USER RESEARCH METHODS

Field Prep

SenseMaking

Explore

Field Prep

Engage & Observe

Moving beyond what user's say to acquire deeper wisdom.

🙂 Make the User Comfortable

Conversation starters are a great way to begin a dialogue and spark interest in the user to engage with you.

Here are some Tips:

Make them feel important and special, by paying attention to them.

Use humour to put people at ease, laughing together is a good ice breaker.

Prepare yourself on the culture, context and background of each user.

Build trust by sharing something about yourself. Eg. “I’m a little nervous, as this is the first time I am interviewing someone like you,...”

Be affirming. Eg. “Tell me a little bit about (your experience today...,what do you think about....)

Seek and evoke stories not to understand what they do but the emotions behind those stories. Eg. Can you tell me the first time you....., What was your most exciting /memorable/worst experience ...., could you tell me a story about a time/.....

Engagement Methods

Engagement Methods

🤫 Show Me

What

Go deeper and expand the conversation by asking your user to show or draw what they do. A quick sketch, timeline, graph, is a great language barrier. It helps organise thoughts visually and spark new ideas and conversations.

How

Show me how you add a new contact on your cell phone. Can you draw out the steps you take to withdraw cash from the ATM?

Good to do

If meeting in person carry sheets and clipboard along with coloured pens.

If meeting virtually, share screen and use an online board, like google jamboard.

If they are hesitant to show or draw, demonstrate with an example. It breaks the ice.

🎡 Photo Diary

What

Gain access to parts of user’s life you might not otherwise see, by having them keep a photo diary for a few days or weeks. Give users a topic as prompts of what you what them to capture. After that ask them to share the stories behind their photos.

How

Take photos of you buying groceries. Your early morning activities. Photos of daily To Do List items.

Good to do

Brief the user, assure confidentiality, and agree on the submission process.

Review the photos together.

Listen to their stories and make notes, recognise patterns, preferences, or emotions.

❎ Rejection Therapy

What

Find emotional common ground and insights into behaviour change. Observe how it feels to wade into the unknown and experience how scary trying something new can be. Think of scenarios where you would likely be told “NO”

How

Ask a bus driver if you can drive the bus. Ask at a restaurant if you can cook your own burger and pay for it. Ask a stranger if you can have their jacket. Ask at a store if you can buy a single piece of tic tac.

Good to do

Be brave and proudly make your request.

Brace yourself for some rejection.

Share back with your team and reflect.

📦 Care Package

What

Give users a chance to explain their priorities in their own words by inviting them to create a care package for a specific purpose.

How

Give each user the package. Give the Prompt and ask them to identify or make an item using the supplies or supplement their own objects, in order of priority and nice to have. E.g. Imagine you have to make a payment to an online seller using our app, what would you need? Imagine you need to set up a home office, what would you need?

Good to do

Determine what you want to learn - user priorities, fundamental requirements, bells and whistles.

What physical items or app navigational items are required for this exercise. Put it together - basic nothing fancy - random objects, paper, markers.

Users can supplement with items around their homes or offices.

🎭 Moodboard

What

A moodboard is a collage of images, words and phrases that communicates the feeling or experience, around the product or service you are designing for. Asking users to make their very own, can surface how they think, what they value and bring out unexpected insights.

How

Give the User a prompt. It can be broad or narrow, depending on the stage of design. But not too narrow. E.g. How do you define healthcare? (broad) How do you feel about going to the doctor? (narrow) Give the User 30min to complete their Moodboard. Remind them that there are no right answers.

Good to do

Gather magazines, with lots of images relevant to the product/service you are desiging.

Print out phrases, keywords, other text in large fonts. The range of images and text must be wide.

Don't let your personal design bias, interfere with the range.

⏰ A Day in the Life

What

By personally observing someone in their own context, you will notice details - the way they engage with people, technology, markets, etc. - that you would otherwise never see. This is deep knowledge about your end user. Over reliance on general information, will give you average results as you will miss the distinct market opportunities or customer segments.

How

Identify relevant users and what is it you specifically need to observe. Explain what you want to do - observe a typical day, observe a specific activity/process. They need to be in their natural setting and no special actions need to be planned. Get permission to shadow, take photos if needed and observe them.

Good to do

Blend into the background.

Keep your phone on silent.

Watch and observe and make copious notes - reactions, quirks, needs, time, actions.

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