Kim Chatterjee - How To Design Your Own “Empathy Walk” (and make your stakeholders live your research findings)

What can you make your audience experience in 30 minutes? Try being a single mum in subsidized housing in Chicago and see what kind of decisions you have to make to avoid homelessness. Or be a maize farmer in rural Zambia, anxious for the annual harvest, and see if he will buy your client’s health insurance product.

In this series of stories I'll show you a method that I believe should be in every research team's field kit when it comes time to story-telling and bringing your findings back into the boardroom. Come see how you can craft your own empathy walk from your research findings, and help your audience really connect with the people whose stories you are trying to tell, and the problems you are trying to make visible.

Transcript

1. How To Design Your Own Empathy Walk (and make your stakeholders live your research findings) (photo by mostafa meraji /Unsplash)
2. Kim Chatterjee ux design research behaviour change title-fluid gofer method copycat
3. telling YOUR OWN story living SOMEONE ELSE’s story
4. EMPATHY WALK: Your own story a reflective way for a group to concurrently share and learn of each others’ experiences / privilege / vulnerability WARNING: handle with respect and caution, can be highly triggering
5. story #1 of 3
6. A DESIGN SUMMIT IN RURAL THAILAND: how do we prepare to support our team members, when we don’t know them yet?
7. college degree ever been divorced travelled to n countries from ethnic background parents no longer togeth own your own home experienced violence or no debt Take a step forward / backward if [ CRITERIA ]
8. • create criteria list to meet your goal • binary criteria • enough space to step forward per criteria • slow, respectful pace • done in silence • time for reflection and discussion after Method: • team bonding • priming activity for team facilitators • reflect on vulnerability and privilege Purpose:
9. EMPATHY WALK: Your persona’s story an immersive way to let your audience experience and make the kinds of choices that your target persona is faced with in real life
10. story #2 of 3
11. IN CHICAGO: how does someone end up homeless, sleeping in the car in winter?
12. MONEY GOODWILL $$$ APARTMENT SUBSIDIZED RENT SINGLE ADULT ROOM SHELTER CAR STAY WITH FRIENDS & FAMILY It is now [ month ]. Move to the place WHERE YOU CAN AFFORD TO PAY RENT YOUR OBJECTIVE: Keep all 3 kids in school and in good health Pay rent where you can afford for that month Last for 9 months
13. At the bell (change of month), pay rent where you are. If you cannot afford it, move to where you can afford. Your eldest child is an activist and got arrested at a political rally. • post bail (2 GREEN SLIPS) • let her stay in jail Your younger daughter is suspended for behavioural issues. • pay for daycare (1 GREEN SLIP), • ask your neighbour to mind her (1 YELLOW SLIP) • leave her unattended An official announcement is made in Italian. You don’t speak Italian. • pay for translation (1 GREEN SLIP) • do nothing Decision: Life Happens…
14. $$$ APARTMENT SUBSIDIZED RENT SINGLE ADULT ROOM SHELTER CAR STAY WITH FRIENDS & FAMILY It is now [ month ]. Move to the place WHERE YOU CAN AFFORD TO PAY RENT YOUR OBJECTIVE: Keep all 3 kids in school and in good health Pay rent where you can afford for that month Last for 9 months MONEY GOODWILL
15. MONEY GOODWILL $$$ APARTMENT SUBSIDIZED RENT SINGLE ADULT ROOM SHELTER CAR STAY WITH FRIENDS & FAMILY It is now [ month ]. Move to the place WHERE YOU CAN AFFORD TO PAY RENT YOUR OBJECTIVE: Keep all 3 kids in school and in good health Pay rent where you can afford for that month Last for 9 months PERSONA RESOURCES TO SPEND/ TRADE COST PER DECISION COMMON STARTING POINT CLEAR MISSION AND TIMEFRAME EXCLUSIVE SPACES FOR DECISIONS DECISIONS + “LIFE” CRITERIA
16. • create physical space for decisions • create persona • set the timeframe • create the “Decisions” list • create the “Life happens” bucket • plan the costs/actions per decision • allocate resource tokens • slow, respectful pace • done in silence • time for reflection and discussion after Method: • understand motivations • experience context over time • see how a product/service does/not fit Purpose:
17. story #3 of 3
18. IN RURAL ZAMBIA: How does a rural maize farmer, nervous because of the dry season, manage their budget? (and would they buy your health insurance product?)
21. You are a 40 year old man, living in a village 30 km from the nearest town. You live with your wife, 4 children and 1 dependant - the son of your deceased brother. Your youngest three are in primary school, and the first-born and the dependant are old enough to start secondary school. You have 5 hectares of traditional land you use for gardening (vegetables) and farming (maize). You do not own the title deed. You have village chickens, 4 goats, and a few sacks of maize as surplus. Your garden provides enough vegetables for your own consumption. Your wife sells the rest, and it is enough to manage your monthly household expenses. You are a member of an agricultural cooperative, and so far you have paid for 2 of the 10 shares you are required to own.
22. Every month, you must buy household supplies like soap, cooking oil, talktime. Whenever the community needs help, you must contribute. Your objective is to reach May with a good harvest. At any point, you have the option to: • Sell your livestock or your surplus sacks of maize • Ask for contributions from community, which you may/may not get • Take your children out of school 22
23. It is now [ month ]. PLEASE BUY THE ESSENTIALS FOR YOUR FAMILY. YOUR OBJECTIVE: Buy the household essentials each month Last for 7 months til harvest SIGN UP FOR GOVERNMENT FARMING SCHEME HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE PLACE OF SHAME (IF YOU DON’T CONTRIBUTE TO SOCIAL EXPENSES) NOT YET SIGNED UP FOR GOVERNMENT FARMING SCHEME MONEY GRAIN LIVESTOCK
24. At the bell (change of month), pay for household expenses. Each month, you can choose to buy health insurance for that month. School fees are due at specific months. Which children do you pay for? Neighbour’s mother passes away. Please contribute for funeral expenses. • Contribute (1 GREEN SLIP) • Do not pay, but move to section so everyone sees [DRAW 2 NAMES FROM BOWL]: your sons had football injuries and need to go to hospital. • If you have insurance, pay nothing • If you do not have insurance, pay 2 GREEN SLIPS It is time to pay school fees, Choose who to keep in school. • Pay 1 GREEN SLIP per primary school aged child • Pay 3 GREEN SLIPS per secondary school aged child Decision: Life Happens…
26. SIGN UP FOR GOVERNMENT FARMING SCHEME YOUR OBJECTIVE: Buy the household essentials each month Sell your maize or goats if you need to Last for 7 months til harvest HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE PLACE OF SHAME (IF YOU DON’T CONTRIBUTE TO SOCIAL EXPENSES) NOT YET SIGNED UP FOR GOVERNMENT FARMING SCHEME MONEY GRAIN LIVESTOCK It is now [ month ]. PLEASE BUY THE ESSENTIALS FOR YOUR FAMILY.
27. “Ha, I wouldn’t buy this product either.” “Farmers need something different. What can we offer?”
28. telling YOUR OWN story living SOMEONE ELSE’s story
29. kim.chatterjee@gmail.com www.linkedin.com/in/kim-chatterjee Thank you.