User Experience (UX) has become an increasingly important consideration in the design of technology. As part of a corporate wide strategic initiative focusing on creation of platforms, Intel has been steadily shifting toward a more holistic and user-centered approach to the design and development of technology. In essence, Intel's platform approach is about integration of technology ingredients, infrastructure, and service or content to ensure the creation of new end-user value [1].

The capability to deliver end-user value propositions requires the ability to set goals and measure the quality of end-user experience during the development process. Since perceived user experience and end-user value is psychological in nature, behavioral sciences researchers at Intel have made substantial inroads toward driving the creation and measurement of platform user experiences.

In this paper we describe the rationale behind setting User Experience Quality (UXQ) goals and measuring against these goals using experimental psychology, experience research, and human factors techniques. The assessment described here goes beyond traditional out-of-box or usability testing methodologies and toward a broader conception of user experience as is emerging in professional practice. Setting UXQ goals explicitly targets aspects of UX beyond usability that may be emotional, attitudinal, behavioral, and perceptual. Assessment of UX requires measurement at milestones placed throughout the development lifecycle and may be targeted at specific points of use or "moments of truth" in the users experience. In turn, the data about how the UXQ changes over time and compares to other products allows organizations to better target and control the quality of the UX.

Working definitions are proposed and three diverse examples of UXQ assessment methodologies are described: 1) a competitive benchmarking study, 2) a perceptual quality study, and 3) an in-home contextual study. Although these are only a few examples of user experience assessment methodologies used at Intel, the examples illustrate the diversity of the UXQ assessment approach. Implications of developing a user experience assessment capability beyond traditional usability testing are discussed.

Note: Intel works with other companies in delivering platform solutions. To maintain the confidentially of specific product data, the data in this paper have been modified and are deliberately not linked to specific Intel or partner products.