Learning how to listen- Kåre Stokholm Poulsgaard

Hyper IslandManchester 09.08.12

Why ethnography?

What’s happening here?

Get into a beginners frame of mind

Social anthropology: we must first discover what people actually do, and just as important why they are doing it, before we can inter-pret their behaviors drawing on our own experiences

Design: It’s about asking the right questions in order to frame and gain a deeper understanding of the problems to solve from a people centered perspective

Ethnography...

People

Behaviours

Attitudes

Beliefs

Needs

Boundaries

Relationships

Ethnography is about

Applying abstract reasoning to real life observations

Iterate and refine your concept

Doing ethnography- step by step Identify your research objectives

Keep it people centered, keep it broad enough that you’ll learn something new but focused enough for your to be able to build empathy and find insights

Identify who to talk toDifferent user segments will have different perspectives - choosing the right people to talk to is key to finding valauble insights

Write an interview guideCome prepared - but be ready to deviate from the plan and pursue interesting themes as they show up in conversation

Discover the world a newBuild real empathy with your users as you explore your ideas and concepts

Analyse your dataLook for patterns in observations and stories - identify the abstract principles shaping these patterns and driving behaviours

Identifying who to talk to

Writing your interviewguide Start broad and narrow down if you’re in the disco-

very phase – start narrow and go broad if you’re looking to test and validate your ideas

Start soft – learn something about the person – let them describe themselves to you and make sure they feel your genuine interest – chat, go broad on attitudes and dreams and then dive deep

Use grand tour questions to let the participant draw up a landscape for you – then probe using their words and concepts

Make it concrete – abstract questions are very hard for people to answer in anything but vague terms – ”Describe the last time you went to the hospital” – have people bring homework – use hypothetical situations

The Ethnographic Interview Keep it friendly

Keep the conversation relaxed and free flowing while subtly guiding the direction and subject

Ask loads of questions and downplay your personal knowledgePledge ignorance - restate informants assumptions and begin using their language

Look for contradictions and comparisons Contrast questions lets you explore deeper dimensions of meaning shaping or structuring people’s beliefs

Mix in observationsPeoples idea about what they do and what they actually do might not always match up - use discrepancies to learn more about beliefs, attitudes, and actions

Record – tape, use video, write, take picturesCapture direct quotes for context - capture first and interpret later

What to do with your data? Analysis and synthesis

From observations through stories to insights

Analysis and Synthesis Wants and needs

”If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses”

Avoid 1:1 interpretationsMove from real life observations to abstract principles guiding behaviour

From Observations to Insights

Resources”The Ethnographic Interview” (1979)by James Spradley

”HCD Toolkit”by IDEO

”Future Perfect”Jan Chipchase’s blog

”Design Anthropology” (2011)(eds.) Alison Clarke

”Designing Interactions” (2007)by Bill Moggridge

THANK YOU!Feel free to get in touch atkaare@tandp.dk

FiguresMorten Lundholm, LESNaja Rasmussen, Theory and Practice