Research traditionally uncovers known complaints and desires in terms of what people will tell you. However it is via contextual or ethnographic observation that you can witness “real world” behaviors, influences, scenarios, technologies, and actors all of which help you get the sense for what will truly delight someone or alleviate frustration. Noticing where people spend their time doing things they “have to” and don’t “want to” will lead to inspiration of what would make their life more convenient and less frustrating. An observation of what people want to do, enjoy doing, or look forward to doing, will lead to inspiration around what will make them shout from the rooftops in glee. In this presentation we will discuss how research inspires design and how reality inspires creativity. If you simply ask users about what would make life better, you will rarely get meaningful answers. They are just not good at envisioning revolutionary solutions. It is really easy trap to fall into during a traditional usability test to ask “what would the ideal experience be for you?” Unfortunately, if you base your design on those responses, you won’t get a breakthrough. Instead of relying on divine intervention for new ideas, we will focus on activities such as Laddering, Game play, Storytelling and Triading that can help expose opportunities for radical innovation and designing products that people can’t live without.

1. What They Didn’t Know They Needed
Megan Grocki - @megangrocki
Amy Cueva - @amycueva

2. Who are we?
Amy Cueva Megan Grocki
Founder & Chief Experience Officer Senior Experience Designer
amy@madpow.com mgrocki@madpow.com
We’ll share some stuff…
but we are just scratching the surface!
@megangrocki @AmyCueva

3. What (tf) are we going to talk about?
ê Different approaches to research + design
ê Getting the right information from research
ê Generating design ideas
ê Design execution considerations
@megangrocki @AmyCueva

4. Who are you?
@megangrocki @AmyCueva

5. User-Centered Design
We love
users.
@megangrocki @AmyCueva

6. Genius Design
@megangrocki @AmyCueva

7. Research Methods
ê Laddering
ê Triading
ê Storytelling
ê Game Play
ê Desirability Testing
@megangrocki @AmyCueva

8. Laddering
ê Simple & Systematic
ê Clinical Psychology/Marketing
ê Get beyond surface to their core
values and uncover meaning
ê Experiences designed based on
meaning have more traction than
those based on attributes
ê The art of asking “Why? Why?”
@megangrocki @AmyCueva

9. Laddering
Research technique to uncover core values
@megangrocki @AmyCueva

10. Triading
Discover dimensions that are relevant to audience
@megangrocki @AmyCueva

11. Storytelling
ê Asking directly about needs and
goals can limits our insight
ê Give human characteristics to
an interface
ê Their perspective on how they
interact with it
ê Lets participants explore
approaches with their own filters
@megangrocki @AmyCueva

12. Storytelling
Storytelling
Gain insights into human perspectives @megangrocki @AmyCueva

13. Game Play
ê Break free from rigidity of
traditional interview styles
ê Ease stress on participants,
making them less reserved
ê Allows researchers to observe
people in competition
ê Capture emotional reactions
ê Insight into communication styles
@megangrocki @AmyCueva

14. Game Play
Break free of the rigidity of traditional interviews
@megangrocki @AmyCueva

15. Desirability Testing
ê Which visual design evokes a
better emotional response?
ê Halo Affect
ê Why not just ask them which
design they like better?
ê Assess emotional impact and
how it aligns with brand
ê Qualitative & Quantitative
@megangrocki @AmyCueva

16. Desirability Testing
Assess the emotional impact of a design@megangrocki @AmyCueva

17. Other research approaches
ê Laddering ê Contextual Inquiry
ê Triading ê Ethnography
ê Storyteling ê Bodystorming
ê Game Play ê Early usability testing
ê Desirability Testing ê Comics, sketching
@megangrocki @AmyCueva

18. Findings Prioritization, Visualization, & Team Building
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Lo Importance Hi
w gh
@megangrocki @AmyCueva

19. So you’ve gotten to the core of what makes
people tick, their emotional triggers, and their
cognitive expectations. The team gets it.
Now what??
@megangrocki @AmyCueva

20. Generate some fracking
amazing ideas.
@megangrocki @AmyCueva

21. But wait… First you need to figure some things out.
ê What are your experience objectives?
ê What is your organization’s risk tolerance threshold?
ê Who will be involved in generating ideas,
communicating them, and executing on them?
ê Who are your allies? Form a multi-disciplinary team and
start communicating from the start.
@megangrocki @AmyCueva

22. Brainstorming. Let’s get this party started right.
ê Lotus Blossom Technique
ê Brain Writing
ê Brain Drawing
ê User-Centric Narrative
& Storytelling
ê Slot Machine of Goodness
ê Brainstorming Solo Chauncey Wilson is the master.
@megangrocki @AmyCueva

23. Lotus Blossom Technique
A B C
A B C
Topic D D Topic E E
F G H
F G H
@megangrocki @AmyCueva

24. Brain Writing
Procedure 1
1. Present a group with a request for ideas
2. Ask people to write down ideas
3. Take those ideas and pass them to another person who reads the ideas
and adds several more
4. Iterate several times (generally taking no more than 5-15 minutes)
Procedure 2
1. Hand pages out to each person
2. Ask the person to write 3 ideas on a page and put it in a pile and take one
from the pile (or a clean sheet), read the items and add a few more
3. Repeat several times and collect all the pages
4. Twist: This method could be tried via email
@megangrocki @AmyCueva

25. Brain Drawing
ê Round
robin brainstorming for rapidly
generating concepts & ideas
ê Requires
people to write and draw quickly
and show their results to others on the team
ê Twist:
This could be tried in “asynchronous”
fashion in a group area
Brain Drawing for the concept “Filter Object”
@megangrocki @AmyCueva

26. User-Centered Narrative & Storytelling
@megangrocki @AmyCueva

27. Slot Machine of Goodness
ê Select Topic
ê Lists in Columns
ê Select one from each column
ê Ideas in the overlap
Topics Maslow’s Channels,
Hierarchy Attributes,
of Needs or Methods
@megangrocki @AmyCueva

28. Solo Brainstorming
ê Take your work offsite. Go for a sensory overload or underload
ê Go crazy on a whiteboard. SKETCH. Just. Go. Crazy.
ê Take a shower. The water increases circulation to your brain.
ê Caffeinate and eat chocolate.
ê Go for a drive, rock out. This can facilitate your “brain marination”.
ê Take a break, or switch tasks.
ê Go to sleep. But before you do briefly contemplate the problem.
ê Talk to someone who has no idea about the problem space.
@megangrocki @AmyCueva

29. Execution Considerations
ê Communicate: What is the best way to communicate these ideas?
Make the business case. Speak their language.
ê Divide and conquer: Distribute concepting responsibilities
ê Validate: A design is just a hypothesis until you see it being used.
ê Prioritize: How will you prioritize the ideas?
ê Roadmap: Determine your plan for execution.
@megangrocki @AmyCueva

30. Give the business what they didn’t know they needed.
ê Gradually integrate user touch points into every project.
ê De-mystify it. Don’t freak them out with big words or big budgets
to start (unless they get it of course).
ê Involve the business in the process. Have them brainstorm. Have
them design. Have them witness research and testing.
ê Work with them, how can they make sure this idea will not lose
the business money or get them fired?
ê Introduce corporate design challenges.
@megangrocki @AmyCueva

31. Questions?
???
@megangrocki @AmyCueva

32. Contact Us
Amy Cueva Megan Grocki
Founder & Chief Experience Officer Senior Experience Designer
amy@madpow.com mgrocki@madpow.com
@megangrocki @AmyCueva