Introduction to Empathy and Design Research

i

Introduction to Empathy and Design Research

Prepared for DT:DC Summer of Design, 2014

JULY 22. 2014

i

Design thinking is a problem solving process ...

What is? What if? What wows? What works?? $

EMPATHIZE

framinginterviewingobservinganalyzing

VISUALIZE

exploring brainstorming

creating

CO-CREATE

building refining

evaluating

ITERATE

experimenting testing

implementing

IMPACTWhat is? What if? What wows? What works?? $

EMPATHIZE

framinginterviewingobservinganalyzing

VISUALIZE

exploring brainstorming

creating

CO-CREATE

building refining

evaluating

ITERATE

experimenting testing

implementing

ii

... best used with ambiguous problems (often called innovation).

DESiGN THiNKiNGis a problem-solving process

optimized for ...

iNNOVATiONwhich is becoming the predominant path to ...

iMPACT

iii

There are four core principles of design thinking.

EMPATHIZE VISUALIZE

ITERATE CO-CREATE

EMPATHIZE

iV

Today, we’ll dig into one.

EMPATHIZE VISUALIZE

ITERATE CO-CREATE

EMPATHIZE

1

SO, WHAT’S HAPPENiNG iN THiS PHOTO?

2

ACTUALLY, THiS WOMAN iS A TOURiST iN BODiE, CA—A GOLD-MiNiNG GHOST TOWN FROM THE 1880s. SHE iS PEERiNG iNTO A HOUSE TO SEE THE PRESERVED ARTiFACTS.

3

Describe, don’t prescribe

Observation

› Objective

› Descriptive

› Factual

› Derived from your senses (sight, smells, sounds, feel)

interpretation

› Subjective

› Prescriptive

› Emotional

› Derived from your experiences

4

Let’s cover the basics of design research

Agenda

› Overview of Design Thinking

› The Design Research Process

› Tips For Building Empathy & Conducting Interviews

› Creating A Discussion Guide

› Running An Empathy-building Activity

› Debriefing Your Data

› Reflection

› Q&A

5

HOW WOULD YOU FiND OUT WHAT WAS REALLY GOiNG ON?

6

Ethnographic interviews give you a peek into their world

7

There are four steps in the design research process

PLAN RECRUiT iNTERViEW DEBRiEF & DOCUMENT

8



in this session, we’ll do a deep dive on these two

9



1

Research PlanWhen it comes to design thinking, our inspiration comes from data. And we’re looking for data on a very human scale—individual stories about people and their needs and how they relate to your opportunity. Take a moment to think about whom you might need to interview or observe in order to gather this kind of human-centered data. You can always come back later to add to or adjust it.

Who or what will we study?

Where will we find the people or information?

What questions/issues will we explore?

Number of observations, interviews, or inputs

When will the research happen?

Who on the team is responsible?

2

Research Recruiting 101

Recruit Both Current Users and Non-Users For Your Study

You want a diversity of opinions on your subject, both posi-

tive and negative. You’re trying to learn something new, not

confirm your biases.

Use Friends and Family, First

It can be hard to find participants on short notice, reach

out to your personal network to see if they can connect

you with someone. Use social media as a way to get your

requests out there.

Screen Your Participants Before You Enroll Them

If you’re looking for 4 participants total, contact 8-10. Talk

with them for five minutes and choose the ones that tell you

stories or aren’t afraid to share details of their lives.

Diversify Your Participant Base

Determine factors the demographic factors that are impor-

tant to your study and then diverge from there. For example,

is geographical location important? Choose a variety of loca-

tions. If not, it’s fine to look to local sources for your research.

Match Your Participants to Your Research Activities

Asking your participants to complete a diary? Make sure they

are comfortable writing and reflecting. Performing an inter-

view? Make sure they enjoy talking and telling stories.

There are some tools in your packet to assist you in first two steps

10

STEP 3: iNTERViEW

11

Never interview alone!

DESiGN RESEARCH ROLES

Lead interviewer

The person asking the questions and leading the discussion

Participant

The person asking the questions

Documenter

The person taking notes, photos and/video and ensuring that all areas of research are addressed

12

Tips for ethnographic interviewing

1. Orient, but don’t prime

2. Ask short, factual questions

3. Get specific examples.

4. Walk backward, then forward

5. Ask attitudinal questions last

6. Document artifacts and tools

7. Record the interview

8. Listen for attitudes, values, beliefs

13

HOW DO i KNOW WHAT TO ASK?

14

Create a discussion guide.

5

Discussion GuideYour Challenge Statement

Introduction

Main Questions

Rapport Building

Closing

15

Create a discussion guide

4

Instructions for Discussion GuideYour Challenge Statement

What is the challenge or issue you wish to explore in this project?

Introduction

• Give an overview of why you are here today (try to stay broad in your explanation)

• Introduce your Documenters or others in the room

• Clarify the amount of time for the interview

• Set expectations of what they are going to be doing during the interview

• Give them any incentives for participating in the interview

Main Questions

Write down some key topics and questions to address during the interview (from Research Plan). Try to encourage the participant to be authors as much as possible to draw or write down information. Format for 3-4 areas of exploration:

Key Topic #1:

• Broad Question

• Follow up Question

• Follow up Question

Rapport Building

Find something personal to talk about not related to the research (e.g. kids, family, an interest, food) or ask them to give you a tour of their space

Closing

Thank them for their time and explain next steps (if any).

introduction

Rapport Building

Main Question

Closing

Your Challenge Statement

16

Now it’s your turn!

Your Challenge Statement

Design a solution to improve your participant’s daily commuting experience.

17


Fill out your Discussion Guide (5 min)

Round One (7 min)

› Partner A: Lead Interviewer

› Partner B: Participant

› Partner C: Documenter

Round Two (7 min)

› Partner C: Lead Interviewer

› Partner A: Participant

› Partner B: Documenter

Round Three (7 min)

› Partner B: Lead Interviewer

› Partner C: Participant

› Partner A: Documenter

18

Remember: Be a better ethnographic researcher









19

Take your interview to a new level with an empathy-building activity

20

Take your interview to a new level with an empathy-building activity

Visual-based activities make ideas tangible and concrete ...

› We experience pictures differently than we experience words

› Visualizing is a pre-cursor to doing; it’s mapped to our motor skills

› We understand pictures at a visceral level, the same as emotions

… and reduce the risk of failure

› Ensures we’re all working from the same mental model

› Builds commitment to the idea

21

You try it!

Round One (5 min)

› Partner B: Lead Interviewer

› Partner C: Participant

› Partner A: Documenter

Round Two (5 min)

› Partner A: Lead Interviewer

› Partner B: Participant

› Partner C: Documenter

Round Three (5 min)

› Partner C: Lead Interviewer

› Partner A: Participant

› Partner B: Documenter

Ask your participant to draw a picture of his or her commute. There are no right or wrong answers here! Leave all decisions about how to represent their commute up to them.

22

6

Interview DebriefAfter each ethnographic interview you complete, take a few minutes to perform an interview debrief with your fellow researcher(s) while the session is fresh in your minds. This ensures that key learnings and observations are not lost in the scramble of many interviews or long timelines.

What did I learn that was new? What did I learn that confirmed what I already suspected?

What do I want to explore further? What are some key quotes that I heard?

STEP 4: DEBRiEF AND DOCUMENT

7

Instructions for 360 EmpathyThe sensing of unmet needs—especially unarticulated needs—requires deep empathy with users. One of the simplest methods to forge this emotional connection is through 360 empathy. You can use this analytic approach immediately after conducting ethnographic interviews or direct observation.

AREA OF OPPORTUNITY

Describe the challenge/opportunity. Keep this short (20 words or less). Use the design brief for reference.

1. SEEING

Note the information that enters through the user’s eyes. What is he or she literally seeing in relation to the challenge?

3. DOING

Note the key physical movements and behaviors that accompany the chal-lenge. The data from direct observa-tion will be the most insightful here.

5. FEELING? (GUESSES)

Make guesses about what you believe the user may be feeling. Don’t worry if your guesses contradict each other; look for breadth of possibilities to explore.

6. LATENT NEED? (GUESSES)

Create a short list of possible unmet needs that may exist for the user. Use the results of Step 5 to spur the discussion. The goal is not consensus among the team but a sense that there are intriguing possibilities to fuel the brain-storming sessions that will follow. The insights here will be essential to create a strong reframe.

2. HEARING

What experiences occur to the user as sounds? In addi-tion to words he or she hears, include ambient sounds

that are integral to the experience.

4. SAYING

Summarize the most revealing verbatim words and phrases he or she uses when speaking about the challenge.

23

7

Instructions for 360 EmpathyThe sensing of unmet needs—especially unarticulated needs—requires deep empathy with users. One of the simplest methods to forge this emotional connection is through 360 empathy. You can use this analytic approach immediately after conducting ethnographic interviews or direct observation.

AREA OF OPPORTUNITY

Describe the challenge/opportunity. Keep this short (20 words or less). Use the design brief for reference.

1. SEEING

Note the information that enters through the user’s eyes. What is he or she literally seeing in relation to the challenge?

3. DOING

Note the key physical movements and behaviors that accompany the chal-lenge. The data from direct observa-tion will be the most insightful here.

5. FEELING? (GUESSES)

Make guesses about what you believe the user may be feeling. Don’t worry if your guesses contradict each other; look for breadth of possibilities to explore.

6. LATENT NEED? (GUESSES)

Create a short list of possible unmet needs that may exist for the user. Use the results of Step 5 to spur the discussion. The goal is not consensus among the team but a sense that there are intriguing possibilities to fuel the brain-storming sessions that will follow. The insights here will be essential to create a strong reframe.

2. HEARING

What experiences occur to the user as sounds? In addi-tion to words he or she hears, include ambient sounds

that are integral to the experience.

4. SAYING

Summarize the most revealing verbatim words and phrases he or she uses when speaking about the challenge.

360 Empathy helps us reflect on a research interview

24


On your own, fill out the 360 Empathy template for the person you documented (6 min)

Round One (2 min)

› Partner C shares with team

Round Two (2 min)

› Partner B shares with team

Round Three (2 min)

› Partner A shares with team

25

What was it like to be a designer researcher?

As a table, discuss the following:

1. At what point when you were interviewing did you feel it was going the best?

2. Which of the interviewing tips did you find most difficult to follow?

3. In what ways was using stimulus similar to or different from using only interview questions?

4. When did you feel most comfortable as a participant? Was there anything your interviewer did to make you feel that way?

5. What questions do you still have about conducting ethnographic interviews?









26

QUESTiONS?

27

THANK YOU!

JESSiCA DUGANDirector, Design Strategy and [email protected] | 312.532.8729

BREE GROFFDesign [email protected]