Summary of Technology Research
Cobbey & Associates specializes in research on the application
of new technology to business and consumer products and services. During
the past 10 years we have conducted numerous studies which examine the
way consumers think about technology, interact with technology, need, desire
and incorporate new technology into their existing work and behavior. These
studies have helped to shape new products and to identify the best ways
to communicate technological innovation to the marketplace.
Financial Services Provider:
A series of usability studies on a package of brokerage services offered via the Internet. One on one interviews were conducted with investors to evaluate how well they understood the user interface, particularly navigation, terminology, and transactional features. A set of tasks were designed to gauge user understanding and learning.
Newspaper Front-end System Provider:
A personal
telephone interview with newspaper executives on their thoughts, plans
and vision of the future of the publishing system industry. The survey
employed quantitative questions which could be tracked over time and qualitative questions of a more probing nature which could be analyzed to help explain trends and tendencies in the marketplace.
Silicon Valley Workstation Manufacturer: A quasi-experimental
design employing 200 telephone interviews with selected users of a
high-end graphics workstation. The project involved comparing the evaluations
of users of two different versions of interface and graphics software.
A series of quantitative scaled measures were developed which allowed 30
separate hardware and software attributes to be evaluated.
Telecommunication Services Company:
A telephone survey to examine
the interest and need for advanced electronic communication and information
services among small to mid-sized businesses. In depth, executive interviews
were conducted with decision makers in 100 businesses through out the United
States.
Regional Bell Operating Company: An in-depth telephone survey
of audiotext information providers to evaluate the marketing and support
efforts used to recruit and support IPs. The interview dealt with
technical aspects of the audiotext system as well as IP evaluations of
customer support and the need for additional technological capabilities
in the future.
Regional Bell Operating Company:
A series of focus groups to evaluate residential and business customer reaction to voice messaging services. The study included demonstrations of the technology in the group.
Fortune 500 Financial Institution: Using a paired comparison
design, this study evaluated a series of new interactive terminals, including
user interface software and database content, among bank customers and
employees. Sixty face to face interviews were conducted using and evaluating
the various versions of the new equipment.
