This document outlines user research methods that can be used from exploration to ideation. It discusses contextual inquiry to understand users in their environments, group interpretation to make sense of findings, affinity diagramming to organize insights into themes, wall walking to generate design ideas, identifying hot ideas, and visioning sessions to flesh out concepts. The goal is to use these qualitative research techniques to deeply understand users and generate innovative design solutions that meet user needs.

1. User Research
From Exploration to Ideation
Mumin Yu & Jen Wang
Mumin Yu Jen Wang
NTU iNSIGHT, Director of UXLab NTU iNSIGHT, Sr. UX Researcher of UXLab
USERXING, Founder & Principle Consultant
UiGathering, Committee Member
mumin.yu@userxing.com jen.wang@insight.ntu.edu.tw

2. User Centered Design
• Early focus on users and tasks
• Empirical measurement of product usage
• Iterative design

3. Know Create
Know USER Create

4. Know USER Create
Participatory
Design
Know USER Create
Contextual
Design

5. http://www.chi2010.org/authors/cfp-sdc.html
Design an object, interface, system, or service
intended to encourage people to take a walk.
Explore Envision
Know USER Create
Evaluate Embody

6. Explore Envision
Collect Analyze Synthesize Diverge Converge Enrich Evaluate
! " # $ % & '
Contextual Group Affinity Wall Hot Visioning Plus
Inquiry Interpretation Diagraming Walking Ideas Minus
Statistical
Macro technique
(many people)
SURVEYS VIDEO
ETHNOGRAPHY
Explicit opportunities and needs Latent opportunities and needs
Saying Doing
FOCUS GROUPS OBSERVATIONAL
TECHNIQUES
Micro technique
(few people)
Interpretive
(Moggridge, 2007, P.664)

7. Explore Envision
Collect Analyze Synthesize Diverge Converge Enrich Evaluate
! " # $ % & '
Contextual Group Affinity Wall Hot Visioning Plus
Inquiry Interpretation Diagraming Walking Ideas Minus
! Contextual Inquiry

8. • One-on-one
• In the user’s environment
• Observations of user’s behavior

9. Activities
Environments

10. Interactions
Objects

11. Users
ctivities
nvironments
nteractions
bjects
sers

12. 1. Introduce
2. Switch to Inquiry
3. Observe and Ask
4. Record
5. Share Idea
6. Wrap up
Explore Envision
Collect Analyze Synthesize Diverge Converge Enrich Evaluate
! " # $ % & '
Contextual Group Affinity Wall Hot Visioning Plus
Inquiry Interpretation Diagraming Walking Ideas Minus

13. " Group Interpretation
• Group of 4-6 people
• Share inquiry experience
• Make sense of user’s behavior
• Capturing key findings

14. Collective Intellignece
Average Member Intelligence
Maximum Member Intellignece
0.6
Standardize regression coefficient
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Study 1: Study 2:
Video Game Architectural Design
Important Characteristic of the Behavior

15. new note?
User’s Interpretations of the
Events, Artifacts and Problems
Breakdowns

16. Cultural Influences
New note
Insightful User Quotes

17. Design Ideas
Questions for Future Inquiry

18. ( Characteristic of the Behavior
) User’s Interpretation
* Breakdowns
+ Cultural Influences
, Insightful Quotes
- Questions
. Design Ideas
Rules of Recording
( One point only
) Who said or did what
* Stand alone

19. Note ID Quotation
User ID
Statement
Question
Design Idea
1. Assembly the team
2. Explain the process
3. Assign roles
4. Tell story (researcher)
5. Capture key findings (participants)
6. Write down on sticky note (notetaker)
7. Keep session on track (moderator)

20. Explore Envision
Collect Analyze Synthesize Diverge Converge Enrich Evaluate
! " # $ % & '
Contextual Group Affinity Wall Hot Visioning Plus
Inquiry Interpretation Diagraming Walking Ideas Minus
# Affinity Diagraming

21. • Group of 6-8 people
• Organize sticky notes
• Reveal users’ needs

24. General
Specific

25. Rules of Grouping
( Look beyond keyword
) There’s NO absolute right or wrong way
* Need NO consent from others
! " #

26. Rule of Labeling
( Blue: Avoid generalization that hides distinctions
) Pink: Reveal key issues in the data
* Green: Categorical and abstract

28. 1. Assembly the team
2. Explain the process
3. Group sticky notes together
4. Group sticky notes individually
5. Handle “bad” sticky notes
6. Label columns in pair
7. Reorganize the wall

29. Explore Envision
Collect Analyze Synthesize Diverge Converge Enrich Evaluate
! " # $ % & '
Contextual Group Affinity Wall Hot Visioning Plus
Inquiry Interpretation Diagraming Walking Ideas Minus
$ Wall Walking

30. 1. Think “What could we do?”
2. Extend others’ ideas
3. Write design ideas (DI) or questions (Q)
on a new post-it
4. Place DI next to the post-it you read
Rules of Wall Walking
( Alone and Silently
) From Top to Bottom
* Don’t Worry about Feasibility

31. Explore Envision
Collect Analyze Synthesize Diverge Converge Enrich Evaluate
! " # $ % & '
Contextual Group Affinity Wall Hot Visioning Plus
Inquiry Interpretation Diagraming Walking Ideas Minus
% Hot Ideas

32. 1. Discuss key issues from affinity
2. Write key issues on paper
3. List hot ideas according to key issues
4. Combine multiple ideas if possible
5. Write hot ideas on paper
Key Issues

33. Rules of Key Issues
( Most Central
) Top User Needs
* Not Design Ideas
Key Issues Hot Ideas

34. Explore Envision
Collect Analyze Synthesize Diverge Converge Enrich Evaluate
! " # $ % & '
Contextual Group Affinity Wall Hot Visioning Plus
Inquiry Interpretation Diagraming Walking Ideas Minus
& Visioning

35. 1. Assign roles: Pen, Poker, Participants
2. Vote for a hot idea to start with
3. Pen start asking “Who am I? What am I doing now?”
4. Participants take turns telling story
5. Pen draw on paper
6. Poker ask questions to clarify

36. Rules of Visioning
( No Judgement
) Story about Design Ideas
* Talk to Pen, not Each Other
Pen:
Participant 1:
Participant 2:
(
Participant 3:
Participant 1:
Poker:
Participant 2:

37. Explore Envision
Collect Analyze Synthesize Diverge Converge Enrich Evaluate
! " # $ % & '
Contextual Group Affinity Wall Hot Visioning Plus
Inquiry Interpretation Diagraming Walking Ideas Minus
' Plus & Minus

38. 1. Do evaluation when multiple versions are
created
2. Write down the “Plus” of the vision (+)
3. Write down the “Minus” of the vision (-)
4. Give a solution to each “Minus”
5. Consolidate good parts of the each vision
into one vision.
Rules of Plus and Minus
( User Needs
) Technology Doable
* Good Sale Potential
$ Organizational Mission

39. Explore Envision
Collect Analyze Synthesize Diverge Converge Enrich Evaluate
! " # $ % & '
Contextual Group Affinity Wall Hot Visioning Plus
Inquiry Interpretation Diagraming Walking Ideas Minus
http://www.cooper.com/journal/2011/08/you_cant_save_your_way_to_inno.html

40. Thank You.