How Not to let Stakeholder Bias Derail your User Research Findings

Transcript

1. How not to let stakeholder bias derail your user research findings Design Research 2020, Melbourne Ruth Ellison & Michelle Pickrell
2. 2 Ruth Ellison @RuthEllison Hello! Michelle Pickrell @uxmich
5. What is going on here?
6. @RuthEllison @MichellePirckrell Cognitive biases in action!
7. What is a cognitive bias? Mental shortcut
8. Source: https://uxdesign.cc/better-decisions-72e955c70a5c?gi=e92ae8d55f1c
9. 9 The Great Toilet Paper Apocalypse Cognitive biases in action Social Proof FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) Scarcity Effect
10. We are all human
11. Source: Buster Benson
12. 12 A way to categorise biases Four problems that biases help us to address Too much information 01 Not enough meaning 02 Need to act fast 03 What should we remember? 04
13. 13 Confirmation bias Tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms your beliefs.
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16. 16 Source: https://medium.com/@behaviorgap/why-confirmation-bias-is-a-problem-ce8536aae98a
17. The story
18. 18 How to deal with it Confirmation bias List assumptions WITH stakeholders Re-evaluate assumptions across sprints Take the opposing view Disprove, rather than prove
19. 19 Déformation Professionnelle Tendency to look at things from the point of view of one's own profession or special expertise, rather than from a broader or humane perspective.
20. 20 Egocentric bias Tendency to rely too heavily on your own perspective. Experiences, ideas and beliefs are more easily recalled when they match your own, causing an egocentric outlook.
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22. 22 Source: https://timer.mes.fm/inspirational-quotes/right-and-wrong-depends-on-perspective
23. The story
24. 24 How to deal with it Déformation Professionnelle & Egocentric bias Consider alternative viewpoints Take it back to user needs Get your stakeholders to come with you on research sessions Use self-distancing language
25. 25 Irrational Escalation The tendency to justify increased investment in a decision. This is based on cumulative prior investment, despite new evidence suggesting that the decision was probably wrong.
26. 26 Sunk Cost Fallacy When a behaviour is continued as a result of previously invested resources (time, money or effort)
27. 27 IKEA effect The idea that consumers place a disproportionately high value on products they partially created. The name derives from the furniture retailer IKEA.
28. 28 Source: http://factsongambling.com/gamblers-fallacy/
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30. The story
31. 31 How to deal with it Irrational escalation and sunk cost fallacy Encourage stakeholders to take a long-term view Identify the value from learning from mistakes Provide a way to pivot to a more useful pathway
32. 32 HiPPO problem Highest individually paid person’s opinion
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34. The story
35. 35 How to deal with it HIPPO problem Understand HIPPOs motivations and goals….and have insights that speak to that Take the HIPPO along on the journey Build consensus Try to work with the HIPPOs helper to communicate to the HIPPO
36. And if I’M the HiPPO?
37. 37 The Curse of Knowledge Failure to understand how things affect people who don’t have the knowledge we have about a particular subject.
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39. 39 Source: https://medium.muz.li/ux-and-psychology-i-curse-of-knowledge-89b7ab431b04
40. The story
41. 41 How to deal with it The curse of knowledge Remind your stakeholders that research is about learning Keep an open mind Practice detachment
42. 42 Hyperbolic discounting Choosing the long-term gain over the short term reward
43. 43 Source: http://earlylearningnation.com/2018/09/what-makes-the-marshmallow-test-so-iconic/
44. 44 Source: Atlassian
45. The story
46. 46 How to deal with it Hyperbolic discounting Balance quick wins, vs longer term rewards Break down the longer term rewards into smaller chunks Objectively evaluate options Share the risk of not incorporating longer-term findings in the overall success of the product.
47. 47 Wrapping up...
48. 48 Remember... Take our stakeholders on the journey Understand our stakeholders point of view Offer strategic advice aligned with user needs Teach our stakeholders to have a research mindset
49. 49 We are all human
50. Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty_Questions#/media/File:20_questions_1954.JPG
51. Say hello @RuthEllison @uxmich