Leslie Feinzaig, Microosft, slides from 3/10/2012 SXSW Interactive session Mind Reading: Seeing Needs Users Don't Articulate

1. Mind Reading
Seeing Needs Users Don’t Articulate
Leslie Feinzaig, Microsoft

3. “If I’d asked people what they wanted,
they would have said a faster horse.”
- Henry Ford

5. Holiday beverages through February!
More sugar-free syrups!
Buy one get one half-off hot AND cold beverages!

6. More = better!
Quality
Time

7. More = better?
Number of blades
1960 1980 2000 2020

8. “It’s hard to design products by focus
groups. People don’t know what they
want until you show it to them.”
- Steve Jobs

9. “Great innovations come from
understanding the consumer's unmet
needs and desires. Regardless of the
market, innovation must be consumer-
led. That is not the same thing as
consumer-decided.”
- AG Lafley

12. Why we do what we do
The actual behaviors we engage
in to address our needs; including processes (how
Activities I do it) as well as solutions (what I use). Pain points
can be observed from the usefulness of how one
activity fills one need.
The more specific need states that arise out of our
high level aspirations. Needs drive market
Needs
behavior. They are not observable, but can be
surmised from observable behavior and
questioning the reasons behind that behavior,
Aspirations Aspirations are what drives us forward, deep at the
core of our being. They are powerful marketing
tools, but often too high-level to be really
actionable.

14. Ethnography…
“Ethnography is a qualitative research method aimed to learn and
understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of
meanings guiding the life of a cultural group.“
– Wikipedia
More simply: Observe, interpret, and apply

15. Ethnography… in 3 easy steps
1. Sample
2. Fieldwork
3. Analysis

16. 1. Sample

17. 2. Fieldwork

18. 3. Analysis

19. Exercise
• Pair up
• Choose a researcher and a participant
• Participant: take out your phone, and use it for five minutes in
any way you like
• Researcher: observe, ask questions if you want
• Both: debrief. Did you uncover any needs?

20. A real-life example
100+ Observed 60+ Extracted User 26 Consolidated
Behaviors Needs User Needs

21. Sample need: Escape circumstances
What it means
Users will find themselves in boring, precarious, uncomfortable, or
otherwise non-ideal situations and find themselves needing relief, even if
for only a moment. It could be a mental break from a stressful situation,
or simply watching a video while traveling on an uneventful bus ride.
Newton of Sao Paulo
Extreme User profile
Newton of Sao Paulo works online all day. He also has his iPad with him
wherever he goes. When he has a few minutes alone, just before a meeting
starts, he’ll play Angry Birds. It helps him to kill some time and also helps him
to not obsess too much about work, as he can be a workaholic.
Solution Set Pain Points
• PC and console gaming • Facebook • In Sao Paulo only, cost of mobile data plans makes
• Simples games on PC, phone or • Twitter it difficult for most to have on-the-go
Tablet entertainment
• Email
• Sites reflecting personal interest, such • Search engines • Lack of connectivity on the go, e.g. in the subway
as sports, manga or fashion
• Netflix and other movie sites
• Online shopping sites
• YouTube

22. “Be in the
know”
Manage my Manage my Be Be Be on top
identity mood connected productive of things
Manage
Define Be in the Manage Take Don’t miss
my Escape Anticipate
myself moment time action out
reputation
Clear Play Make best Tap into my Start the day
Be unique Try things on Decompress morning Save for later with
together decision community
cobwebs confidence
Be successful Expand my Sign off at Maintain Get things Do things Feel
Maintain or Anticipate
in my perspective end of day connections done correctly informed
adjust issues
profession
Know more Get inspired momentum Reconnect
than you do with my
Let curiosity
tribe
have free
reign
Rally people
Escape
circumstance Cultivate
connections
Treat myself

23. User needs quantified
Pain Points
• Which needs cluster together?
• What proportion of users have each
need? How frequently do they have
it?
• How important is each need to
Importance users?
• How satisfied are users with their
ability to meet each need using
online solutions?
• How well do you and your
competitors align with each of these
needs?
Bubble size = Frequency
Bubble shade = Fit with product

24. In closing
• You don’t need to be an expert
• (You do need to be observant)
• (You may also need to be someone people feel comfortable
around)
• Keep your eyes open always
• Be aware of your own biases
• There are no right answers
• Don’t rat hole
• Have fun!

25. Some resources:
Thank you • http://www.ideo.com/work/human-
centered-design-toolkit/
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