Getting out of the building

Digital ShoreditchMay 2013

John Waterworth@jwaterworth

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There Are No Facts Inside Your Building, So Get Outside

Steve Blank

Getting out of the building

Customer Development Manifesto at http://steveblank.com/category/customer-development-manifesto/Photograph of Steve Blank from steveblank.fi

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Behavioural design

PeopleHow they behave today

How you want them to behave tomorrow

How you can bridge that gap

UnderstandingWhat they’re doing

How and why they are doing it

Barriers and challenges they experience

Worldview, outcomes and value for them

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Getting out of the building

Ideas

ProductInsight

Test assumptions

Evaluate products

Generate insights

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Research and evaluation

DetailInteractions

Vision Experience

TestingProduct

Discovery People

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Minimum viable research

Little and often5 to 10 people, 20 to 60 minutes

One day, once a month

Build up to once a week

Power of small batchesEasier to get started

Learn from your mistakes

Different people, different questions

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Research cycle

1. Decide what you want to learn2. Find people to talk to3. Prepare your experiment4. Get out of the building5. Collect evidence6. Debrief, share, draw conclusions

Drawn from Lean UX Workshop by Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden of Proof Innovation Labs.

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Planning

1. Decide what you want to learn2. Find people to talk to3. Prepare your experiment4. Get out of the building5. Collect evidence6. Debrief, share, draw conclusions

Drawn from Lean UX Workshop by Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden of Proof Innovation Labs.

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Execution

1. Decide what you want to learn2. Find people to talk to3. Prepare your experiment4. Get out of the building5. Collect evidence6. Debrief, share, draw conclusions

Drawn from Lean UX Workshop by Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden of Proof Innovation Labs.

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Insight

1. Decide what you want to learn2. Find people to talk to3. Prepare your experiment4. Get out of the building5. Collect evidence6. Debrief, share, draw conclusions

Drawn from Lean UX Workshop by Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden of Proof Innovation Labs.

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Practice

ObjectiveForm teams and start talking

Steps1. Get into groups of three

2. Decide who is A, B and C

3. Find out a bit about each other

5 Minutes

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Planning

1. Decide what you want to learn2. Find people to talk to3. Prepare your experiment4. Get out of the building5. Collect evidence6. Debrief, share, draw conclusions

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Decide what you want to learn

QuestionsWhat strategies do people use to remember their user names and passwords?

HypothesesUsers prefer to use Facebook or Twitter login than to create a separate user name and password for each service

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Decide who to talk to

Representative usersCustomers and prospects

Staff – client, colleagues and partners

Variety and challengeDifferent kinds of people

Different types of customers or users

Difficult to satisfy

Can get very political

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Prepare your experiment

Break into topicsEach has its own objective

Related to a question or hypothesis

Decide best approach

Semi-structuredHelp with timing and priority

Provide a sense of flow

Help you to be flexible

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Talking

Learning about themBehaviour, aspirations, preferencesNot asking what they want

Guided conversationHave objectives and overall structure

Steering and focusing

Not following a script

Listening, really listening!

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Show me

Observing useAlways better than asking about use

Own product or comparator

Paper or interactive prototype

Learn why features are important

Physical material can be important

Choosing tasksDecide the tasks in planning

Set tasks based on what they’ve told you

Always give clear scenarios

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Activities

Using your handsArrange words into groups or lists

Place concepts on conceptual targets

Complete a diary of recent events

Draw or annotate diagrams

Great toolsHelp people to remember and articulate

Give you lots to dig into

Avoid complex questions

Have a bit of fun

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Homework

Extra informationKeep a simple diary

Take photos

Bring examples

Great conversation startersGive you lots to ask questions about

Help people to remember

Get people engage quickly

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Discussion guide

Research aidAgenda for the session, not a script

Helps your mental rehearsal

Stakeholders can contribute

Provides some consistency

Provides a record

ContentsSection per topic, with objective and time

Fixed text you need to read out

Starter questions for each topic

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Practice

ObjectiveCreate a discussion guide for a 10 minute interview

Steps1. Agree who each of you will interview

2. Think of a subject

3. Prepare a discussion guide

5 Minutes

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Execution

1. Decide what you want to learn2. Find people to talk to3. Prepare your experiment4. Get out of the building5. Collect evidence6. Debrief, share, draw conclusions

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Get out of the building

Go to them (if you can)In their home or office

Coffee shop, client’s premises, venue

Keep it real (if you can’t)Sit on a sofa in front of a TV

Create a shop counter

Set expectationsIt’s an interview, not a meeting, appraisal

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Collect evidence

Starter kitCamera, notebook, digital voice recorder

Note takingAim for a telegram style

Frustrated by X because no Y

Recording times for verbatim quotes

It’s hardListening, writing, thinking!

Get better with practice

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Research in pairs

InterviewerFocus on the participant

Ask main questions and do any activities

AssistantManage any setup and recordings

Take notes during the session

Ask supplementary questions

Switch roles

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Giving good interview

Be clearAsk concise questions

Ask questions they can understand

If you need to, give background information then ask the question

Listen … really listenReceive, Appreciate, Summarise, Ask

Shows that you understand what they say

Shows that you value what they say

Helps you to dig deeper

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Giving good interview

Be flexibleDon’t plough on regardless if the interview isn’t working

Follow the participant’s lead in order, timing and approach

Be humanChat about the weather, traffic, etc.

Offer drinks and biscuits

Nod, smile, frown, laugh, commiserate

Be surprised, be concerned, be interested

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Getting them talking

Open, neutral questionsHow do you use … to …?

What do you think about …?

How do these compare …?

Stories and examplesHave you ever …?

Can you tell me about the last time that …?

What did you do when …?

How did you … when …?

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Keeping them talking

Focus inIn what way …?

Can you tell me more about …?

You said … why/how/when/what/who …?

EchoingConfusing?

Helpful?

Bananas?

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Digging deeper

NeedsExpressed, implied and latent needs

Means end chain Product attributes, consequences of use and personal values

Five whysRoot cause analysis

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Bad questions

ClosedDo you buy groceries online?

How do you buy your groceries?

LeadingDo you buy your groceries from Tesco?

Where do you buy your groceries?

SpeculationWhat would you do if Ocado …?

Has … ever happened? What did you do?

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Bad questions

Too many whys?Can sound accusative

Particularly after a sensitive admission

Can be repetitive

Rephrase or softenWhat makes X important?

Can you say why X is important to you?

Apologise for laddering

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Emotion

Don’t ask directlyHow did you feel when …?

Do you enjoy …?

Pick up on emotional wordsYou said X was frustrating. In what way?

You said Y was amazing. What made it amazing?

Shows that you appreciate the emotional content of what they say, but without leading them

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Take your time

Go at their paceUse your early questions to gauge their thinking and answering times

Don’t make them feel pressured

A little silence is OKDon’t rush to the next question

The more you talk the less they talk

They may be just about to say something absolutely amazing

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Practice

ObjectiveTake each role in a 10 minute interview

Steps1. A interviews B, while C takes notes

2. C, B then A critique the interview

3. Rotate until you’ve all tried all roles

40 minutes

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Insight

1. Decide what you want to learn2. Find people to talk to3. Prepare your experiment4. Get out of the building5. Collect evidence6. Debrief, share, draw conclusions

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Analysis and synthesis

AnalysisExtracting the data from your notes

Grouping and refining the data

Identifying patterns and connections

SynthesisCreating insight and meaning

Creating initial design ideas

Tell their story

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Research and evaluation

DetailInteractions

Vision Experience

TestingProduct

Discovery People

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Evaluation

Emerging productStoryboard or journey

Paper or interactive prototype

Product increment

Think aloud user testingSimple, cheap and easy to learn

Robust and reliable technique

Combine with design research

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Bit at the end

WarningsGuidelinesPaperworkRecruitingAdvanced approaches

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Be careful

Stranger dangerKeep yourself safe

Keep your colleagues safe

Get consentDon’t stalk the general public

Don’t do research in public places

Get permission before any research in private places

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Bias

Beware of your own assumptions and prejudices, and those of the stakeholders

The wrong approach will narrow the possible findings and bias the results

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Honesty

They don’t always tell the truthDon't want to appear stupid or negative

Don’t want to cause trouble

May be a subtext you don't know about

Create a safe environmentYou’re there to learn from them

It's not a test or appraisal

Their honest input is what you need to improve the product

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You’re only human

Diminishing returnsYou will get tired and bored eventually

You will form a theory and stop listening

Steady paceLeave gaps between sessions

Eat and drink normally

Mix it upLittle and often

Types of participants

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Guidelines

Market Research Societywww.mrs.org.uk/standards/guidelines

British Healthcare Business Intelligence Associationwww.bhbia.org.uk

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Paperwork

SourceSteve Krug

Rocket Surgery Made Easy

www.sensible.com

PaperworkConsent form

Introduction script

Receipt of incentive

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Recruiting

Do your own recruitingRecruit from lists you already have

Look where they congregate

Trade bodies, LinkedIn groups, Facebook

Through your client

Use a recruiterMoney versus effort

Good for general public

Good for large numbers

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Encourage participation

Ask for their helpBetter understand your needs

Help us to produce a better product

A chance for you to have your say

Not market research

Incentives£3 coffee, £20 voucher, £40 to £100

Beware of professionals

Beware of bias

Must be voluntary

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Remote

May be your only choiceParticipants are spread around the world

Part of corporate culture

Refine the discussion guide in face-to-face interviews, then adapt and go remote

Harder to manageTakes longer to build up a rapport

Constrains your research approach

Less control over interview environment

Technology problems can ruin sessions

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Shadowing

Watch them in contextEncourage them to work as normal

Ask them to explain what they are doing

Prompt for clarification

Take photographs and make notes

Less controlHarder to direct them to areas of interest

High priority work may take them of topic, but carry on observing

Lack of privacy may inhibit response

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Groups

Useful optionCollaborative tasks and multiplayer games

Younger children

Compare and contrast experiences

Much harder to leadManage dominant individuals

Hard for them to ‘show me’

Use activities to get response from individuals, then compare and discuss differences and commonalities

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Further reading

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Recap

Don'tTalk only to experts and stakeholders

One big bang effort

Interrogate people

Ask for requirements and features

Work through a fixed script

Constrain them to specific answers

Make people feel more nervous

Try to wing it

Try to remember what people said

Try to remember what you saw

DoTalk to a range of users

Little and often

Listen and learn

Understand their point of view

Steer the conversation

Encourage people to talk openly

Help people to relax and enjoy it

Create a flexible discussion guide

Take good notes

Collect photos, screenshots and physical materials