Generative Design Research Methods Lauren Serota Professor, Austin Center for Design

Ethnography Synthesis Prototyping

ideate refine implement identify problem or opportunity area

discover iterate validate

Generative Research

discover

To inspire new ideas and provide context for existing ones.

Evaluative Research

To make sure the idea you’ve chosen is on the mark, compelling, useful and usable.

validate

The insights we gain early on become the conceptual

foundation for the project....

And create a compelling story for maintaining

design integrity through production.

Traceable inspiration

Research Methods

Evaluative Research: When you already have ideas To drive incremental improvements (evolution)

“Do people like the way my design looks?”

“I have a developed idea for a design solution. Is it the right one?” “How can I improve the usability of my product?”

“We have a product out, but want to make a new version that is better.”

Research Methods

Generative Research: When you need ideas To drive innovation (revolution)

“The public transit options we have in our city aren’t working. What new transit experience might we create?”

“It is difficult to get women to visit clinics in rural Africa. What are the barriers and how can they be overcome?”

“My company creates commercial HVAC systems, but wants to break into the consumer market. Where are there areas to innovate in this space?”

“What is the healthcare experience of people with chronic illnesses?”

Research Methods Generative methods we’re going to cover today:

Focus Group Interview Immersion Participatory Research Contextual Inquiry

Research Methods Let’s talk about:

Focus Group Interview Immersion Participatory Research Contextual Inquiry

Research Methods - Focus Groups

A group session where people are asked to express and discuss their perceptions, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes towards an idea/product.

Research Methods - Focus Groups What are some advantages of conducting a Focus Group? Controlled Environment Attain consensus or dissent from multiple people Productive & collaborative group dynamics “More” data for cheaper in less time

Research Methods - Focus Groups What are some disadvantages of conducting a Focus Group? Lack of Context Introduction of biases and influence Showy or destructive group dynamics Difficult to moderate & facilitate Less rich, descriptive data

Research Methods Let’s talk about:

Focus Group Interview Immersion Participatory Research Contextual Inquiry

A conversation, typically between 2 people, where the interviewer asks questions to elicit facts or recollections of experiences from the interviewee.

Research Methods - Interviews What are some advantages of conducting Interviews? Can happen anywhere More intimate than a Focus Group Great for topics that are not context-specific Data can be shared easily

Research Methods - Focus Groups What are some disadvantages of conducting Interviews? Lack of Context Interviewer / Interviewee relationship Entirely based on what the interviewer asks Entirely based on what the interviewee says

Research Methods Let’s talk about:

Focus Group Interview Immersion Participatory Research Contextual Inquiry

Immersion involves the researcher actually becoming the user - adopting their lifestyle and activities for a period of time in order to understand their logic and emotions.

Research Methods - Interviews What are some advantages of Immersions? As close to emotional empathy as you can get Tremendous amount of context Experiences can be translated literally to design Your experience is your data

Research Methods - Focus Groups What are some disadvantages of Immersions? Very time consuming Heavily reliant on reflection Individual experience, difficult for group participation Your experience is your only data

Research Methods Let’s talk about:

Focus Group Interview Immersion Participatory Research (aka Participatory Design, Co-Creation, Co-Design) Contextual Inquiry

Participatory Research considers the user as a part of the creative process, providing them tools to descriptively discuss their experiences and express solutions.

Research Methods - Participatory The research team creates tools (stimulus) that provide the participant a “vocabulary” to articulate their experiences.

Timeline Activity: Allows participants to express a particular experience over time, including key influencers, barriers and successes.

Journaling: A pre-interview activity which prepares the participant to discuss a topic with the team. Documents discreet moments over time days/weeks before the session.

Word/Image Stimulus: Representing a broad range of emotions and attributes, these are tools for participants to use as a “vocabulary” to discuss their experiences.

Research Methods - Interviews What are some advantages of Participatory Research? Learn users’ aspirations and an ideal state Understand perception of the future Get creative ideas directly from the users Clear articulation of data (semantic definition)

Research Methods - Focus Groups What are some disadvantages of Participatory Research? Difficult to facilitate Highly dependent on an articulate user Significant prep work / material production Heavy synthesis & interpretation needed

Research Methods Finally, let’s talk about: Focus Group Interview Immersion Participatory Research Contextual Inquiry

Contextual Inquiry is an ethnographic method in which individuals are actively observed doing a task or activity in the natural context of use.

Research Methods - Contextual Inquiry

Four principles of Contextual Inquiry: 1. Focus 2. Context 3. Partnership 4. Interpretation

Research Methods - Contextual Inquiry

1. Focus A perspective, based on a set of pre-conceived assumptions and beliefs. Sets the scope for your research.

Why is focus important? Directs the selection of participants and research plan creation. Helps manage limited interview time. Directs questioning towards a goal. Creates understanding. Keeps the conversation from becoming too broad.

Research Methods - Contextual Inquiry

2. Context Understanding work in its natural environment.

Why is context important? See/smell/feel where the work is done. Observe real things, where they are really done. Discover details and intricacies of the setting (social interactions, physical artifacts). Be confident that you are observing and recording concrete, real data.

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Construction “rookies:” This illuminating story about the clothing mishaps of rookies on the job would have been lost, had we not been there to see it first-hand.

Research Methods - Contextual Inquiry

3. Partnership Establishing a Master/Apprentice relationship.

Why is this relationship important? Encourages users to share their expertise. Invites the user into the inquiry process as a participant rather than a subject. Forces you (the team) to suspend your assumptions and beliefs. Forces you to not “teach” the user the right thing (never ever correct them!)

An apprentice is eager to learn, and makes the master feel “masterful.” It also forces the master to explain things in great detail, and with patience.

(Photo borrowed from Girls’ Guild)

Research Methods - Contextual Inquiry

4. Interpretation Discuss your interpretations with the user, and watch for hidden signals that your interpretation may be wrong.

Why is interpretation important? Definitions of words vary from person to person. We cannot assume that why we do things is why the user is doing them. It reinforces us as Apprentices. It gives the user an opportunity to clarify, correct or show us again.

In this example, the word “wanton” has elicited people in different parts of the world to draw different things.

Research Methods - Interviews What are some advantages of Contextual Inquiry? Observing unspoken behaviors & relationships See the richness of an activity in context Understand all environmental elements of the user’s experience Empowered participants “teach”

Research Methods - Focus Groups What are some disadvantages of Contextual Inquiry? You can only see what’s happening right now Challenging logistics Needs a flexible and experienced researcher

Research Methods - Focus Groups

In my experience… When consultants do design research, it consists of Contextual Inquiry (or some form of it), a Participatory exercise, and sometimes a pre-inquiry phone interview.

Later today we will discuss how to mix these up (when we discuss Research Planning).

Lauren Serota Professor, Austin Center for Design lserota@ac4d.com

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