In the Wild: Ethnographic Research to Refine the Smart Kitchen Experience
Key Insight: The whiteboard saw high engagement, but mostly from kids using it to doodle or leave playful messages. This revealed a gap between intended and actual use, prompting the team to rethink assumptions about family communication needs.
Reframed homepage prioritized high use widgets based on real-world patterns—enabling quicker access to key features like calendars, timers, and shared notes.
Redesigned recipe experience included persistent screen on mode and core voice commands like “next” and “repeat,” reducing interruptions and supporting hands-free cooking.
Focus:
Early Validation | In-Home Testing | Family Dynamics
Approach:
Qualitative | Generative | Contextual Inquiry
Methods:
In-Home Observation | Deep Dive Interviews | Data Analytics
Challenge:
Samsung’s feature rich smart fridge lacked real-world context analytics showed what users did, but not why. Teams had open questions around feature adoption, usability, and the role of voice (Bixby), but risked optimizing for the wrong behaviors. We needed to understand how the Family Hub fit into everyday routines, uncover points of friction, and align teams on actionable insights before market launch.
Process:
We conducted a longitudinal in-home study with 10 families using an early alpha build of Family Hub. Each home was visited twice to observe real-world cooking, communication, and organizational routines as they naturally unfolded.
Before visits, we partnered with analytics to identify usage drop-offs, helping us focus on key features like recipes and voice. In the field, we combined ethnographic observation, light usability testing, and contextual interviews. We also collaborated with the Bixby team to explore how voice could reduce friction in common kitchen tasks.
This approach helped us connect behavioral insights to usage data, guiding product and engineering priorities.
Impact:
We uncovered a key friction point: the screen timed out during recipe use, disrupting cooking. We worked with the product team to keep the screen active and added core voice commands like “next” and “repeat” for hands-free use.
We also found that low voice engagement stemmed from unclear value and poor discoverability. By repositioning Bixby around high-friction moments, we improved its relevance. These changes were made before launch, reducing risk and delivering a more intuitive, family-friendly experience.