Using user research and co-creation for disruptive innovation

César Astudillo - Managing Partner @cesarastudillo

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Product Business Service

Interaction Environmental Brand-comm...

Europe’s largest strategic design firm

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we human-centered design

practicioners

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communication design product design

interaction design service design

1996 2013

business design

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Co- Creation User

Research we’ve learnt to rely

on two dependable tools 6

but are they up to the task of radical innovation?

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2007 2001 2015 ?

Can user research and co-creation still be useful in the future?

I’d like to share some experiences and intuitions on that subject

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Generative evaluative

User research

before design

enquiry

after design

testing

design/construction

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Evaluative research

is being used less and less

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But it’s always useful, and it’s never late to

do some enquiry

introducing generative research in time of evaluation

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Generative research

is no longer seen as a silver bullet either

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Twitter Facebook

iPod Violin

Carton wine

have been done either without or against

user research 17

This feels so crazy!

Who’d want to try blindfolded archery?

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Generative research:We must be

doing it wrong.

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We have made a divide

between researchers and designers

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We must work together

through demand definition, fieldwork, analysis, and interpretation

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We started by letting designers define information demands

for research.

We failed. They can’t.

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Introducing the Theory of Primary Generator

incomplete data >

subjective judgment knowledge

values

> conjecture > analysis

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Give an experienced designer the incomplete problem definition

Let her come up with an

uninformed design

Let a researcher interview thedesigner to extract

information demands 24

introducing evaluativeresearch in time of generation

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Let a researcher and a designer

define information demands together do some fieldwork together

codify and analyze data together interpret results together

conceptualize solutions together

and things start to happen! 29

inquiring about needs and

expectations

inquiring about meaning and potential

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researchoutcomes

that describe

research outcomes that problematize

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detachment as analytical

tool

obsession as analyticaltool and brand purpose can be an excellent source of obsessions!

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sharingresults using

models

sharingresults usingdramas

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by mixing its generative and evaluative capacities by joining the unique strengths

of researchers and designers

with the aim of conceiving futures

not expected but possible,

not desired by desirable

let’s turn user research

into a power tool

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on to...

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co-design participative design interdisciplinary teams design thinking sticky notes on walls...

Co-creation

comes in many flavors,

is known under

many names

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We embraced co-creation in 2007

when we adopted Basadur’s Simplexity

process

problem finding à facts à challenges à ideas à selecting à planning à

acceptance à implementation

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stimuli à facts à challenges à synthesis à prototyping

After hundreds of workshops, we work with a

flexible process

but in a typical workshop we work like this:

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stillborn projects

jack-in-the-box stakeholders

vampire projects

...and it sure helps!

Myself, I lived co-creation as a relief from

some of my worst design project pains...

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triangulation shared vision prioritization

There are three things that keep me in love with co-creation

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There’s one thing at which co-creation brings

mixed results

idea generation

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And there’s one extremely dangerous thing

about co-creation

mediocre consensus

meh meh

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Attitude towards co-creationgoes through three stages:

ritual oracle conversation

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Co-creation can lead to better and quicker

problem understanding

and organizational buy-in

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Co-creation enriches design

by informing and inspiring it

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Co-creation is participatory but not democratic

Everybody must be listened, but majority does not rule

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Mere facilitation doesn’t cut it. Co-creation needs creative leadership

(not that it can’t becollective or rotating)

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Creative leadership in complex organizations

requires

a worthwhile purpose an amazing superpower a mobilizing discourse

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two final conclusions...

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User research and co-creation give us maps.

You can use a map to: find the path of least resistance,

find the shortest path to a given destination, set promising destinations, plan worthwhile journeys...

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Let’s take responsibility for empowering and inspiring our customers and internal clients

be the best they can be.

let’s act as coaches

Let’s not act as bartenders

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Thank you!

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@cesarastudillo