetry in force patterns: users found one direction notably easier than the other because of shiver 2’s angle.

Depth Adjustment

High Risk

  • Involves all three shiver points, with “Shiver 2” showing consistently higher force needs
  • Users needed extra step when pushing screen away
  • Force patterns improved after “Shiver 2” joint modifications

Final Product

Featured flexibility and effortless adjustment

Takeaways & Reflections

Data Strategy Drives Hardware Innovation

Despite my software background, I learned that data visualization principles remain consistent across domains. The key is understanding what story the data needs to tell – in this case, transforming complex force patterns into clear design decisions that led to a patent.

Bridging Communication Gaps

Raw data alone wasn’t convincing enough. By visualizing force patterns, I helped bridge communication between industrial designers, firmware engineers, and product managers. This reinforced that great UX work isn’t just about creating solutions, but making complex data accessible and actionable.

Impact of Early Data Decisions

My decision to record continuous force data instead of just maximum values proved crucial. It showed me how early methodology choices significantly impact final outcomes – we might have missed the curved axis innovation with a more limited dataset.

Looking Forward: Hardware UX

This project taught me that while software and hardware UX share common principles, hardware requires deeper understanding of physical constraints and user behavior. I’m excited to further explore this intersection of data, physical design, and user experience.

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