The talk i presented at the Emerce Retail in Holland on 19 March 2015.

1. How to run a pop-up lab
(Innovation through rapid R&D)
EMERCE 2015 | Fergus Roche | 19 Mar 2015

2. Fergus Roche
User Experience Director, JOYLAB
Getting in contact
Tweet me at @ferg4ddc
or email me ferg@joylab.co.uk

3. A B
Iteration Perfection
VS

4. A B C
Assume
nothing
Believe
nothing
Check
everything
Source: British Police investigation Handbook

5. UX
Retailer
Putting innovation at the heart of your organisation

6. UX
Retailer
How to innovate…
Seven step
approach

7. Customer expectation has now
outstripped most retailers setup.
Why is this relevant now?
Image source

8. Image: author’s own
Lets take an example…

9. Lets take an example…
Image: author’s ownImage: author’s own

10. So how do you make this?

11. You change and adapt

12. You learn through prototyping
with real users

13. Our seven step approach

14. In reality…

15. Getting startedSTEP 1
Image source

16. Getting started
Focus your research, agree a research aim.
Define your research questions.
Build your team.
Empower them: get skeleton key to your company.
Get your team some space.
Prioritise your research questions.
STEP 1

17. Creating research questions e.g. for returns
•What is the current experience like for customers?
•What are the typical valid and invalid reasons for
returns?
•What is the breakdown of these reasons? And
rate?
•Which channels? Rank them.
Getting started exerciseSTEP 1

18. Data accessSTEP 2
Image: author’s own

19. Data accessSTEP 2
Find the data (locate and buddy up with BI).
Assess the data.
Organise and (rapidly) analyse the data.
Got answer, skip to next step.
If no answers, follow the money or invade IT.

20. Two mindsets…
Collection - just show me the numbers e.g.
• Total sales for a particular store versus another store
• Using Facebook Analytics to gather the geographical
source of fans
Patterns – making shapes in the data e.g.
• Reviewing customer services call logs
• Sales data versus CRM data versus audience survey
data – compare and contrast alternate sources
Data access analysisSTEP 2

21. Stakeholder powerSTEP 3
Image: author’s own

22. Stakeholder powerSTEP 3
Gather the stakeholders and experts.
Run brainstorming workshops.
Assess channel projects.
Capture requirements and prioritise.
Add detail and re-prioritise.

23. Running stakeholder workshopsSTEP 3
Learn about stakeholder remits and how these will
impact on your plans.
Shared any findings you have gathered.
Discovered their project plans and understood their
priorities.
Assessed channel projects.
Captured requirements and prioritised them. Do this
with the group. Score against your project aim[s].
Start to win hearts and minds for your project.

24. Typical activities…
•Talk to your key stakeholders about your project and ask
them who the knowledge experts are
•Started to engage the knowledge experts
•Found those projects in-flight or coming up that will either
be blockers or you can lever for your project
•Gathered together your requirements. And prioritised them
Stakeholder power exercisesSTEP 3

25. Real customersSTEP 4
Kirk vs. Spock A.K.A. Qual vs. Quant
Image source

26. Real customersSTEP 4
Recruit real customers – use your CRM / social
channels.
Survey them. Ask specific research questions.
Run qualitative tests e.g. phone interviews, co-
design workshops and usability testing.
Try to be structured in your research – it is important
to develop some robustness in your approach.

27. Some example activities…
•List the questions you would like to ask customers when
you survey them
•Turn your questions into a survey using an online survey
tool. Review and run it.
•Think of ways to run a co-design session with real
customers and which stakeholders should you also bring
along. Plan it out and list out unknowns or things you are
unsure about
Real customers exercisesSTEP 4

28. Operations – checking stuffSTEP 5
ADD IMAGE
Image: author’s own

29. Operations – checking stuffSTEP 5
Engage operational staff.
Fill in the blanks in your findings with the staff.
Run brainstorming sessions with operational
staff.
Where possible, co-design with operational staff
(and customers).

30. STOP! Gear-shift...

31. Don’t just find holes. Share solutions too
Image source

32. Design & test. RepeatSTEP 6
Image: author’s own

33. Why build prototypes?
To be pragmatic: not to waste money building
something that won’t work.
Your omnichannel environment isn’t like anyone
else’s.
Rapid prototyping can light the way, tailored to you.
It will provide consensus and limit your risk.

34. Prototypes…
Fidelity
Complexity
Images: author’s own

35. Design & test. RepeatSTEP 6
Created a working prototype of the key
requirement(s).
Design the solution in collaboration with
stakeholders and/or users.
Test your prototype to see if it works.
Demonstrate your solution to the key stakeholders.

36. Going Agile across the design phaseSTEP 6

37. Testing your designsSTEP 6
IN-
STOR
E
TEST
ONLIN
E
TEST
LAB
TEST

38. Prototyping for omni-channelSTEP 6
IN-
STOR
E
TEST
LAB
TEST
ONLIN
E
TEST

39. Win hearts & mindsSTEP 7
Image: author’s own

40. STEP 7
Share learnings – take the time to write up and
share your findings.
Get into dialogue and gain further insight.
Win hearts and minds – R&D works best in a
permissive culture where its value is understood.
Take the time to explain your findings and develop
converts.
Win hearts & minds

41. Our seven step approach

42. Important considerations
Budgeting (not included)
Resourcing (not included)
The method
Opportunities

43. Method: more important than the seven steps
Be skeptical. The truth is always slightly to the left.
Do just enough. And build momentum.
Making mistakes means you’re making decisions.
Stay small, go guerrilla.
There are known knowns, known unknowns and
unknown unknowns – keep this in mind.
Don’t lead users, bloody listen!

44. I wrote a paper all about it
Image source

45. Opportunities – get organised
Top 10 R&D spenders, in $B across 2011-2013

46. 2. Using this method to learn
1. Take control of the learning experience
Final take-away today…

47. Thanks!
Fergus Roche
UX lead, JOYLAB
Getting in contact
Tweet me at @ferg4ddc
or email me ferg@joylab.co.uk