read between the lines and that is difficult, if not impossible, at times. • We don’t understand why a request is being made or why something failed. • For many of us, we think it’s better just to do it than to fight it. Remember! Stubborn and recurrent problems are often symptoms of deeper issues.
easier question to answer than “Why” it happened. • Cut quickly through the outward symptoms to reveal underlying causes. • Determine the root cause of a problem more quickly. • Easy to learn and apply. • Problems are tackled more sustainably when addressed at the source. Go further than just assigning blame, and to ask why that happened. This often points to organizational issues or areas where processes need to be improved.
may be a root cause or uncover true motivations. Warning!! This can be the point where feelings start to come out as well. Be aware and mediate as needed.
Teams are really thinking. Likely half irritated and half enthusiastic. You may be there. If it takes less than five whys to get an answer, that’s ok. Just make sure there aren’t more to ask.
last-minute order make us run out of ink? –We couldn’t get our ink order quickly from the supplier. Root Cause: We need to reexamine our suppliers so we can get supplies expedited when needed.
Tank ignition • Why did it ignite? – Leaky seal • Why was the seal leaky? – O-ring failed • Why did it fail? – Design flaw • Why was there a flaw? – Management failure C A S E S T U DY
is to lead you down a false trail. • Five Whys is a healthy place to start, but don’t interpret it as a fixed number. • If the coworker avoid the issues, the practices doesn’t yield good information.
does this need to be on Facebook? – We need more people to see it. • Why do you need more views? – We haven’t sold enough tickets. • Why haven’t you sold more tickets? – We were late publicizing it. • Why were you late? – We didn’t get the graphic back in time. • Why didn’t you get it back in time? – We didn’t send our content in on time.
where researchers completely immerse themselves in the lives, culture, or situation they are studying. • Really useful when a systemic problem can’t be fixed with the 5 Whys or other methods because of complexity or politics. • Time-intensive!
isn’t just for innovation anymore. It’s central to gaining a full understanding of your customers and the business itself. The ethnographic work at my company, Intel, and other firms now informs functions such as strategy and long-range planning.” - Ethnographic Research: A Key to Strategy https://hbr.org/2009/03/ethnographic-research-a-key-to-strategy
aim to respond better to needs of users, it could be considered as an approach more focused on processes and procedures of design and not the design (result) itself.” - Audrey Mothu https://medium.theuxblog.com/participatory-design-tools-and-methods-741543b1ff5b
feedback • Better understanding of the project or problem • Develops new ideas • Workshop: brainstorm or get various point of views. –It encourages interactions and critiques between participants and gets people engaged on the whole design/decision process.
you want to better understand how people think about – a given problem, – discipline, – technology, – or aspect of culture. Provides valuable insight into priorities and can motivate strategic decisions and directional alignment.
help you understand your users' expectations and understanding of your topics. • Open vs. Closed: –Open: they define the categories –Closed: you provide the number of categories and terms
notecards or post-its with one item on each card. • Provide plenty of space to spread out cards so there are not piles. • Provide at least three categories. Things are rarely black and white. • Ask them to think aloud.
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