using ethnography in product design
DESCRIPTION
A guest lecture to University of Washington students on how ethnography works in product designTRANSCRIPT
Practical Ethnography:
A method for product and service innovationSam Ladner, PhDSenior User Researcher, Microsoft Office EnvisioningGuest LectureUW School of BusinessFebruary 20 2013
Office Envisioning creates prototype technologies based on contextual inferences on current use patterns.
What is ethnography?
• A method, a product• Immersive• Extended period of
time• Often focused on a
particular culture
Ethnography is observing
Toronto, Ontario: Intentional manipulation of corporate logo: symbolizes resistance.
Denver, CO: Scooters in local supermarket: represents shoppers’ need to avoid walking while shopping
Ethnography is interviewing
Can happen in a workplace “culture”
Or in a “foreign” culture
Or in a domestic “culture”
Case studies
Corporate Ethnography
Researched how consumers in developing countries deal with diabetes. Uncovered unmet needs in diabetes treatment.
Employs 24 full-time ethnographers who helped design a computer with a dust filter and runs off a car battery for use in India
Ethnography in Asia and Africa lead to “image only” cell phone design, multiple address books, and long battery life
Case Study: Prada shopping
Corporate Ethnography
Mirrors have a 5-second delay allowing shoppers to see the view from behind
Embedded RFID tags in clothes so shoppers can easily find complete outfits
Created frosted glass doors for changing rooms that turn to windows at the touch of a button
Why does ethnography help companies innovate?
“Ethnography may start by exploring the experience of those directly involved in the institutional setting, but they are not the object of investigation. It is the aspects of the institutions relevant to the people's experience, not the people themselves, that constitute the inquiry.”Smith, Dorothy. 2005. Institutional Ethnography: A Sociology for
People. New York: Altamira.
We learn how people interact with our business, our brand, and our bureaucracy, from their point of view.
Corporate Ethnography Step-by-Step
Understanding Social Context
Developing a better service
What new product would you develop?
Overall customer satisfaction rose
Yet loyalty did not increase…why?
What you learn from ethnography
What you can learn from ethnography
