Generative & evaluative research · HP Inc. · 2021
I ran a diary study on an unreleased device protection build and found that self-managed security asked too much of the average user. The product got reshaped around built-in IT support instead.
The build tested in this study predates HP Wolf Security's public release and was never publicly available. No screenshots exist for this case study at this time.
HP was building a new device protection suite, antivirus and VPN functionality, before any of it was public. The open question was whether an everyday user could actually manage their own device security, or if the product needed to assume less from them.
I ran a longitudinal diary study with participants using an unreleased build on provided laptops. I assigned structured tasks that exercised real product functionality over time, then held regular debriefs with each participant, so I could surface friction as it happened instead of relying on them to recall it after the fact.
Self-management was too involved for the average user. The friction wasn't about interface polish. It was a mismatch between what the product asked of people and what people actually wanted to be responsible for.
The product was reshaped around built-in IT support rather than pure self-service. That's a structural shift, not a UI tweak, and it traced directly back to this study.