Design Thinking User Research for discovery Susana Branco #BUSIGNERS April 2016

Design Thinking methodology

You have: A great product,

a team of experts dedicated to your product,

market studies to help you make decisions,

established processes to be efficient.

Your business is already dead, you just don't know it yet.

What are you missing?

How do you keep relevant to your users?

User research can help you to discover:

Users behavior, needs, and desires. Give the whys to quantitative data; Deep into problems (and reframe); New challenges/opportunities; Explore new areas; Develop an inquisitive mindset;

Understand the context and inspire you for the future.

How? 7 steps framework

Step 1: Define the challenge

We start with a problem, and turn it into a challenge. Spend time with your team to create a common understanding.

Step 2: Quick and dirty

Your 1st approach to the user, immerse yourself in the context. Conduct "freer kind of research”, this will help shape your research better.

Step 3: Profile and recruit users

Who do you want to learn from?? Recruit carefully and selectively: The quality of the data you obtain is directly connected to your recruiting: Gets better results and avoids wasting time. How many people should you recruit? Normally 6 people for profile is enough to detect problems and patterns.

Profiling: Main users, Extreme users, Do not talk to.

Step 4: Define research plan methods

User Research is about what people say and do Methods: Interview, observation

What people SAY:

Methods for interviewing

Individual contextual interview

Expert interview

What people DO:

Methods for observation  Participatory

Shadowing

Non participatory

Fly-on-the-Wall Observation

Mobile ethnography Mobile ethnography projects give us an insider view and the ability to observe

people's lives without having to be physically nearby.

Step 5: Draft a research script

Carefully prepare your conversations When design your script, use an “arc structure”. An interview should not take more than 1 hour.  

Usability: How does the user interact with my product? - why Context: What have past experiences been? - why Goals and needs: What do they really want? - why Problems: What are they struggling with? why Is it useful? How the products fit in people's life now? why Dreams: What do your users wish for? why

Step  6:  Conduct  the  User  Research  Keep  in  mind    Record the interview/observation (with permission); Do not direct the answers; (You use makeup everyday, right?) Show curiosity and gratitude and smile (being a good host); Distance yourself from the solution (because they don’t want to hurt your feelings.) When you refer your product do it as a prototype (even if is not, this takes people permission to criticise) Not be defensive or pitching. (The point is listen things that you don’t want) Do not explain to much (silences); Ask for concrete examples, stories, and to be showed or teached;

Step 6: Conduct the User Research

Keep in mind:

1.  Record the interview/observation (with permission);

2.  Do not direct the answers; (You use makeup everyday, right?)

3.  Show curiosity and gratitude and smile

4.  Distance yourself from the solution (because they don’t want to hurt your feelings.)

5.  When you refer to your product do it as a prototype (even if it isn't, this gives people permission to

criticize)

6.  Don't be defensive or pitching. (The point is hear things that you don't want to hear)

7.  Do not explain too much (silences);

8.  Ask for concrete examples, stories, and to be shown or taught).

 

Step 7 : Interpretation

Interpretation transforms stories into meaningful

insights How? Document the learning; Tell stories; Find Patterns; Insights (perceções).  

How? 1.  Define the challenge

2.  Quick and dirty

3.  Profile and recruit users

4.  Define user research plan (methods)

5.  Draft a research script

6.  Conduct the research

7.  Interpret

Thank you Susana Branco Susana@Busigners.com 965279108

“Measure the world we know Explore the world we don't.” #designthinkingissexy