Design Leadership UX Research

Digital Ethnography for Facebook’s COVID-19 Information Center (Spain)

How we designed a complex, multinational remote setup with live translation, ensuring seamless execution that allowed Facebook to optimize its Coronavirus Information Center in Spain.

Ipsos US is the US subsidiary of Ipsos, one of the world’s largest and most respected market research and public opinion polling companies. It analyzes consumer behavior, consumption trends, and brand value for private companies.

Background & Project Challenges

In response to the global health crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Facebook set out to address the urgent need to deliver accurate, reliable information about the virus to users worldwide.

In partnership with market research firm Ipsos US, we took on the challenge of conducting exploratory and evaluative research centered on the Facebook Coronavirus Information Center, tailored specifically to users in Spain.

The main objective was to gain deep insights into how Spanish users interacted with the platform and identify ways to enhance the experience to better meet their information needs during the health crisis.

Executing this project presented several key challenges:

  • The UX Research team was distributed across Chile and multiple regions in Spain.
  • The setup required live Spanish-to-English translation so Facebook's Stakeholders in the US could observe sessions in real time.
  • Coordinating session execution across 4 time zones: UK, Spain, Chile, and the US.

My Approach and Process

In my role as UX Manager and Research Lead at Torresburriel Estudio, I remotely coordinated operations from Chile. This involved managing TBE’s research team and collaborating with recruiting agency Silvia Roca across Spain.

We conducted remote In-Depth Interviews (IDIs) using Google Meet, supported by a multi-role session setup:

  1. Moderator

    In charge of guiding conversations, ask key probing questions, and encourage active participant engagement.

  2. Participants (N=12)

    Spanish users who shared their experiences, perceptions, and information needs regarding COVID-19 and Facebook’s platform.

  3. Note-Taker(s)

    Team members in charge of documenting detailed observations, key comments, and user behaviors throughout each session.

  4. Spanish-English Interpreter

    Facilitated real-time translation between the moderator and participant, ensuring clear, accurate comprehension for English-speaking Stakeholders.

  5. Observers

    Stakeholder representatives who watched sessions live to gain direct insight into user reactions while communicating feedback and follow-up questions to the moderator via an internal backchannel.

  6. Technical Monitor

    In charge of supervising technical performance to ensure flawless session execution without interruptions.

Impact & Outcomes

The research delivered key insights into how users in Spain accessed and evaluated the credibility of COVID-19 information, providing an accurate reading of user interactions with Facebook’s Coronavirus Information Center.

Interface & Navigation Optimization

Identified operational friction and readability issues, providing actionable insights that guided subsequent platform iterations to speed up access to critical public health data.

Credibility & Information Trust Validation

Evaluated how users perceived the trustworthiness of presented content, allowing the team to refine communication strategies and mitigate misinformation during the health crisis.

Cross-Border Alignment & Agile Decision-Making

The live translation infrastructure enabled US stakeholders to observe findings in real time, accelerating strategic consensus on required design updates.

Crisis Communication Risk Mitigation

By testing user comprehension in a high-stakes environment, we prevented potential misunderstandings regarding public health guidelines and safeguarded the tool’s overall effectiveness.