the experiments in design results from dots 2016

http://fluxx.uk.com/Experiments-in-Design#ExpID

WHAT IS #EXPID?• Experiments in Design is a fast-growing meetup for anyone

who wants to combine product development with lean experiments.

• We're a community of designers, behavioural scientists and developers interested in using experiments to develop creative solutions that actually work.

• We believe that the quickest way to make something that works is to test it. Come and learn the tricks of the trade.

• At each event there is a short, sharp presentation and then you'll be rolling your sleeves up and running a live experiment.


#EXPID AT #DOTSCONF

• We love DOTS, so we collaborated to run our biggest experiment yet, at DOTS 2016.

• We conducted a Mindfulness experiment inspired by Caroline Webb’s book “How to have a good day” in order to show how easy it can be to do an experiment.

• We believe that doing something is better than being perfect. You definitely don’t learn anything if you don’t do anything!


WHAT WAS OUR HYPOTHESIS?“THE DOTS AUDIENCE IS SO PASSIONATE ABOUT

EXPERIENCE AND DESIGN RESEARCH THAT THEY

WILL SPEND THEIR TIME DOING OUR EXPERIMENT.”(WE DIDN’T TELL ANYONE THIS)


METHOD

The Control – it’s pretty hard to create an actual control, so we picked an activity that many people would do anyway!

Remember, our primary learning goal is participation, so we just couldn’t make this too precise and scientific – but we did want to see what else we could learn!


THE RESULTS

DOTSAUDIENCE

53%INSURANCE

INNOVATION EVENT

46%OF ATTENDEES TOOK PART IN THE

EXPERIMENT


THE DATA

1 2 32.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

Notice 3 Good

ThingsCONTROL

(check messages)Notice 3 Breaths

Visualise Someone

Important to you


THE DATA

Intervention 1 Intervention 2 Intervention 3

ACTIVITYAVERAGE

SCOREVARIANCE TO

CONTROLAVERAGE

SCOREVARIANCE TO

CONTROLAVERAGE

SCOREVARIANCE TO

CONTROL

Catch-up on your messages(20 responses)

2.90 - 3.30 - 3.50 -

Notice 3 Breaths(20 responses) 3.38 17% 3.14 -5% 3.71 6%Visualise Someone Important(23 responses)

4.13 42% 4.35 32% 4.48 28%

Notice 3 Good Things(20 responses) 3.91 35% 4.05 23% 4.18 19%


INTERESTINGLY…

All of the interventions outperformed the control in the majority of samplesSo either the interventions work, or checking messages is very depressing


BUT WHAT ELSE WE LEARNED WAS TRULY, TRULY FASCINATING


EMOJIS GET EVERYWHERE


THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO TOLD US “WHY” WERE THE ONES WHO HAD THIS SPECIFIC ACTIVITY COULD IT HAVE MADE THEM MORE EMOTIONALLY OPEN?


CAN YOU INCORPORATE

HOW THIS PERSON REACTED INTO

HOW YOU DO THIS NEXT TIME?

(IT LOOKS LIKE THEY DREW THEIR IMPORTANT PEOPLE)


“CHECK YOUR MESSAGES” WAS OUR CONTROL ACTIVITY AS IT IS WHAT WE’VE

OBSERVED 80% OF PEOPLE DO WHEN GIVEN A PAUSE IN PROCEEDINGS

BUT NOT EVERYONE CONFORMS TO OUR IDEA OF A ‘CONTROL’


PEOPLE WILL CREATE & SUBVERT LET THEM AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS


IT SEEMS PEOPLE HAD A GREAT DAY AND

WANT TO GIVE FEEDBACK!


FINALLY

If you want to make yourself just a little happier, our experiment results say…


WHAT DID WE REALLY LEARN AT DOTS 2016?• Quantitative data is no good without knowing WHY• A fast experiment is a co-creation activity – your

‘customers’ show you how to make it better, and it’s better to get have done something than nothing

• Creativity will flourish in the oddest places• We should have put dogs on our cards,

and emojis are everywhere• Mindful interventions do work!

Chris TT

Martin Gill

Dan Shute

Caroline

Webb

Lydia Nichol

as

Nothing like joining a few

dots is there?Vyv Evans