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     When the global coronavirus pandemic hit earlier this year, conference organizers had to respond quickly and decide whether to cancel their conferences outright or move them online. With a tremendous amount of effort in a very short period of time, numerous conferences were relaunched as virtual conferences; recorded or live-streamed speakers broadcast in a multitude of ways, with varying degrees of interactivity. It looks like it may be a long time before it is safe to host or attend large in-person conferences. So based on our experience attending virtual conferences in the past few months, we wanted to explore what makes a great virtual conference.

        We’re in the middle of a seismic shift in the way teams work together, the way that research is conducted, and more. With more and more companies moving to fully remote, distributed teams, questions often arise about how workshops will be impacted. We believe remote workshops can be just as productive as in-person workshops, and here are some of our tips.

      COVID-19 has already drastically changed the way Americans go about our daily lives. Some people are out of a job, others are living paycheck to paycheck, and others are more fortunate to be able to work from home without as much disruption to their socioeconomic wellbeing. In what is essentially the world’s largest work-from-home experiment, COVID-19 will undoubtedly affect the way we conduct user research. As companies around the country try to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances, we at Key Lime Interactive are preparing our researchers to continue providing quality research, while taking into account how the stress and anxiety around COVID-19 can cause bias in the process. 

         Voice AI has seen incredible growth over the last few years and has become a part of our everyday lives. Voice Technology not only takes into account how people search for information with their voice through smart voice assistants, or the ability to execute tasks through voice commands, it also takes into account how to aid a person with accessibility needs in his or her daily life in order to ensure equal access to the same experiences as people without accessibility needs.

     Today more than ever, mental health is taking the front position in the conversation about well-being within companies. In a recent poll conducted by KFF, nearly half (45%) of adults in the United States reported that their mental health has been negatively affected by COVID-19. Some of the main causes of stress mentioned were the health and the economic impact of the virus. However, some alarming data regarding mental health in the workplace emerged also before COVID-19, indicating that this is not a new issue. 

Let’s be honest. For years now, automotive infotainment systems have really not been the greatest. The first infotainment system was first unveiled in the Buick Century T-Type and Riviera of 1986, called CRT (touch screen cathode ray tube). Yes, car radio, trip data, and climate control with touchscreen 30+ years ago. Talk about ahead of its time.

       In early March, as a response to the increasing growth of global COVID-19 cases, Key Lime Interactive moved its employees to a “work from home” arrangement. Concurrently, a number of our projects required a quick switch to remote methodologies. Although these switches allowed us to continue “business as usual”, a number of key considerations concerning conducting research during COVID-19 became apparent. Due to the distinct challenges posed by COVID-19, Key Lime Interactive is dedicating a number of blog posts centered around UX Research during a pandemic, providing suggestions on how to best account for uncertainty and “the new norm”.

         Over 68 million people are now using Augmented Reality (AR) technology every month thanks to increased accessibility via mobile devices (eMarketer, 2019). AR as a form of emerging technology, is unique in its ability to overlay digital information such as images, text, and sounds onto the real world. More than 90% of companies with annual revenues of $100 million have started using AR mobile marketing to increase customer engagement by creating new and exciting ways to interact with a product (Deloitte, 2019). While many of us remain at home in the face of Covid-19, AR technology provides innovative solutions in its ability to create virtual “try-before-you-buy” experiences. Moreover, AR offers several advantages over more traditional marketing methods providing companies, who do it right, a competitive edge.

      As we adjust to the at-home “new normal” in the face of COVID-19, we have all come to depend heavily on mobile devices to manage our basic needs. In response, a greater number of companies are transitioning resources towards finding new and innovative ways to reach customers at home. Of the latest mobile technology trends, augmented reality (AR) has emerged as an innovative new way for businesses to showcase products and services. With mobile AR experiences, the customer is able to interact and experience products that are digitally represented in three-dimensional space. The value in being able to offer this feature to customers is more important than ever as many do not feel safe returning to stores, but still want the ‘try-before-you-buy’ experience.

      We have been attending several panels from experts speaking about remote culture + tools in response to recent workplace transitions. Here are some insights we wanted to share with the greater community:

1. Create a toolkit of useful resources.
2. Build rituals that encourage a sense of community across generations.
3. Don’t let mental wellness be the elephant in the room.
4. Time to experiment with Virtual Reality.
5. Create new rituals. Think outside the box.