goodbye, focus groups. hello, friendship groups! new techniques for design research (emily chu and...

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GOODBYE, FOCUS GROUPS. HELLO, FRIENDSHIP GROUPS!

New Techniques for Design Research

@motivate_design

@motivate_design | #WhatIF

OUR INDUSTRY

Think Design. Think Experience.

Focus on People.

Disrupt Old Thinking.

@motivate_design | #WhatIF

TRADITIONALLY...

We know these work.

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BUT...

KEEP MOVING.

KEEP THINKING.

KEEP DISCOVERING.

Let’s keep creating new.

@motivate_design | #WhatIF

What if there were no two-way mirrors?

What if we reach for bigger and better?What if we never ran

focus groups again?What if our only

recruiting criteria was creativity?

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EMBRACE CHANGE

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LANDSCAPE OF NEW TECHNIQUES

FRIENDSHIP GROUPS

Quick

Lengthy

BRAND METAPHORS

IMMERSION JOURNEYS

ExpansiveTargeted

QUICK HITS

SOCIAL GRAPH

RE/DE-CONSTRUCT

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What if... !

Participants didn’t have the time to sit for an hour-long interview?

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@motivate_design | #WhatIF

1. QUICK HITS

What...

!10-minute interviews at different times of day, different times of the week. !Typically phone interviews, but format can be mixed up.

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Priorities and routines differ depending on the

day, week and month (e.g., rent vs. pay day)

A look into what exists outside of the usual

interview space

Contradictions on “habits/routines”

Why…

1. QUICK HITS

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How to use it...

Cross-check the impact of moods and emotions. !Conversations help gain perspective on divergent answers and contradictions.

Tips...

Schedule interviews and clearly explain expectations. !Uncover various emotions through time-lapse surveys.

1. QUICK HITS

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What if... !

Focus groups included your friends and families?

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@motivate_design | #WhatIF

What...

!Intimate gathering of 3-4 people who already have a familiar relationship with one another. !

2. FRIENDSHIP GROUPS

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Social connections support and inform

our decisions.

Friends know when the other is lying.

Friends feel comfortable agreeing

AND disagreeing.

Why…

2. FRIENDSHIP GROUPS

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How to use it...

Rethink recruiting: hand-select specific creatives, thinkers and innovators. !Push the envelope: create and run a series of mind-challenging activities.

Tips...

Have fun! !Encourage creativity!

2. FRIENDSHIP GROUPS

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What if... !

Your clients wanted to become researchers?

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What... !Make everyone a "researcher" by giving them a tool kit and sending them out into the field.

3. IMMERSION JOURNEYS

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Clients can own the process and truly

empathize with users.

A bad experience can be a rejuvenating

experience.

Look at other industries for inspiration and

learn from their errors.

Why…

3. IMMERSION JOURNEYS

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How to use it...

Get rid of the two-way mirror. !This is a teaching moment. !

Tips...

Consider your clients as part of the research team. !Be prepared for clients to feel uncomfortable; this is OK.

3. IMMERSION JOURNEYS

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What if... !

We could see how users define all their roles in the world?

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4. SOCIAL GRAPH

What... !A verbal or written way for users to define who they are to their circles (e.g., themselves, their closest, their network, etc.). !

WHO ARE YOU TO...? THE COSMOS

YOURSELF

YOUR CLOSEST (FRIENDS & FAMILY)

YOUR NETWORK

THE WORLD

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Help people reflect on who they are.

Reframe the conversation beyond wants and needs.

Identify people and contexts of influence.

Why…

4. SOCIAL GRAPH

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How to use it...

As an intro to your participants during in-home interviews. !Don't take the findings literally; this is a conversation starter!

Tips...

Fill in an example, sometimes it can feel abstract.

4. SOCIAL GRAPH

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What if... !

We brought attention to words that are taken for granted?

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What... !Capturing initial, honest reactions to commonplace, overused and sometimes meaningless words. !

5. DE/RE-CONSTRUCT

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Overused words have lost their ability to wow.

!

Different approaches that are not industry-

specific to get the word.

Allows us to see how people define the complex (e.g., personal anecdotes, perpendicular thought).

Why…

5. DE/RE-CONSTRUCT

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How to use it...

Play games! Take a cue from Ellen and play Heads Up.

Tips...

Throw in some random words too, keeping them on their toes. !Encourage creativity! Any way to describe the word is fair.

5. DE/RE-CONSTRUCT

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What if... !

We looked at other verticals for inspiration?

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What... !Using brands as a metaphor (e.g., “What if Uber was a grocery store?”). !Attribute brand characteristics and promises to another experience. !!

6. METAPHOR BRANDS

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Ability to see traditional experiences with a new,

fresh perspective – inspiration!

Think outside of the limitations imposed

on business.

Identify important elements of a brand or

an experience. !!

Why…

6. METAPHOR BRANDS

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How to use it...

Frame how you want participants to select a brand (e.g., the most disruptive, favorite, controversial) !Sketch their brand experience and new experience, making connections at each touchpoint.

Tips...

Use this activity as a point to dive deeper into a specific topic.

6. METAPHOR BRANDS

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WHAT WE LOVE !Participants are having FUN! !Observers are more ENGAGED! !Everyone is ACTIVE!    !!!!!!!!!

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KEEP CHANGING

!

!

What if… paper didn’t exist?

What if… we all owned 3-D printers?

What if… we all lived in Smart Homes?

!

Tell us your ideas!

!

KEY TAKEAWAY IS TO ALWAYS ASK THE WHAT-IFS!

How can we go beyond today’s research methodology?

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THANK YOU!

Tweet us your #WhatIf

to @motivate_design !!