What Users Don't Say: Uncovering Latent Needs Through Design Research

Contextual research gives us a way of developing a deeper understanding of our users. This enables us to not only design with empathy but to identify latent needs that provide opportunities to create breakthrough products and services.

Through a collection of case studies we'll explore diary studies, shadowing, contextual interviews plus some informal contextual research techniques. The case studies include mapping the customer journey of buying and using a new kitchen appliance, inventing a machine that means you never order the wrong size shoes online and navigating the future of Open Access publishing (and there's a few others thrown in too).

This talk was first presented at UX Scotland to an audience of researchers, designers and UX people. It has since been presented at J.Boye Aarhus 2013 and UCD 2013 in London.

Transcript

1. Uncovering Latent Needs Through Design Research What users don’t say @PaulJervisHeath paul@modernhuman.co ✉ Uncovering Latent Needs Through Design Research. What Users Don’t Say. Photo credit Flickr user G8lite - http://bit.ly/151fWVN © ModernHuman. MH Presented by Paul-Jervis Heath on Saturday 9 November 2013
2. I’m not an anthropologist, ethnographer or even a user experience researcher Photo credit Flickr user Lewaedd-Q - http://bit.ly/1cTyhdm
3. I’m just a designer who wants to create better products and services Photo credit by Head London - http://headlondon.com ©
4. Indifference Hygiene Factors (Usability) Differentiation (Experience) Understandable Interesting Useful Compelling Indispensable Advocacy
5. Dissatisfied Low Investment High Investment Excitem ent Perform ance Basic Source: Attractive quality and must-be quality - Journal of the Japanese Society for Quality Control (in Japanese), Noriaki Kano, (1984)
8. Getting inside peoples’ heads is the only way to uncover their latent needs.
9. Early Adopter Early Majority Late Majority Laggards Adapted from: Diffusion of Innovations, Everett M Rogers. (1962). Crossing the Chasm, Geoffrey Moore. (1991). Photo credit Flickr user evan.chakroff - http://bit.ly/1ak8HMs ©
10. Primary #4cb015 Secondary #d7267d #b8c01f #2d7faf #82219b Neutrals #dAe0e7 #bec7cf #505d65 #1f3342 #142630 Colour Palette. #edf2f5 Focus groups are not design research.
11. Usability testing is vital but it will not uncover users’ needs.
13. Formal Casual
14. Primary #4cb015 Secondary #d7267d #b8c01f #2d7faf #82219b Neutrals #dAe0e7 #bec7cf #505d65 #1f3342 #142630 Colour Palette. #edf2f5
15. Meet & Brief Diary Study Diary Analysis 1:1 Interview
16. Shadowing
17. image of mental model Analysis Methods
20. Go where your users go
21. Immersion
22. Do what your users do
23. • the context • the physical environment • decor and atmosphere • the other people present • how people are acting • unspoken cues between people • how people react to one another • inherent nomenclature and terminology • other artefacts or objects present • the situation and position of those artefacts • how your presence has affected the situation Recognise what you’re witnessing
24. • your own visceral and instinctive reactions • immediate associations with other things Capture the seeds of ideas
25. The hurdles and challenges
26. • Contextual design research is an important tool for going beyond expressed needs and finding implied needs and latent needs. • Focus groups and usability tests are not design research. • Formal design research can be hugely beneficial. It’s rigorous and leads to insights, behavioural patterns, indications and predictors. • Casual design research shouldn’t be underestimated. Immersion and experience lead to ideas. Wait. What was that again?
27. • These slides are available on Speaker Deck at bit.ly/17svuoV • You can follow me on Twitter @pauljervisheath • You can find me on Linkedin at uk.linkedin.com/in/pauljervisheath • You can email me at paul@modernhuman.co • You can call me at +44 79 74 56 78 23 Thanks.