Presented at Confab Intensive 2016 in Seattle, Washington. When you begin work on a new project, there are so many unknowns, so many moving parts to get your head around, so many questions you haven't even thought to ask yet, that it can be hard to know where to start. In this workshop, we'll explore a range of discovery techniques, from stakeholder and user interviews to discovery workshops, content analysis, and more. We'll also look at what comes after you've made reams of rough notes, and just before you create deliverables: the part where you start to recognize patterns, clarify ambiguities, and put the pieces together.

1. Tools and Techniques for Discovery Work
From Analysis to Synthesis
Kerry-Anne Gilowey
Confab Intensive · Seattle WA · 20 September 2016
@kerry_anne

2. Workshop overview

3. Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/vegard
So many unknowns.
Where do we even begin?

4. A toolbox,
not a methodology.

5. Basic principles

6. 1. DISCOVERY IS NOT A PHASE.

7. Uncomfortable with uncertainty?
• Listen to Schrödinger’s IA: Learning toLove Ambiguity – tinyurl.com/ambiguity2013
• Slides: tinyurl.com/ambiguity-slides
RESOURCES

8. 2. KNOW YOUR CONSTRAINTS.

9. 3. BE CAREFUL WITH ASSUMPTIONS.

10. 4. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE AND YOUR
ORGANISATION.

11. 5. ALWAYS BE TAKING NOTES.

12. Recording appsAndroid
• Easy Voice Recorder• Smart Voice Recorder
iOS
• Voice Record Pro
• Voice Recorder
RESOURCES

13. 6. DON’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU’RE TOLD.
Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/audiolucistore

14. 7. LOOK FOR PATTERNS.

15. Getting started

18. Our new project
Traditional publisher
Creating a digital product
Need our help with
content planning
content organisation
project steps

20. Discovery techniques

21. CHOOSE
your tools
carefully

22. PRIORITISE
your discovery
efforts

24. 3 main activity types
Workshops
Fieldwork
Audit and analysis

25. 1. WORKSHOPS

26. Workshops are great for…
Gathering a
lot of info in a
short period
of time
Picking up on
political issues
Checking that
objectives and
intentions are
shared Making sure
you’re getting
the correct
info

27. Core
strategy
Business/
product
discovery
Governance
Terminology
Challenges
and
opportunities

28. Audience
identification
Customer
insights
Persona
creation
Task identification
and
prioritisation

29. Mad Libs
Voice and
messaging

30. Content Mad Libs
RESOURCES
Get more info atcontent-workshops.com/toolbox/2015/3/content-mad-libs
Image credit: Sara Wachter-Boettcher

31. Mad Libs
Voice and
messaging
Messaging
cardsort

33. Messaging card-sort
1. Sort all the cards into two groups
2. Note and discard cards in the “WE’RE NOT” pile
3. Loosely group the remaining attributes
4. Prioritise: choose your top 10

34. Messaging card sets
• BrandSort cards brought to you byMargot Bloomstein, author of ContentStrategy at Work – $29.99. Order athttp://cards.appropriateinc.com/.
RESOURCES

35. Mad Libs
Voice and
messaging
Messaging
cardsort
Live content
audit

36. Workshop
activitiesCore strategy
workshop
Audience
identification
Challenges
and opportunities
activity
Persona
workshop
Mad LibsTerminology
workshop
Messaging
cardsort
Live content
audit
Governance
workshop
Task
identification

37. 2. AUDIT AND ANALYSIS

38. Content inventory and audit

39. Some help from Content Insight
• Audit tips: http://tinyurl.com/audit-tips• Content Audits and Inventories: AHandbook by Paula Ladenburg Land• Sign up at content-insight.com using thepromo code TryCAT, and get a free5000-page block
RESOURCES

40. Analytics and site search logs

41. About analytics and site search
• Google’s free Analytics Academy –analyticsacademy.withgoogle.com/• Search Analytics For Your Site by LouisRosenfeld – tinyurl.com/search-analytics
RESOURCES

42. Competitor analysis

43. MESSAGING
ANALYSIS
IN
DUSTRY
RESEARCH
SITE AND APP
COMPARISONS

44. Audit and
analysisContent
inventory
Site and app
comparisons
Analytics
Site search logs
Competitor
messaging analysis
Content
audit
Industry
research

45. 3. FIELDWORK

46. Audience surveys

47. Audience surveys
• Survey software – surveymonkey.com.Sign up for a free account and receivetheir newsletter.
• Coursera course on questionnairedesign, by the University of Michigan –tinyurl.com/questionnaire-course
RESOURCES

48. Contextual discovery

49. CALLCENTRE
STUDY
CUSTO
M
ER
O
BSERVATIO
N
SHADOWING

50. One-on-one interviews

51. STAKEHOLDERS
and your
CUSTOMERS
Interview
both your

52. Interview customers to…
Find out what
information
they need
Gain insight
into their
worldview
Understand
their context
Map their
journey with
your product

53. Interview stakeholders to…
Understand
workflow and
processes
Identify
challenges
Understand
political and
cultural issues
Build
relationships
and trust

55. Customer
interviews
Customer
observation
Surveys
Stakeholder
interviews
Call centre
study
Shadowing
Fieldwork

56. On to synthesis

57. ORG CHARTS
WORKFLOW
DIAGRAMS
SIMPLE
PERSONAS
OWNERSHIP
AND
AUTHORSHIP
TABLES
MATRIX OF
CONTENT
TYPES
TERM LISTS,
GLOSSARIES,
SHARED
DEFINITIONS
MESSAGING
SPREADSHEET
CUSTOMER
JOURNEYS
Discovery artifacts

58. There is no
“one right
way”.

59. Shared definitions

60. Workflow diagrams
From documentation.magnolia-cms.com/display/DOCS45/Workflow

61. Content type matrix

62. Simple personas

63. Customer journeys
Image credit: http://engagingplaces.net/2013/10/15/hbr-the-truth-about-the-customer-experience/

64. Messaging spreadsheet

66. Analysing your notes
1. Highlight key issues and patterns
2. Group related issues
3. Make connections explicit
4. Consider priorities, choose artifacts

67. ORG CHARTS
WORKFLOW
DIAGRAMS
SIMPLE
PERSONAS
OWNERSHIP
AND
AUTHORSHIP
TABLES
MATRIX OF
CONTENT
TYPES
TERM LISTS,
GLOSSARIES,
SHARED
DEFINITIONS
MESSAGING
SPREADSHEET
CUSTOMER
JOURNEYS
Discovery artifacts

68. Analysing your notes
1. Highlight key issues and patterns
2. Group related issues
3. Make connections explicit
4. Consider priorities, choose artifacts
5. Write up a roadmap

69. Roadmap headings
• Stakeholders
• Objectives
• Current situation
• Key challenges
• Short-term strategy
• Long-term strategy
• Open questions

70. Analysing your notes
1. Highlight key issues and patterns
2. Group related issues
3. Make connections explicit
4. Consider priorities, choose artifacts
5. Write up a roadmap
6. Give your partner feedback

71. Thanks for taking part!
Kerry-Anne Gilowey
kerryanne@augustsun.co.za
http://augustsun.co.za
@kerry_anne