euroia14 - well, we've done all this research, now what?

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Well, We’ve Done All This Research, Now What?

Steve Portigal@steveportigal

Well, We’ve Done All This Research, Now What? 2 Portigal

Click to edit Master title style

Introduction 9:00 – 9:20

Observation Exercise 9:20 – 10:00

Synthesis 10:00 – 10:50

Break 10:50 – 11:10

Ideation 11:10 – 11:50

Share 11:50 – 12:25

Prioritization 12:25 – 12:35

Q&A + Wrap-up 12:35 – 13:00

Today



Resources, presentations and to purchase http://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/interviewing-users/

•

Available at the registration table



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


Click to edit Master title styleFor some of us: very very brief introductions

Your name!

Your organization!

Where you are based!

How experienced are you in doing research with users?



Development

Synthesis

Ideation

Fieldwork

Synthesis & ideation process



Observation Exercise



Your mission: Imagine you are working on a project for Gentrific8, looking for inspiration for redevelopment of The City of Brussels (especially this neighbourhood)

Explore In groups of 2 – 3• Do it out loud!• Capture (photos, notes)

• What, who, where, when, why, how?

• People, interactions, environments• Functionality but also meaning

This is not a design audit of signage or merchandise displays

Exercise: Explore and Observe


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 inspiration for redevelopment of The City of Brussels (especially this neighbourhood)

Explore In groups of 2 – 3• Do it out loud!• Capture (photos, notes)

• What, who, where, when, why, how?

• People, interactions, environments• Functionality but also meaning

This is not a design audit of signage or merchandise displays

Exercise: Explore and Observe



We resume at 10:00!

Exercise: Explore!



Synthesis: From data to insights

10:00 – 10:50



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

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 (not today)

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



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



In groups, identify 3-5 themes• Areas or topics where you have data• Patterns, issues, surprises• Don’t fuss over exact wording

Quickly review what you saw in your homework. Resist the urge to move too far towards conclusions• Don’t refer to notes or photos yet• Set your pre-existing hypotheses aside

Exercise: Develop a topline (10 minutes)

All right researchers… what did you see?



Pick your strongest themes and state the problem, articulating your point of view• Move from There’s a lot of choices to

Overwhelming choices stop people from quickly finding a transit solution

Evolve your “Topline Report” by fleshing out and enriching 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

Exercise: Develop findings (10 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 observed• About people• Generative, not specific, inviting many

solutions• In the context of but reframing the

business questions

Exercise: State opportunities (10 minutes)

What should we do?




What should we do?





Click to edit Master title styleBreak! (10:50 – 11:10)



Ideation: From insights to solutions

11:10 – 11:50



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

How might 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 might we

How might 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 might 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 styleThe ideation process

Time

Pace of idea generation

Addressing needs with low-hanging fruit


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

Time

Pace of idea generation

Addressing needs with low-hanging fruit

Innovative

Breakthrough

Wacky



Questions Business Areas Ideation and Sharing

How might we

Ideate!




How might we

How might we

Summary of ideation exercises

Shift to “How might we…?”

Figure out where we can play

Remember, “Yes, and…”



Apply How might we…? to each of your Opportunities

How might we

Ideate!




How might we

How might we

Exercise: Ideation questions



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

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

Apply lemon as needed.

Don’t forget your second wind



Quickly align on your team’s best ideas and message

Choose a messenger

Exercise: Share

The wise team will choose a bold, expressive spokesperson


Click to edit Master title stylePrioritization (12:25 – 12:35)


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

12:35 – 13:00



Development

Synthesis

Ideation

How experts use frameworks

Fieldwork


Click to edit Master title styleTakeaways

What did you get out of this workshop?

How will you apply it?



Portigal Consultingwww.portigal.com

@[email protected]+1-415-894-2001

Thank you!