Centralis helps bring user-centered design to Briggs & Stratton
The Client
Briggs & Stratton is the world’s largest producer of air-cooled gasoline engines for outdoor power equipment. Briggs & Stratton products are designed, manufactured, marketed and serviced in over 100 countries on six continents.
The Challenge
Long-established as an OEM provider of engines for major manufacturers, Briggs & Stratton sought to expand its position in the direct-to-consumer market for lawn care and outdoor power equipment. To succeed in a competitive marketplace, the company recognized the importance of meeting customer needs by designing easy-to-use products.
Briggs & Stratton asked Centralis to help them integrate a user-centered design perspective into its product development process. Through onsite training, usability initiatives and one-on-one consulting, the company sought to leverage Centralis’ expertise to establish and reinforce a corporate focus on the needs of end users.
Our Work
To engage Briggs & Stratton staff in the practice of user-centered design, Centralis combined usability testing of specific Briggs & Stratton products with on-site and field-based training in the methods of usability research. After initial classroom instruction, Briggs & Stratton engineers accompanied us on usability test sessions at customers’ homes, where they observed users attempt to perform routine maintenance on their lawn mower engines. A similar initiative examined the usability of the company’s new portable camping generator. Centralis also consulted with company management on methods for bringing usability expertise and methodology in-house on an ongoing basis.
The Outcome
The Briggs & Stratton team showed great enthusiasm for user-centered design and appreciated the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with understanding customer needs. The company asked Centralis to publicize the value of our user-centered design activities by leading a series of follow-up workshops and presentations.