Interviewing Users: Spinning Data Into Gold

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Interviewing Users: Spinning Data into Gold 2 Portigal

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Introduction



Introduction 9:00 – 9:10

Best Practices Overview 9:10 – 10:00

Methods 10:00 – 10:30

Break 10:30 – 10:45

Interviewing 10:45 – 11:30

Interviewing Exercise 11:30 – 12:15

Today

Lunch!Observation Exercise 1:15 – 2:00

Synthesis 2:00 – 2:45

Break 2:45 – 3:00

Ideation 3:00 – 4:00

Share 4:00 – 4:30

Q&A + Wrap-up 4:30 – 5:00



What to make or do

Refine & prototype

Launch

Iterate & improve

Use fieldwork throughout the development cycle

Take a fresh look at people Use existing ideas

as hypotheses

Explore new ideas



Development

Synthesis

Ideation

Fieldwork

Synthesis & ideation process



Cultural data from fieldwork

Case study: iPod accessories


Click to edit Master title styleCase study: iPod accessories




Research Project – Best Practices Overview


Click to edit Master title styleWhat do I mean by “research?”

EthnographyEthnographic interviews Video ethnographyDepth-interviewsContextual researchHome visitsSite visitsExperience modelingDesign researchUser researchUser-centered designOne-on-onesCamera studies User safaris


Click to edit Master title styleWhat do I mean by “research?”

EthnographyEthnographic interviews Video ethnographyDepth-interviewsContextual researchHome visitsSite visitsExperience modelingDesign researchUser researchUser-centered designOne-on-onesCamera studies User safaris

What-e

ver!


Click to edit Master title styleBeyond our terminology, what are we doing?

Examine people in their own context• What are they doing?• What does it mean?

Infer (interpret/synthesize/etc.)• Find the connections• The researcher is the “apparatus”

Apply to business or design problems• Use products, services, packaging, design to tell the right story• More possible types of solutions than we started out with


Click to edit Master title styleIdentifying the problem


Click to edit Master title styleThe Business Question

What new products and services can you offer to help partners increase social network stickiness (and thus revenues)?

What entertainment activities should you support to tap into a growing middle-class in China?


Click to edit Master title styleThe Research Question

What are the motivations, successes, and frustrations for current and prospective users of our partners’ social media sites?

How is family life changing in middle-class China? What are the critical digital and analog technologies that are being embraced?


Click to edit Master title stylePain points: default research/business question?!

While we always uncover so-called pain points, the bigger opportunity may come from understanding why – how did we get here?


Click to edit Master title styleIt may not really be that painful

Satisficing (coined by Herbert Simon in 1956) refers to our acceptance of good-enough solutions

These can drive engineers and designers crazy…but the real problem isn’t always what it appears to be




Click to edit Master title styleFinding the right participants (aka recruiting)

Often an afterthought in project planning• But the right customers are crucial to get the right insights• This takes time to plan and to execute

Pointless interviews waste time and challenge the credibility of the work• Person doesn’t really want to talk to you• They don’t have the desired relationship with the product/brand

Epic FAILS will happen anyway

Identify• What type of people you want to find (criteria, screener)• How you will find those people


Click to edit Master title styleRecruiting criteria: Relationship to category

What is their relationship to the product/service/brand/activity?

• Typical user• Non-user• Extreme user• Peripheral user• Expert user• Subject-matter expert• Wannabe user• Should-be user• Future user• Past user• Hater• Loyal to competitor

Triangulate through multiple perspectives

By creating contrast, you reveal key influencing factors that you wouldn’t otherwise see


Click to edit Master title styleRecruiting criteria: Type of user

There may be more – or different – “users”

Think about the whole system: the chooser, the influencer, the user, and anyone who is impacted by those roles

Challenge assumptions about who the organization is implicitly/explicitly designing for

• Is that everyone?• Do they even exist?

Surface a broader sense – even prior to research – about who is affected by the product and who is being designed for

Is your “typical customer” real or aspirational?


Click to edit Master title styleRecruiting criteria: Demographics

Gender

Age

Life stage/lifestyle• Married• Stage of family• Retirement• Not in the middle of a major life-change

(unless that’s of interest)

Dwelling• Suburban/urban/rural• Apartment/living alone/

roommates/single family home

Race• Reflect the population• Reflect the user base

Occupation• From outside the industries in question

Income• Can afford the product in question

Demographic factors are typically secondary when defining the sample


Click to edit Master title styleThe screener

Screeners are very formal, linear documents• Typically used by market research

recruiting agencies

Screeners have two purposes…• Does the person fits your criteria?• Convince them to participate

…and three main sections• Introduction• Checking off criteria• Invitation to participate


Click to edit Master title styleRecruiting criteria: The softer side

Whatever their relationship with the product/brand/service, you want the person to be engaged, have a point of view, care about the thing, and be articulate


Click to edit Master title styleCreative recruiting

Outside of the traditional method of working with a recruiting agency, there are other approaches• Friends and family/Social networks• Snowball recruiting (participants find more participants)• Craigslist• Intercepts• Etc.

Pros and cons• Cheap but time-consuming• Quick but harder to control and manage• Likely to find “pure” participants but they might be too close to you


Click to edit Master title styleIncentive

Enthusiastic thank-you rather than compensation• Recruiter will advise on best amount, depending on

what you are asking for• For a fee, they will handle sending a check, but I prefer

the immediate gratification of an envelope of cash• Include a thank-you note and even swag

In B2B settings, be creative about who and how to incent

• You may negotiate this on a per-site basis


Click to edit Master title styleThe interview guide (or field guide)

A detailed plan of what will happen in the interview• Questions, timing, activities, tasks, logistics, etc.

Transforms questions-we-want-answers-to into questions-we-will-ask

Share with team to align on issues of concern• Especially with multiple teams in the field

Helps you previsualize the flow of the session• Include questions as well as other methods that you’ll use

Prepping an interview guide means that you may not need to use the interview guide

• This is counter-intuitive

• It does come in handy during freeze-up moments – scan it over to see what else you want to cover


Click to edit Master title styleFour sections to the field guide

1. Introduction and Participant Background• Logistics, timing, objectives

2. The Main Body• Subsections for each area you plan to explore (e.g., configuration,

learning about new features, etc.)

3. Projection/Dream Questions• Be audacious and ask about predictions for the future or ideal

experiences

4. Wrap Up• Logistics, ask about anything they want to tell you that you didn’t ask

about


Click to edit Master title styleMinimalist field guide


Click to edit Master title styleDetailed field guide


Click to edit Master title styleInclude other methods

Tasks “Can you draw me a map of your computer network?”

Participation “Can you show me how I should make a Whopper?”

Demonstration“Show us how you update your playlists.”

Ask for a demonstration of playlist updating

Role-playing

“I’ll be the customer and you be the receptionist, and you show me how they should respond.”

Role play the ideal interaction between customer and receptionist

Observations Look in server room, access key locker, and other secure locations


Click to edit Master title styleDocumentation: photos

Plan to take lots of photos

They will reveal things you don’t remember noticing

Essential for storytelling

Make sure you have permission before you start snapping


Click to edit Master title styleDocumentation: audio, video, notes

Essential to capture exactly what is said

Difficult (impossible) to maintain eye contact, manage interview, and write down everything

• Potentially a role for a second interviewer

Taking notes – not as the definitive record – can help you process, notice, think about follow-ups, etc.

• I strongly recommend privileging being in-the-moment (e.g., eye contact, listening) over trying to capture everything yourself


Click to edit Master title styleA release is a good idea

It clarifies the rights of the interviewee and your organization • Consent – participation is voluntary• Incentive – what the participant gets but they are not an employee• Model release – how images and video will be used• Non-disclosure – in case you disclose anything in-progress

These are legal documents• Will your legal department help you prepare it?• Can you influence them to create consumer-friendly, light-weight versions• Give participants their own copy at the outset of the interview



Methods


Click to edit Master title styleAsk people how they would solve a problem

Participatory designDoesn’t mean we implement the requested solution literally

“I wish it had a handle”

Many ways to solve the underlying need (“I need to move it around”)

Designers work with this data to generate alternatives

Engage people in the non-literal through games and role-playing

Uncover underlying principles and explore areas of opportunity that don’t yet exist


Click to edit Master title styleShow people a solution

Consider the difference between testing and exploring

Avoid “Do you like this?”

Don’t show your best guess at a solution; instead identify provocative examples to surface hidden desires and expectations

Make sure you are asking the right questions

What does this solution enable? What problems does it solve?

Especially for new products, needed before getting into specifics of your implementation

Image from Roberto and Worth1000.com

http://all.worth1000.com/artists/Roberto


Click to edit Master title styleUse a range of methods

Logging Before the interview, participant takes regular digital photos or fills out a booklet documenting their activities

Homework

Before the interview, participant saves up all their junk mail for two weeks to prompt our discussion

Workbook to capture beliefs, priorities, etc.

StimuliIn the interview, review wireframes, prototypes, simulations, storyboards

Exercises

What’s in your wallet? What’s in your fridge?

Sketch your idealized solution

Draw a map of where you listen to music; draw a map that associates emotional and subjective factors


Click to edit Master title styleWorkbook: Instructions


Click to edit Master title styleWorkbook: Question and answer


Click to edit Master title styleWorkbook: Text stimuli


Click to edit Master title styleWorkbook: Visual stimuli


Click to edit Master title styleWorkbook: Responses


Click to edit Master title styleMapping


Click to edit Master title styleStoryboards


Click to edit Master title styleMockups


Click to edit Master title stylePrototypes


Click to edit Master title styleCasual Card Sort


Click to edit Master title styleMethods can be a playground

We choose, mash-up, or create methods based on the problem, project constraints, and a desire to experiment• Build up a library of approaches and artifacts



Click to edit Master title styleBreak!



Interviewing


Click to edit Master title stylePrinciples inform tactics

I don't skate to where the puck is, I skate to where the puck is going to be – Wayne Gretzky


Click to edit Master title styleFieldwork principles

Check your worldview at the door

Embrace how other people see the world

Build rapport

Listen


Click to edit Master title styleCheck your worldview at the door

Before you start doing interviews, do a team-wide brain dump of all your assumptions and expectations• Get closely-held beliefs out of your heads• You needn’t go back to verify your assumptions;

goal is to make assumptions explicit

Make the interview about the interview• As a transitional ritual, agree explicitly that you are

going to Learn about Paul rather than Identify NextGen Opportunities for Roadmap


Click to edit Master title styleEmbrace how other people see the world

Go to where your users are rather than asking them to come to you

Nip distractions in the bud• Eat!• Leave plenty of time so you aren’t rushed when you arrive• Find a bathroom beforehand

Be ready to ask questions you (think you) know the answers to• Think about: “When are your taxes due?”• What do you know? What are you afraid they’ll say? What might you

learn?


Click to edit Master title styleBuild rapport

Be selective about social graces• Just enough small talk• Accept what you’re offered

Be selective about talking about yourself• Reveal personal information to give them permission to share• Otherwise, think “OMG! Me too!” without saying it

Work towards the tipping point• From question-answer to question-story• You won’t know when it’s coming; be patient

Acknowledge the interview as something…unusual• “What I want to learn today…” over friendly chat


Click to edit Master title styleListen

You can demonstrate that you are listening by asking questions!

• Follow-up, follow-up, follow-up• “Earlier, you told us that…”• “I want to go back to something else you said…”

Signal your transitions: “Great, now I’d like to move onto a totally different topic”

This level of listening is not how we normally talk to each other

• Remember that you are interviewing, not having a conversation• This is really hard


Click to edit Master title styleListening body language

Yes! Not so much.


Click to edit Master title styleSilence defeats awkwardness

After you ask your question, be silent

• Don’t put the answers in the question

After they’ve answered you, be silent


Click to edit Master title styleUse natural language

Talk like your subject talks!


Click to edit Master title styleDon’t make questions pass/fail (1/2)

(cont’d)

Client: So the concept of transferring, burning, and syncing, can you talk a little about those three concepts? So transfer, burn, and sync. Just do you understand the difference?

Interviewee: Transfer, burn, sync. Burn is when I’m actually putting it onto some kind of disc.

Okay…

Transferring is I guess when I transfer the files from one place to the other.

Mm-hmm…

Whether it’s to a device or to a different drive or whatever or into the program I guess. And syncing, well, I know the phone always comes up and says it’s syncing, when it’s syncing up to the files or syncing up to the computer or stuff like that. That’s the only time I think I’ve ever really heard that.


Click to edit Master title styleDon’t make questions pass/fail (2/2)

Client: So the only other question I have left in this area is: Would you expect to manually decide what music goes on your devices or would you rather that the machine does it for you?

Interviewee: Decide what I want on my…?

Let’s say your library is here on this machine, and you have a device, would you want it to put as much as it could put on from the library from the device when it’s connected to your computer?

If I could hold it… if the device itself could actually hold all the files, I would love that, if it automatically…

Just knew.

No, no, don’t worry about it!

Just knew that it wasn’t on there, the same thing when…what do you call it - when I have to go into the program and actually have it… downl…uhh, now I’m confused in what I should call it.


Click to edit Master title styleDon’t presume they accept your world view

Client: So, really interesting the sort of things that you as old Derek used to value, such as efficiency of time, and some of those things have now influenced the new Derek.

Derek: Right.

Steve: Maybe that sort of begs a larger question…We’ve offered you this idea of old versus new you, but how do you think about this transition?

Derek: Yeah, I don’t really see it.


Click to edit Master title styleIf you want to fix something, wait until the end

Frustrating to watch users struggle with your product

• Remember, you are there to learn from them

You will lose the interview if you start taking their questions

When it’s time to go, show or tell them only what will help them


Click to edit Master title styleFind your personal style

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator


Click to edit Master title styleQuestions to gather context and collect details

Sequence“Describe a typical workday. What do you do when you first

sit down at your station?…Then what do you do next?”

Quantity “How many files would you delete when that happens?”

Specific examples“What is the last movie that you streamed?” – Compare this

to “What movies do you stream?”

Complete list“What are all the different apps you have installed on your

smartphone?” – Will require follow up

Relationships“How do you work with new vendors?” – General question is

appropriate when you don’t even know enough to ask a specific question

Organizational structure

“Who does that department report to?”


Click to edit Master title styleQuestions to probe on what’s unsaid

Clarification“When you refer to ‘that’ you are talking about the newest

server, right?”

Code words/native language

“Why do you call it the ‘Batcave?’”

Emotional cues “Why do you laugh when you mention ‘Best Buy?’”

Why“I’ve tried to get my boss to adopt this format, but she just

won’t do it…” “Why do you think she hasn’t?”

Probe delicately“You mentioned a difficult situation that changed your usage.

Can you tell us what that situation was?”

Probe without presuming

“Some people have very negative feelings about Twitter, while others don’t. What is your take?”


Click to edit Master title styleQuestions to probe on what’s unsaid

Explain to an outsider“Let’s say that I’ve just arrived here from another decade,

how would you explain to me the difference between smartphones and tablets?”

Teach another“If you had to ask your daughter to operate your system, how

would you explain it to her?”


Click to edit Master title styleQuestions to uncover mental models

Compare processes“What’s the difference between sending your response by

fax, mail or email?”

Compare to others “Do the other coaches also do it that way?”

Compare across time

“How have your family photo activities changed in the past five years? How do you think they will be different five years from now?” – Not intended to capture an accurate prediction

but break free from what exists now


Click to edit Master title styleWhy so many types of questions?

Real interviews aren’t as simple as asking a question, getting an answer, and then moving onto the next question in your list.

You are unlikely to get to the actual answer without asking a few different questions a few different ways.

You need a range of tools and techniques. And you need to feel when you haven’t got to the real answer yet so you can keep going

.


Click to edit Master title stylePrepare for exploding questions

Let’s find out what service

this is?!

I don’t understand her

financial model…

Why does she expect that it would be the

same?

Coping techniques

• Wait until these issues come up organically, without you having to ask

• Make notes on your field guide about what you want to loop back to so you don’t forget

• Triage based on what’s most pressing for your topic

• Triage based on what makes the best follow-up, to demonstrate listening

Well, my cousin never tells me when she has

an updated bank balance so I figured I

would handle it myself. That’s why I signed up for the PayPal service,

I think it’s them but maybe not.

I decided I had to spend the money I had

from last month in order to save month’s

money and this service was going to help me do that. Even if it’s not

the same password that my cousin would

be using

Okay.

Why does this matter?


Click to edit Master title styleExploding questions can lead to a flow state


Click to edit Master title styleManaging others in the field

We lead a thirty-minute training session for everyone who will join us in the field

• Field teams are ideally 2, at most 3

Ensure one person leads the interview and clarify the role of the “second interviewer”

• They should ask questions, but stay in the “chapter” that we’re in

During our debriefs, we offer feedback and coaching about the process, if possible


Click to edit Master title styleGetting better at interviewing

Practice with hallway or other serendipitous micro-interviews

Write surveys and participant screeners to practice crafting questions out of the moment

How do you get to Carnegie

Hall?

Practice, man,

practice!


Click to edit Master title styleParticipant screeners as asking practice

A good way to practice both framing a question and the empathic exercise of thinking through the respondent’s user experience with that question


Click to edit Master title styleWrite and take surveys

Develop your own critical eye (and interviewer’s voice) by looking for bad examples and identifying just what’s wrong with them


Click to edit Master title styleWe learn from mistakes and mishaps

Collect and share war stories with other interviewers


Click to edit Master title styleInterviewing Exercise

Get in groups of 3

You are in a startup looking for opportunities in…1. Music – purpose/role/interests, technology, devices

2. Food, groceries, meals, nutrition

3. News – media, information, sources, purpose

Review sample interview guides• Imagine the flow• Background, depth, reflection

Three rounds of interviews, 10-12 minutes each • One interviewer, one interviewee, one observer• Each person plays each role once• Stay in the exercise!

Group debrief


Click to edit Master title styleGiveaway #1

Everyone gets a license for TechSmith’s screen capture tool Snagit

• Expect it by email in a couple of weeks

Everyone gets 3 tests from UserTesting.com• Use code uxworkshop; expires in 2 weeks

Draw• 2 licenses for TechSmith’s Camtasia (Mac/PC)• 1 license for Techsmith’s Morae (PC)


Click to edit Master title styleLunch



Introduction 9:00 – 9:10

Best Practices Overview 9:10 – 10:00

Methods 10:00 – 10:30

Break 10:30 – 10:45

Interviewing 10:45 – 11:30

Interviewing Exercise 11:30 – 12:15

(The rest of) today

Lunch!Observation Exercise 1:15 – 2:00

Synthesis 2:00 – 2:45

Break 2:45 – 3:00

Ideation 3:00 – 4:00

Share 4:00 – 4:30

Q&A + Wrap-up 4:30 – 5:00



Homework/Observation Exercise


Click to edit Master title styleHomework Check-in

Your mission: Dedicate at least half an hour to walking around and observing people in your neighborhood

Props to Dylan, Caroline, and David!


Click to edit Master title styleHomework Check-in

Who was able to do the assignment?

Was this anyone’s first experience doing observational fieldwork?

Is there anyone who has not done user or observational research in the field?


Click to edit Master title styleObserving

Notice what… people, places

Notice how… processes, sequences, interactions

Suspend your point of view

Avoid conclusions

Allow confusion

Do it “out loud” Steve, practicing his “noticing.” You can tell because he looks like he may be a little confused.



You’re observing people within their culture. Notice how cultural artifacts reflect and define the environment; and reveal what is “normal”

Normal isn’t “right or wrong” – it’s the set of background rules that define much of what people choose or ignoreMediaProductsAdvertisementsStreet CultureTrends/ Fads

Cultural context

What are they selling?


Click to edit Master title styleCultural context







Your mission: Imagine you are working on a project for Gentrific8, looking for ideas to redevelop parts Seattle around downtown and the Central Library.

Form groups of 2 – 3. Mix it up• Wander and observe people,

interactions and environments• Do it out loud!• Capture (photos, notes)

• What, who, where, when?• Why, how?

This is not a design audit of signage or merchandise displays

Exercise: Explore!


Click to edit Master title styleNeighborhood observations: Noe Valley, San Fran


Click to edit Master title styleNeighborhood observations: Noe Valley, San Fran


Click to edit Master title styleNeighborhood observations: Montara, California



Be back by 2:25!

Exercise: Explore!



Synthesis: From data to insights



Detailed solutions

SolutionsStrategies

Insights Opportunities

Analysis

Synthesis

Ideation

Synthesis & ideation process



Fieldwork

Development

Synthesis

Ideation

Why a process?


Click to edit Master title styleAvoid jumping to conclusions


Click to edit Master title styleDTDT: Analysis vs. Synthesis

AnalysisBreak large piece(s) into smaller ones in order to make sensee.g., interviews, transcripts into anecdotes, stories



Synthesis

Combining multiple pieces into something new e.g., developing themes, implications, opportunities




Synthesis



The process gradually moves from one to the other


Click to edit Master title styleAnalthesis????

Synthesis





Sense-making through an iterative process of refining gathered data

Early, Informal data in your head

First, process the experience you had collecting data• Refer to debriefs and conversations• Articulate and identify themes• Outcome: Topline Report

Process-based, Formal heavy lifting

Then, process the data itself• Individual and group analysis• Pattern-identification, clustering,

models, frameworks• Outcome: Opportunities

More narratively, what is synthesis?

Review, Refine, Rinse, Repeat



Synthesis naturally begins in the field• Resist meaning (for now)• Focus on observations• Get the detail

Create time to talk after each fieldwork experience• Worksheet to facilitate the

debrief

Write up real-time summaries for the team, ASAP

In-field debriefing

Fieldwork highlights captured in the wild.



After fieldwork, collate reflections and quickly externalize a starter set of 5 to 10 thematic areas based on

•Pre-identified areas of inquiry•Refer to debriefs and conversations from the field

•New patterns that we observed

Identify interesting areas; acknowledge that you don’t understand details yet, identify questions

Outcome: Topline Report

All right researchers… what did you see?

Early, informal synthesis (data in your head)



This sheds light on what excites the team and the stakeholders and brings focus to the next stage of synthesis

The Topline Report



Go back through your raw data very closely to move beyond the Topline Report

Individually (heads-down) and collaboratively (heads-up) develop clusters, identify patterns, collate and refine findings

• Process maps, eco-systems• Frameworks, models• Design implications

i.e.: What did other public announcements in the study look like? What are the layers of information and cultural context? What form factors are favored? Why?

Process-based, formal synthesis (heavy lifting)



Heads down!• Video• Photos, field artifacts• Transcripts

• DV→MP3→FTP→.docx• We use Chromolume

Transcript analysis• Make marginal notes on

patterns, quotes, or what seems interesting

• Ask yourself questions; give labels; propose solutions

• Don’t worry about implications, be descriptive and reactive

Individual analysis (not today…)



If you can’t get transcripts, watch video/listen to audio (even sped-up) and in near real-time jot down the rough narrative of the session

• When you make an observation in your own voice, do something typographic to call it out (ALL CAPS, highlight, etc.)

Individual analysis (not today…)



Heads up!

Present each interview (etc.) as a case study. Introduce each, and pick out the provocative highlights.

Voice and document reactions, a-has, support and questions

• Clustering with stickies• White-board notes

Develop a new shared point-of-view, beyond “findings”

Collaborative analysis



Easy to scan for patterns and relationships

Play with data by rearranging individual elements

Lo-fi way to makes data tangible, visible, and sharable

Sticky work



As you are telling stories, quickly get the key points (notes, themes, observations, quotes) up• Code with the source (interview

name, etc.)

Separate what was observed from what you think it means

Write big and try to code visually (e.g. colored dots, colored post-its, symbols)

Sticky work



Group stuff

Be opportunistic, using whatever makes sense at first• You may want to re-use your topline

headings or you may want to be fresh • Initial groupings may be “All things

related to shopping” or “what people are doing” or “what people are feeling” or “pain points”

Sticky work


Click to edit Master title styleSticky work

Re-group stuff

Now, go back and re-group at a higher level• What it means• What people are trying to accomplish

(i.e., needs/motivations/goals)



Name your groups

These themes are the points of view you will carry forward• Individual stickies are

supporting evidence you can return to

Sticky work


Click to edit Master title stylePlay with possible models and frameworks

The 2 x 2

Relationship to other data

Timeline

Frequency



Spreadsheet analysis enables immersive refinement of data

Play with data by generating alternate views of the dataset• Rewrite each sticky in a cell (adding commentary, explanation, context, quote)• Processing each entry allows further synthesis and thought

More individual analysis

Tag each comment with person, segment, market etc. to allow you to manipulate data

Categories of columns will vary by project

Comment comes from rewritten sticky



Uncover patterns through additional layers of keywords• Prioritize and better understand themes and relationships• Search for quotes and evidence as you transition to writing presentation• Go back to your data in search of more insights or further inspiration

More individual analysis

Spreadsheet tools let you see data in different ways

Use themes from sticky work and/or presentation sections to reveal relationships and shore up shaky thinking

Coding entries with keywords builds a taxonomy for future reference



Keep the human touch in communication

Allow people to move seamlessly between places

Allow people to integrate seamlessly across different devices and systems

Opportunities are not • A reporting of “interesting findings” • A list of solutions

Opportunities are• Change we can envision based

on what we heard and observed• About people• In the context of, but reframing the

business questions• Generative, inviting many

solutions

Developing opportunities

What should we do?



Topline




Summary of analthesis activities

Externalize the data in your head

Opportunities

Collaborative Analysis

Individual Analysis

Individual Analysis

The heavy lifting Play with individual data elements

Play with the entire data set

Determine generative directions



Get in groups of 4

Quickly review what happened (today and from your homework) and what you saw. Collate reflections. Resist the urge to move too far towards conclusions• Don’t refer to notes or photos yet• Keep your own experiences, existing

hypotheses, cultural clichés, etc. in the background

Develop 3 - 5 themes as a “Topline Report” sketching out the big takeaways, leading into further synthesis• Don’t fuss over exact wording

Exercise: Develop a topline (7 minutes)

All right researchers… what did you see?



Evolve your “Topline Report;” flesh out and enrich themes• Write your themes and put them up

• Leave space for new ones• Now (!) tell stories from the field (from

your neighborhood and today), using photos, notes and memory

Rethink the relationships between the themes, pick your strongest themes and write a sentence with a point of view• Go from “Graffiti everywhere” and “Teen

gangs hanging out” to “Public spaces in the neighborhood are used to communicate identity and belongingness”

Exercise: Develop findings (7 minutes)



Build on your findings• Start each opportunity with a verb

Opportunities are not • A reporting of “interesting findings” • A list of solutions

Opportunities are• Change we can envision based on what

we heard and observe• About people• In the context of but reframing the

business questions• Generative, inviting many solutions

Exercise: Identify opportunities (7 minutes)

What should we do?




What should we do?





Click to edit Master title styleBreak!



Ideation: From insights to solutions



A simple step moves you from Opportunities to Ideation Questions, reframing them into actionable language

How can we

Ideate!

keep the human touch in communication

allow people to move seamlessly between places

allow people to integrate seamlessly across different devices and systems

How can we

How can we

Ideation questions



Solutions exist across many different business areas

Functionality

Visual design

Marketing

Architecture

Public Services

Partnerships

Events

Software

Form factor

Packaging

Policy

Retail design

Even if you are unlikely to impact certain business areas, it’s crucial that you set that constraint aside for ideation

Scope of solutions

How many business and civic areas to impact can you spot in this picture?



Responses to any ideation question can lead in different strategic directions

Finding: Students have to smoke outside, but they get cold and wet

Opportunity: Improve the experience of students who smoke

Ideation Question: How can we improve the experience of students who smoke?

Developing strategies

Create a protected environment for smoking

Support underlying needs and behavior by embracing the finding

Eliminate smoking

Question needs and behavior, seek change by challenging the finding






Strategies

Solutions

Strategies can inspire solutions


FacilitiesBuild a pavilion

AdminAllocate interior room

PartnersAlign with nearby cafe

Eliminate smoking

OnlineSmoking cessation games

AdminBan smoking

PartnersStop smoking coaches






Solutions can suggest strategies


Eliminate smoking

AdminAllocate interior room

AdminBan smoking

Strategies

Solutions



This is a collective, out-loud activity! Talk, listen, build on each other’s ideas• Don’t worry about a “bad” idea… it

may lead to a “good” idea

Don’t correct; generate alternatives• “Yes, and…”

This is a visual activity! Sketch, draw…

• Quantity over quality; go quickly

Individual ideas matter less than what the collective produces overall

How can a sour lemon help keep things working smoothly?

Collaborative generation


Click to edit Master title styleStuck?

Come up with bad ideas• Immoral• Dangerous• Bad for business


Click to edit Master title styleDon’t forget your second wind

Time

Pace of idea generation

Obvious but necessary, problem-solving, need-filling, low-hanging fruit


Click to edit Master title styleDon’t forget your second wind

Time

Pace of idea generation

Obvious but necessary, problem-solving, need-filling, low-hanging fruit

Wacky, transgressive, innovative, breakthrough, weird



Questions Business Areas Ideation and Sharing 2 minutes 3 minutes 40 minutes 30 minutes

How can we

Ideate!




How can we

How can we

Summary of ideation exercises

Shift to “How can we…?”

Figure out where we can play

Remember, “Yes, and…”



Apply How can we…? to each of your Opportunities

How can we

Ideate!




How can we

How can we

Exercise: Ideation questions (2 minutes)



Let’s collectively list possible business areas to design for• Think about whatever Gentrific8 could do

or affect

Use this list as a starting pointFunctionality

Visual design

Marketing

Architecture

Public Services

Partnerships

Events

Software

Form factor

Packaging

Policy

Retail design

Incentives

Exercise: Business areas (3 minutes)

How many business and civic areas to impact can you spot in this picture?



Use your ideation questions to generate strategies and solutions

• Out loud• Visual• Collaborative

Consider the range of possible business areas

Bounce back and forth between generating strategies and solutions

Most ideas will not turn out to be winners; the goal is to practice connecting research data to solutions

Exercise: Ideation (40 minutes)

Apply lemon as needed.

Don’t forget your second wind



Rapidly align on your team’s best ideas and message

Choose a messenger

Exercise: Prepare to share (2 minutes)

The wise team will choose a bold, expressive spokesperson


Click to edit Master title styleExercise: Pitch it back!


Click to edit Master title stylePrioritization


Click to edit Master title styleBig group voting


Click to edit Master title styleSmall group ranking…and reconciliation

Color indicates voting winner Ranking factors may even include how clear the idea is



Wrap Up



Development

Synthesis

Ideation

How experts use frameworks

Fieldwork



Who do you want to talk

to?

What do you want to do with them?

Do something

with the data!

Typical timelines

Screening criteria,

recruiting

Methodology, field guide,

stimuli

Analysis, synthesis, design

Fieldwork

Interviews, self-reporting, debriefs

2-3 weeks 2-3 weeks 2-3 weeks

When working in tighter timeframes, consider where you want to cut back. Be mindful of the tradeoffs!



Who do you want to talk

to?

What do you want to do with them?

Do something

with the data!

Going rogue

Who can you get? Co-workers, intercepts on the street or in the

mall, etc.

Wide-eyed observation,

winging itDebrief

Fieldwork

Small sample, massively

parallel data gathering

1 day?! 1 day?! 2 days?!!



A book by Steve Portigal

The Art and Craft of User Research Interviewinghttp://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/user-interviews/

Coming in 2012!



One new thing I

learned today is…

I’ve got a tip (that you

didn’t cover) that works

well for me…Yeah, I’ve

got a question for ya…


Click to edit Master title styleBrought to you by


Click to edit Master title styleGiveaway #2

Draw• 8 Rosenfeld Media titles• Steve Krug’s Rocket Surgery

Made Easy• UserTesting t-shirt(s) etc.



Portigal Consultingwww.portigal.com

@[email protected]

Thank you!