design ethnography for lean teams
DESCRIPTION
By WIll Evans, Director of User Experience Design, TLC Labs "What people say is not what people do" - Cheskin There has been a lot of hot air about "getting out of the building", and "just go talk to customers", but rarely are those statements backed up with strategic and tactical advice about HOW and WHY. Well, this talk is meant to help. Honestly, getting out of the building and talking to customers is only valuable when done right. As my old martial arts sensei used to say, "practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect!" Design Ethnography is usually conducted to gain a *deep* understanding of the our target customers in order to apply a customer-centered approach to the product strategy. Design ethnography takes the position than human behavior and the ways in which people construct and make meaning of their worlds and their lives are highly variable, locally specific as well as intersubjectively reflexive. One primary difference between ethnography and other methods of user research is that ethnography assumes that we must first discover what people actually do, the reasons they give for doing it, and just as importantly, how they feel while doing it, before we can assign to their actions and behaviors interpretations drawn from our own experiences. Many people believe that design ethnography is only viable in the context of "Big Upfront Design", while many Agile and Lean teams believe they simply don't have the time, or that big upfront design is synonymous with waste. During this talk, we'll explore various myths, methods of ethnography, and ways in which agile or lean teams may use it to gain deeper insights into customer behaviors to create richer experiences without waste. Questions I may answer in this talk: What is design ethnography? What are some of the qualitative and quantitative methods? Isn't Design Ethnography and LeanUX contradictory? When and where is design ethnography appropriate for teams? Is Design Ethnography appropriate only with Big Upfront Design Research? How can teams use Design Ethnography for sense-making? What are the practical steps for engaging in design ethnography tomorrow? Will Evans is the Director of User Experience Design and Research at The Library Corporation as well as TLCLabs, the enterprise innovation lab. At TLC, Will is responsible for working across the organization to create extraordinary user experiences and new product innovations. Before TLC, he led experience design and research for TheLadders in New York City. He has over 15 years industry experience in interaction design, information architecture, and user experience strategy. His experiences include directing UX for social network analytics & terrorism modeling at AIR Worldwide, UX Architect for social media site Gather.com, and UX Architect for travel search engine Kayak.com. Mr. Evans’ research and design has been featured in numerous publications including Business Week, The EconomTRANSCRIPT
DESIGN ETHNO-GRAPHY FOR LEAN TEAMS
DESIGN ETHNO-GRAPHY FOR LEAN TEAMS
DESIGN ETHNO-GRAPHY FOR LEAN TEAMS
DESIGN ETHNO-GRAPHY FOR LEAN TEAMS
DESIGN ETHNO-GRAPHY FOR LEAN TEAMS
DESIGN ETHNO-GRAPHY FOR LEAN TEAMS
DESIGN ETHNO-GRAPHY FOR LEAN TEAMS
RULESRULESRULESRULESRULESRULESRULES
1. I talk really fast, get used to it2. Stop thinking and listen3. Live tweet if it helps you remember4. Write your questions down, ask them later
Wifi: User: Alley NYC Guest, PW: beawesome
Hashtag: #LeanUX
Drinking Game word: CONTEXT
Next meetup: Jabe Bloom presents "Lean Team Experience Design"
DETRITUSDETRITUSDETRITUSDETRITUSDETRITUSDETRITUSDETRITUS
“A startup is a human institution designed to deliver a new product
or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty.”
–ERIC REIS
WHYRESEARCH?WHYRESEARCH?WHYRESEARCH?WHYRESEARCH?WHYRESEARCH?WHY RESEARCH?WHY RESEARCH?
The most striking truth of this curve is thatzero users give zero insights
12
oInsights
People
a lot
MALKOVICHBIASMALKOVICHBIASMALKOVICHBIASMALKOVICHBIASMALKOVICHBIASMALKOVICHBIAS
The tendency to believe that everyone uses technology
exactly like you do.
Designing based on your own pain with no customer research
is like buying a lottery ticket.
Lean Startup (and LeanUX) is a risk mitigation strategy.
A DIRTY SECRETA DIRTY SECRETA DIRTY SECRETA DIRTY SECRETA DIRTY SECRETA DIRTY SECRETA DIRTY SECRET
DON’T USEPROXIES
DON’T USEPROXIES
DON’T USEPROXIES
DON’T USEPROXIES
DON’T USEPROXIES
DON’T USEPROXIES
DON’T USEPROXIES
DON’T USEPROXIES
DON’T USEPROXIES
DON’T USEPROXIES
ETHNOGRAPHYWTF?
ETHNOGRAPHYWTF?
ETHNOGRAPHYWTF?
ETHNOGRAPHYWTF?
ETHNOGRAPHYWTF?
ETHNOGRAPHY WTF?
ETHNOGRAPHY WTF?
WHY ETHNOGRAPHYWHY ETHNOGRAPHYWHY ETHNOGRAPHYWHY ETHNOGRAPHYWHY ETHNOGRAPHYWHY ETHNOGRAPHYWHY ETHNOGRAPHY
is
COMPLEXITY EVERYWHERECOMPLEXITY EVERYWHERECOMPLEXITY EVERYWHERECOMPLEXITY EVERYWHERECOMPLEXITY EVERYWHERECOMPLEXITY EVERYWHERECOMPLEXITY EVERYWHERE
Ethnography offers a way to make sense of this complexity. It lets us see beyond our preconceptions and immerse ourselves in the world of others. Most importantly, it allows us to see patterns of behavior in a real world context – patterns that we can
understand both rationally and intuitively.
“If you want to understand what motivates a girl to pick up a skateboard, you could bring her into a sterile laboratory and
interrogate her… or you could spend a week in a skatepark observing her interacting
with her friends, practicing new skills and having fun.”
+ETHNOGRAPHY
DESIGN
ETHNOGRAPHY
DESIGN
ETHNOGRAPHY
DESIGN
ETHNOGRAPHY
DESIGN
ETHNOGRAPHY
DESIGN
ETHNOGRAPHY
DESIGN
ETHNOGRAPHY
DESIGN
LEAN ETHNOGRAPHY? LEAN ETHNOGRAPHY? LEAN ETHNOGRAPHY? LEAN ETHNOGRAPHY? LEAN ETHNOGRAPHY? LEAN ETHNOGRAPHY? LEAN ETHNOGRAPHY?
“We don’t see things as they are,we see them as we are.”
–ANAIS NIN
NINEPROBLEMS
WITHLEAN
STARTUPCUSTOMERRESEARCH
NINEPROBLEMS
WITHLEAN
STARTUPCUSTOMERRESEARCH
NINEPROBLEMS
WITHLEAN
STARTUPCUSTOMERRESEARCH
NINEPROBLEMS
WITHLEAN
STARTUPCUSTOMERRESEARCH
Most teams practicing Lean Startup don't start with a customer hypothesis; they work backwards from a solution hypothesis
Because teams start with a solution hypothesis, it's almost impossible
for them to generate multiple hypotheses for testing
If GOOB is not conducted in the appropriate context, it almost never yields useful behavioral data
GOOB relies far too heavily on self-reporting, which is almost useless.
GOOB, when done poorly, is particularly prone to confirmation bias
Most teams have a very hard time formulating assumptions as hypotheses
Designing reliable experiments is a skill that takes time to learn
People new to customer research are really bad at listening for weak signals
When a customer interview is guided, it almost never provides opportunity for serendipitous insights to emerge
WHY ETHNOGRAPHYWHY ETHNOGRAPHYWHY ETHNOGRAPHY
DESIGN RESEARCH
SYSTEMATIC APPROACH
DESIGN RESEARCH
SYSTEMATIC APPROACH
DESIGN RESEARCHDESIGN RESEARCH
SYSTEMATIC APPROACH
DESIGN RESEARCH
SYSTEMATIC APPROACH
DESIGN RESEARCH
SYSTEMATIC APPROACH
DESIGN RESEARCH
SYSTEMATIC APPROACHas a
DESIGNETHNOGRAPHYALLOWSUS TO
DESIGNETHNOGRAPHYALLOWSUS TO
DESIGNETHNOGRAPHYALLOWSUS TO
DESIGNETHNOGRAPHYALLOWSUS TO
DESIGNETHNOGRAPHYALLOWSUS TO
DESIGNETHNOGRAPHYALLOWSUS TO
DESIGNETHNOGRAPHYALLOWSUS TO
1. Discover the semantics of living
2. Decode signifiers of cultural practice
3. Understand the language people use
CONTEXT KINGCONTEXT KINGCONTEXT KINGCONTEXT KINGCONTEXT KINGCONTEXT KINGCONTEXT KINGis
SELF-REPORTING MOSTLY SHIT
SELF-REPORTINGMOSTLY SHIT
SELF-REPORTINGMOSTLY SHIT
SELF-REPORTINGMOSTLY SHIT
SELF-REPORTINGMOSTLY SHITis
PEOPLE'SHACKSARE A
GREATINSIGHT
PEOPLE'SHACKSARE A
GREATINSIGHT
PEOPLE'S HACKS ARE A
GREAT INSIGHT
PEOPLE'SHACKSARE A
GREATINSIGHT
PEOPLE'SHACKSARE A
GREATINSIGHT
PEOPLE'S HACKS ARE A GREAT
INSIGHT
PEOPLE'S HACKS ARE A GREAT
INSIGHT
PEOPLE'SHACKSARE A
GREATINSIGHT
PEOPLE'S HACKS ARE A
GREAT INSIGHT
PEOPLE'S HACKS ARE A GREAT
INSIGHT
PEOPLE'S HACKS ARE A GREAT
INSIGHT
EIGHTSTEPS INETHNOGRAPHICRESEARCH
EIGHTSTEPS INETHNOGRAPHICRESEARCH
EIGHTSTEPS INETHNOGRAPHICRESEARCH
EIGHTSTEPS INETHNOGRAPHICRESEARCH
EIGHTSTEPS INETHNOGRAPHICRESEARCH
EIGHTSTEPS INETHNOGRAPHICRESEARCH
EIGHTSTEPS INETHNOGRAPHICRESEARCH
1. Define your customer hypothesis
2. Identify the people and validate they exist
3. Plan your approach
4. Conduct Paired Research
#SHOEUPBITCHES
5. Become a "habit-farmer"
6. Search for Patterns & Themes
7. Co-Generate & Share Insights
8. Perform your narrative
KEYSTO GOODETHNOGRAPHY
KEYSTO GOODETHNOGRAPHY
KEYSTO GOODETHNOGRAPHY
KEYSTO GOODETHNOGRAPHY
KEYSTO GOODETHNOGRAPHY
KEYSTO GOODETHNOGRAPHY
KEYSTO GOODETHNOGRAPHY
Delve deeply into the context, lives, cultures, and rituals of a few people rather than study a
large number of people superficially.
Holistically study people’s behaviors and experiences in daily life. You
won't find this in a lab, focus group, or 5 minute interview on the street.
Learn to ask probing, open questions, gathering as much data as possible to
inform your understanding.
Practice “active seeing,” and “active listening.” Record every minutiae of
daily existence, and encode on post-its.
Use digital tools for asynchronous data gathering: tumblr, facebook, twitter, instagram
Use collaborative sense-making activities like the Cynefin framework and
affinity diagramming for active sensemaking.
Map the stories from insights back to the original problem.
Did it validate or invalidate the customer hypothesis?
NOW YOU CAN THINK ABOUT YOUR SOLUTION HYPOTHESIS
Did the new insights provide potentially richer opportunities to solve?
@SemanticWill
W I L L E V A N SDIRECTOR OF DESIGN
THANKSTHANKSTHANKSTHANKSTHANKSTHANKSTHANKS