1.
Real World
Discovery Research
Emma Boulton
UX Brighton – November 2018

2.
Embarrassing photo time

3.
Embarrassing photo time
Check out my
woggle!

4.
Embarrassing photo time
Nifty belt

5.
LINK goes here

6.
“The Explorer Belt is a challenge of a lifetime. It is a
chance to take part in a ten day expedition that
brings you a real understanding of a different
country, its culture and way of life. You will develop
this understanding by travelling through your chosen
country, working as part of a small team to complete
a series of projects and most importantly by meeting
local people. It is an experience and an achievement
that you will remember for the rest of your life.”
https://members.scouts.org.uk/explorerbelt

7.
Discovery is an expedition

8.
“…it’s as much about the journey as what you
find along the way.”
Dan Brown @brownorama
Practical Design Discovery https://abookapart.com/products/practical-design-discovery

9.
Solo or group expedition?
• The journey maybe long
• You may need to travel far from home
• There is a real danger that you could get lost in the thick
of the forest and literally disappear for months

10.
“Big reveal research doesn’t work.”
Will Myddelton @myddelton
http://www.myddelton.co.uk/blog/user-research-is-a-team-sport

11.
Avoid the Research Graveyard!

12.
Discovery Expeditions are for teams
• Keep in touch with your loved ones who couldn't make
it
• Keep a journal, log where you have been and what your
reflections are
• Send them postcards!

13.
You are the expedition leader

14.
Expedition planning
• Who do you want the group to meet?
• What questions do you want to ask?
• What do you want the group to see or hear?
• What else do you want to find out about?
• Where will your journey take you?
• What route will you take?
• What do you want the group to bring with them?

15.
Expedition planning
• HOW? PROCESS? METHODS?

16.
“Remember, Discovery is for discovering, not validating.”
Leisa Reichelt @leisa
https://www.dta.gov.au/blog/what-is-discovery/

17.
Discover new methods

18.
Gamification
Paper Giant: http://papergiant.net/publication/the-more-than-research-game/ IDEO: http://www.designkit.org/resources

19.
Diary Studies as a Pre Task
Pilot Works: https://pilot.works/case-study-bristol-university DScout: https://dscout.com/diary

20.
Discovery panels
Verve: http://www.addverve.com/What-we-do Crowdtech: https://crowdtech.com/research-communities/

21.
Projective Techniques
• Withdrawal methods
• Mood boards
• Time machine
• Psycho drawings
• Bring an item
Mustard: https://www.mustard-research.com/blog/general/top-10-projective-techniques/

22.
Projective and Enabling Techniques
• Withdrawal methods
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

23.
Projective and Enabling Techniques
• Mood boards
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

24.
Projective and Enabling Techniques
• Time machine
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

25.
Projective and Enabling Techniques
• Psycho drawings
Mustard: https://www.mustard-research.com/blog/general/top-10-projective-techniques/

26.
Projective and Enabling Techniques
• Bring an item
Mustard: https://www.mustard-research.com/blog/general/top-10-projective-techniques/

27.
When should we do discovery?

28.
Workflow
Damien Newman: https://thedesignsquiggle.com
Discovery?

29.
GDS : https://www.gov.uk/service-manual

30.
Jane Austin @msjaneaustin
Discovery?

31.
The Research Funnel

32.
“With continuous research, we’re changing the
process from “Did we get it right?” to “Help
create this with us”.
Teresa Torres @ttorres
https://blog.nomnom.it/continuous-product-discovery-an-interview-with-teresa-torres-product-discovery-coach-36cdc410d2bd

33.
Discovery is a mindset

34.
Jane Austin @msjaneaustin
Discovery

35.
Continuous discovery
Teresa Torres: https://www.producttalk.org/2018/03/continuous-discovery-case-study//

36.
Discovery Kanban
https://medium.com/design-optimizely/managing-design-work-with-discovery-kanban-at-optimizely-9918e7959be5

37.
Digital Discovery Kanban

38.
Atomic Research
Tomer Sharon: https://medium.com/@tsharon/foundations-of-atomic-research-a937d5da5fbb Dan Piddy: http://piddy.co.uk/gleanly/

39.
LINK goes here

40.
Takeaways
1. Discovery is an expedition
2. You are the expedition leader
3. Avoid the Research Graveyard
4. Discover new methods
5. Discovery is a mindset

41.
Thanks
@emmaboulton
emmaboulton.co.uk