In 2019 Asurion partnered with Verizon to launch a service called Same Day Delivery & Setup. The service enabled insurance customers to have their replacement phone delivered and activated for them, the same day they filed the claim. It was a massive operation for Asurion and meant that we would need thousands of Experts to fulfill the claims, as well as a mobile app to aid them during the setup portion of the experience. The mobile app became known as the Asurion Field app and is currently in use by thousands of Experts all over the country.
Promotional flyer for same day setup service
During this time my responsibilities as a researcher were to learn what the Experts needed from the Asurion Field app in order to run their jobs as effectively as possible. This would help us ensure a seamless and successful launch of the service.
In order to achieve this, I needed to take a mixed methods approach using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The plan was to begin with in-depth interviews and ride-alongs to collect the qualitative data. I would then bring back my insights to the product team for them to reference while they built out the MVP version of the app. From there I began running usability studies to learn how well the MVP performed in the field and what needed to be improved in the next iteration.
Before the Asurion Field app came to be, the Experts were using a 3rd party mobile app to complete their work. The team suspected there were flaws in the current workflow, so my job was to go into the field and observe how the Experts were using the 3rd party app.
Expert demonstrating how she uses the app to scan her inventory for the day
Expert using the 3rd party app to complete a job
We uncovered loads of pain points with the current workflow. Redundant processes, flows with no exit or ability to "un-do", tons of opportunities to automate manual work, etc. These insights became the roadmap for the team's top priorities while they created the first iteration of the Asurion Field app.
Once the team finished developing their MVP solution, it was time to put it to the test. This felt like the right time to start gathering larger, quantitative data now that a large percentage of the Expert population was using the MVP on a day-to-day basis.
In order to benchmark the experience, we decided to run a system usability survey to gauge how well the MVP could be used by our Experts. This would become an on-going effort, something we would run Q1 of each year moving forward. That way we could see over time how the app's usability performance was changing.
Once the survey was developed and the scorecard ready, we sent it to the coaches (managers of the Experts) and asked that they remind the Experts to take the survey. It took several months to gather enough responses for a significant sample size, but once we had them I could begin analyzing the data.
<aside> 📊 Results: The aggregate score came back at 72% with 77 open text comments. We were happy with the score, especially since it was our first since launch, but the open comments revealed some major pain points. I synthesized the comments into a list of product opportunities and shared it with the team. These would become the new roadmap for the team's second iteration.
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We've since ran three more SUS evaluations, all of which continue to hover in the low 70's. This survey continues to be an effective way of gauging what the Experts need from the Asurion Field app.