Can User Experience be applied to newborn babies?

7 weeks ago my life changed forever, as my beautiful little girl was born and I became a very proud DAD!

Sometimes I still can’t believe it, but when she looks up and smiles at me, she just melts my heart. We’ve spent time together going for walks in her pram, feeding when she’s hangry, listening to jazz, rock and 80’s playlists. Anything I can do to stimulate and make her newborn experience the best it can be. 

Everything to her is a new, very daunting experience. She has never felt cold before or had to rely on parents for food. Everything has a strange sound and it’s much lighter than she is used to. But one part of the newborn experience that can really freak her out is changing times, not so much during the day but at 3am when I’m not quite at my mental peak, all blurry eyed and scrambling to get my glasses on. 

So how could I make this part of the process smooth, with as little friction and discomfort for her as possible?

I started by mapping out the user journey, which in this case is straight forward. There are two scenarios

1. The wet nappy. 
2. What we call a mustard explosion (all parents will know this one). 

In general the equipment and products needed for both are the same, just the time it takes increases. 

Secondly, we got organised and bought a Nappy Caddy, where we can store all the products and equipment that she may need during a change. I’m now fully prepared for any real-time situation that can occur, which minimises her stress levels, especially when she throws in a curve ball here and there by turning the sprinkler setting on mid-way through the process. 

Finally, my thoughts focused on the actual process, the transaction from when she’s put down on the changing mat to when she leaves a satisfied customer, all clean and ready for milk. 

Inspired by how F1 teams service their cars in a pitstop, all the gear is ready and laid out around the sides of the changing mat in easy reach. Always placed in the same configuration, allowing my muscle memory to take over during those early mornings. 

Each nappy change now becomes a pitstop challenge and although we can never beat the 2sec time that F1 teams can service a car, we certainly have wet nappies down to 15 secs and number twos anywhere between 1 to 2 minutes. But most importantly, now that I’m a smooth operator, her stress levels have reduced dramatically and I even get a heart melting smile or two. 

Do you have users/customers that just want to use a product or service with as minimal friction as possible? Mapping out the user journey including every scenario and being prepared to answer or supply anything they may ask of you in real-time is a start. You will also need to understand them, walk a mile in their shoes, ensure the process is smooth with great customer service and valuable after care.

If you require any help with this or just some advice to see where you can improve and reduce pain points, message our User Experience designers at team@dodgemsandfloss.com