design research for everyday projects

UX London 09

leisa reichelt disambiguity.com @leisa

this is not really about user centred design

to solve a problem you must first understand it - kim goodwin

its about good design

who is this workshop for?

everyday projects?
the design research projects you hear about most often are enormous, time consuming and expensive. most projects we work on cant bear that. research can/should be customised to suit the project requirements

what well cover

PART ONE: Designing Design Research PART TWO: Conducting Design Research PART THREE: Analysing Design Research LOTS of hands on exercises. Lots of your questions & shared experiences Focus on QUALITATIVE Research (esp. interview format) Focus more on practical what you can actually do than best practice

part 1: designing design research

what is design research?

activities that seek insight into user behaviour, goals and needs that might be supported by the design of products/services

why do design research?

we tend to project our own rationalisations and beliefs onto the actions and beliefs of others
- don norman, the design of everyday things

why do design research?

design research helps you uncover, understand and design for real user needs

real user needs

= design for good usability but also = insight for inspiration/validation

when to do design research?

generative research

prototype

evaluative research

design research toolkit

Qualitative Stakeholder Interviews Co-design/Participatory Design Group/Social Research Longitudinal Research - diary study -twitter - flickr Focus Groups Quantitative Surveys Remote Testing Tools Stats/Analytics Subject Matter Expert (SME) Interviews Competitive Reviews Literature Reviews Depth Interviews (Customer&User) Direct Observation (Ethnography) Contextual Inquiry Usability Testing Snap Interviews

quantitative Vs qualitative

Quantitative

mathematics and natural sciences statistically sound, scientific large random samples questionnaires, surveys, tests

Quantitative research is the systematic scientific investigation of quantitative properties and phenomena and their relationships. The objective of quantitative research is to develop and employ mathematical models, theories and/or hypotheses pertaining to natural phenomena. The process of measurement is central to quantitative research because it provides the fundamental connection between empirical observation and mathematical expression of quantitative relationships.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_research

Qualitative

social sciences insight gathering, exploratory small sample sizes participatory, observational, interviews, analysis of documents & materials.

Qualitative research ...aim(s) to gather an in-depth understanding of human behavior and the reasons that govern human behavior. Qualitative research relies on reasons behind various aspects of behavior. Simply put, it investigates the why and how of decision making, not just what, where, and when.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualitative_research

To design an easy-to-use interface, pay attention to what users do, not what they say. Self-reported claims are unreliable, as are user speculations about future behaviour. - jakob nielson

choose qualitative for insight but ideally, combine quantitative and qualitative inputs quantitative can be great for problem identification & solution validation

how to choose?

stock standard / garden variety plan 45-60 minute interviews 6-8 participants. but...

understanding the problem: what are you trying to learn?

- the problem is not always what it first appears to be - define your research questions - what might be the best ways to answer those questions?

understanding the problem: what is the context for the problem?

- care not to narrow the context early - are their multiple relevant contexts? - WHERE can we learn about the peoples behaviour in relation to this problem? - research as close to context as possible.

remember: the power of artifacts

- memory aid / detail - cross check for accuracy

...dont be afraid of getting a bit creative

...ethical research

EXERCISE! Part 1
Your client is a grocery store. They want you to do some research and make recommendations about how they can provide a better online grocery shopping experience for their customers. You have unlimited time & budget for your research. What research activities would you suggest?

design research toolkit

Qualitative Stakeholder Interviews Co-design/Participatory Design Group/Social Research Longitudinal Research - diary study -twitter - flickr Focus Groups Quantitative Surveys Remote Testing Tools Stats/Analytics Subject Matter Expert (SME) Interviews Competitive Reviews Literature Reviews Depth Interviews (Customer&User) Direct Observation (Ethnography) Contextual Inquiry Usability Testing Snap Interviews

squeeze to fit
START: design the research project youd love to do if time/money/resources were no barrier THEN: work out what is achievable. Be creative!

ways to squeeze
- fewer participants - fewer activities - shorter sessions - less proximate to context (use artifacts) - use technology (phone, web video, twitter) - less complex research activities - more readily accessible participants Even the smallest amount of data beats none.
(yes, Im quoting Jakob again - Guesses vs Data as the basis for Design Recommendations)

lets take a break!

part 2: conducting design research

recruitment

who to recruit?
persona hypotheses
Think about: - the different user roles - factors most likely to affect behaviour Dont over complicate it!

how many?
as few as possible. if given the choice to more research studies with few participants. why? - diminishing returns - speed to action (design)

(yes, Im quoting Jakob again - Why you only need to test with 5 users)

In earlier research, Tom Landauer and I [Jakob Nielsen] showed that the number of usability problems found in a usability test with n users is: N(1-(1-L)n) where N is the total number of usability problems in the design and L is the proportion of usability problems discovered while testing a single user. The typical value of L is 31%, averaged across a large number of projects we studied. Plotting the curve for L=31% gives the following result:

The most striking truth of the curve is that zero users give zero insights.
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000319.html

how to find them?

DIY vs Using Professionals
- how much time/money do you have? - how easily accessible are participants? is using friends/family network really bad?

Incentives. Pay them.

CAUTION: researching young people & kiddies

logistics
- where to research - timing your research - factoring in no shows (& floaters) - consent forms (privacy, their rights & incentive acknowledgement)

discussion guides
-writing a discussion guide

discussion guide
> define your research questions > start as wide as possible, narrow slowly > keep it contextual, not speculative > show, dont tell (observation = good) (show me how you do that?) > uncover mental models (if you clicked there, what do you think would happen?) > ask OPEN questions (ask questions to get them talking NOT yes/no answers) > take care not to lead (you can have leading questions AND leading structures) > dont outsource design to your participant!
(remember, youre the designer!)

EXERCISE! Part 2a
write a discussion guide for a depth interview for your grocery store client (who wants to design a better online grocery shopping experience)

interview technique
getting the most from your research participants
(quite possibly the most important part!)

capturing data

what to capture on sticky notes

> *anything* interesting/relevant said in the course of your interview, in as close to direct quotes as possible. > your design ideas > questions for the future > capturing on the fly is a *real* skill. I still live transcribe to a text file then extract affinity notes from the transcription.

interview technique
introductions & getting started
- introduce yourself (and any colleagues) - what are we doing here? - what time will we finish - forms & incentives - ask permission to record

interview technique
its not a test!
- allay their nerves - distance yourself from the design - we only care about *their* opinion, not people they know or most people - theres no right answer or smart answer - their opinion counts - will really help shape the design of the product/service

interview technique
building rapport
*everyone* has something that makes them either very interesting or passionate. find it. talk about it. the investment in building rapport is repaid by the quality/quantity of insight given.

interview technique
- Active Listening - nodding, smiling & paraphrasing - Focus - dont let yourself get distracted - Look for physical clues - additional information, and do they match the words? - Dont Rush - take time to get your thoughts together & prepare your next question - Keep it open - Who, What Where, When, Why, How and my favourite Tell me about... - Follow the flow - dont stick to your script, mix up the order if it flows better for that participant.

interview technique
Have a great closing question. Some of my favourites are: - Do you know someone you might recommend this to? Who/Why - How would you rate it out of 10 - What would you tell the designers Try to summarise the parting sentiment
(notes that it is not more or less important than the initial sentiment)

interview technique
say thank you. always remember the participant is HELPING YOU. be appreciative.

if youre feeling nervous, remember...

research participants are like dangerous animals...

theyre usually just as scared of you as you are of them.

EXERCISE! Part 2b An interview!

in pairs, take turns to conduct a 10 minute interview using your discussion guide from the previous exercise

part 3: analysing design research

rule of thumb: allow at least a day of analysis for each day of research

(the story of each participant)

start with single case analysis

then move to multiple case analysis

(trends in the data)

eg. affinity sorting

a mind map can be a digital affinity sort

collaborative affinity sorting?

Ive had great results with this but only if participants have observed the research

using research data in design: audience modelling

using research data in design: audience modelling

using research data in design: experience strategy & design principles

using research data in design: audience modelling

HI
Today Im pissed at British Gas Im passionate about Education

Proximity am I experiencing it right now?

once my billing problem is fixed, Im fine.

the more I learn the more I care

LOW

Commitment how much will I care next month?

HI

Keith

I just want to know enough to buy well

Keith is planning to pop the question soon - in about a weeks time The engagement ring will be his first big jewellery purchase. He knows virtually nothing about diamonds or jewellery. He doesnt want to become and expert, he just wants to know enough to buy well and wants to feel reassured that hes getting what hes paying for. He has a general idea of his girlfriends preferred style but is not really confident about choosing the right design. Some of his mates have been engaged recently and hes asked them a few questions about the process. He popped into Goldsmiths last week to tentatively start investigating his purchase and spent most of the time telling assistants he was just looking - he left quite quickly, not liking the pressure of the store experience. He doesnt know (but wants to) what makes one ring so much more expensive than another.

32yrs Jnr Mgr, Lloyds TSB Income approx 30K p..

investment novice for self need it quickly 100

using research data in models: personas

emotion expert for other willing to wait 2000

Purchase Lifecycle
STAGE ONE - RADAR STAGE TWO - INTENSIVE RESEARCH STAGE THREE - MAKE PURCHASE

knows that a potential purchase is on the cards, has heightened awareness of information that crosses his path but not actively seeking information. weeks/months in advance. possible sources: social networks, media/content

actively seeking information to inform purchase (qualities of diamond and metal, price etc.) Gaining enough knowledge to buy well. 10 days to weeks in advance in store, google for information

find and purchase the ring the right ring at the right price from a company he can trust. approx. 1 week in advance of proposal

Recommended Reading:

Rapid Contextual Design Holzblatt, Wendell & Wood

About Face 3 Cooper, Reinman & Cronin

Designing for the Digital Age Kim Goodwin

thank you :)
Leisa Reichelt disambiguity.com leisa@disambiguity.com @leisa