How	to	Shift	from	In-Person	to	
Agile	Qualitative	Research
Monika	Wingate,	Co-Founder	and	CEO
About	Digsite
Digsite Sprints					SocialFind SmartReporting
Smarter,	
Faster	
Qualitative	
Research
Your	Speaker
Monika	Wingate
CEO	and	Co-Founder	of	Digsite
• What	does	agile	mean	for	qualitative	research?
• Tips	on	how	to	implement	agile	qualitative
• Examples	of	projects	executed	using	in-person	vs.	agile	qualitative
Agenda
Agile	Principles	Are	Driving	Changes	in	Marketing
Agile	Marketing	Manifesto
http://agilemarketingmanifesto.org/values/
Qual Research	Is	Critical	to	Agile	Marketers
Unstructured	
discussion	vs.	
rigid	surveys
Focus	on	
discovery	vs.	
quantification
Smaller	
experiments	
vs.	large	scale	
research
Collaborative	
learning	vs.	
static	
reporting
Build	Qual to	fit	2-4	Weeks	Sprint	Cycles
Develop
Prototype
Learn
STRATEGY CONCEPT																													PRODUCTION																		IN-MARKET
Agile	Development	Process
2-4	weeks
Concept	1-3 Concept	4-6 Package Product Ad/Video Social	Campaign
In-Person	Research	Doesn’t	Align	Well	with	Agile	
Online	
Qualitative
In-Person	
Qualitative
Online	
Sprint
Kickoff
Recruit/Customize	Activities
Observe	&	Learn
Instant	Reporting
Full	Analysis
1
2
3
5
10
1
14
15
21
n/a
Day
Day
Day
Day
Day
In-Person	
Research
New	Approaches	Are	Used	to	Speed	Qual Timelines
Delivering	Cumulative	Results	Rather	Yes/No	Testing
Early	Concepts
(n=25)
Refined	Concepts	
(n=75)
Applied	to	
packaging		(n=25)
Concept/Product	
Test	(n=50)
Video	Ads	(n=75)
10weeks		5tests			n=225
Tips	for	Effective	
Agile	Qualitative
1.	Find	Highly	Targeted	Sample…
Quantitative	
Testing
• Age	18-54
• Purchase	category
in	the	past	12	mo.
• Aware	of	brand
Qualitative	
Testing
• Age	25-39
• Have	specific	hobbies,	
interests	or	values
• Heavy	category	users
• Purchased	specific	
brands	in	the	past	year
1. Behavior	based	
targeting
2. Pre-screened	
panels
3. Agile	
communities
Fast
2.	Design	research	to	build	as	you	learn
3.	Build	agile	toolkit	into	your	organization
Unmoderated Moderated
Live
Video	Interviews
Chat
Conversations
Messaging
Asynchronous	=	Agile
Video	sharing
Screen	Capture
Diaries
Image	mark-up
Ranking/Rating
4.	Use	Moderated	+	Unmoderated	Activities
http://www.pewresearch.org/2015/05/13/from-telephone-to-the-web-the-challenge-of-mode-of-interview-effects-in-public-opinion-polls/#fn-269745-8
• Help	participants	stay	focused	and	
encourage	participation
• Provide	clarification	on	questions	for	
participants
• Ask	follow-up	questions	to	drill	deeper	
into	responses
• Participants	can	be	required	to	respond	
before	seeing	other’s	responses
Unmoderated	Activities
• Avoids	overstatement	of	socially	
desirable	behaviors	and	attitudes
• Avoids	understatement	of	opinions	and	
behaviors	participants	fear	would	elicit	
disapproval	from	another	person
• Removes	implicit	time	pressure	that	can	
affect	a	respondent’s	ability	to	recall	
facts	or	past	event
• Can	be	timed	to	get	at	System	1	thinking
Moderated	Activities
Examples
Building	Empathy
Focus	
Group
What	prompted	
you	to	remodel	
your	bathroom?
Where	did	you	go	
for	
ideas/inspiration?
If	remodeling	was	
like	an	amusement	
park	ride,	which	
ride…
In-Home	
Interview
Show	me	your	
remodeled	
bathroom
Where	did	you	go	
for	
ideas/inspiration?
Tell	me	about	your	
remodel	process	
step-by-step
Agile	
Qualitative
What	prompted	
you	to	remodel	
your	bathroom?
Post	pictures	of	the	
products/websites	
you	looked	at	for	
inspiration
Take	a	short	video	
of	your	remodeled	
bath	and	share	the	
good	and	the	bad
Bathroom	Remodeling
Conversations	with	Photo/Video	Sharing
Cesar	B.
Journey	Mapping
Whiteboard
Iteration
Focus	Group	
or	Interview
What	are	your	
biggest	needs	for	
counter	
space/storage?
Card	sort	and	rank	
top	needs	
identified	by	
group
Show	concepts	to	
rate/discuss	
(revise	between	
sessions)
Discuss	which	
solutions	they	
liked	best	and	why
Agile	
Qualitative
What	are	your	
biggest	needs	for	
counter	
space/storage?
Vote	on	top	needs	
identified	by	the	
group	
Show	concepts	to	
rate	&	mark-up	
(one	or	more	
rounds)
Participants	build	
their	ideal	
solution
Bathroom	Storage
Vote	on	Top	Needs
Build	Ideal	Solutions
Get	Early	Concept	Feedback
Experience
In-Market	
Observation
Meet	at	a	big	box	store	
to	observe	shopping	
process
Meet	in-home	during	
remodel	project
Bring	video/photo	diary	
to	focus	group
Agile	
Qualitative
Participants	record	video	
and	post	photos	of	their	
shopping	activities
Create	fill	in	the	blank	
tasks	to	record	various	
elements	of	remodel	
project
Upload	photos/video	
and	discuss	and	respond	
in	group	forum	where	
participants	see	each	
others	experience
Remodel	In-Store	and	In-Home	Experiences
Describe	Experiences
Fill	in	the	Blank
Test	Solutions
What	does	effective	agile	qualitative	look	like?
• Plan	more	small	scale	qualitative	throughout	development
• Leverage	online	tools	for	both	speed	and	quality
• Involve	your	team	in	learning	from	and	experimenting	with	consumers
Do’s
• Expect	your	team	to	stop	building	solutions	while	you	conduct	research
• Rely	on	in-person	research	to	meet	all	of	your	needs	
• Wait	until	after	the	research	is	completed	to	provide	your	first	report
Don’t
Questions?
Monika	Wingate	
monika@digsite.com	
+1	844-344-7483	x700

How to Shift from In-Person to Agile Qualitative Research