The document discusses using empathy to guide product strategy. It argues that gaining empathy requires taking time to understand users' perspectives through qualitative research methods like interviews. Rather than just observing or analyzing user behaviors, researchers must ask questions to understand users' motivations, emotions, and reasoning. The document emphasizes avoiding assumptions and truly seeing the world from the user's point of view to gain deep empathy. This empathy can then be used to apply insights in a way that addresses users' needs and aligns with business goals.

1. Using Empathy to Guide Product Strategy
Indi Young

2. What Kind of Research Have You Done?
Remote Usability
In-Home Usability
Lab Usability
In-Context Interview
A/B, Multivariate Study
Card Sort
KLM / GOMS
Cognitive/Expert Review
Observation / Follow Along
Search Engine Analytics
Completion Path Analytics
Competitive Analysis
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3. What Kind of Research Have You Done?
Evaluative
Remote Usability
In-Home Usability
Lab Usability
In-Context Interview
A/B, Multivariate Study
Card Sort
KLM / GOMS
Cognitive/Expert Review
Observation / Follow Along
Search Engine Analytics
Completion Path Analytics
Competitive Analysis
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4. What Kind of Research Have You Done?
Generative Evaluative
Empathy Interview Remote Usability
Diary Study In-Home Usability
Lab Usability
Journey Map
In-Context Interview
A/B, Multivariate Study
Card Sort
KLM / GOMS
Cognitive/Expert Review
Observation / Follow Along
Search Engine Analytics
Completion Path Analytics
Competitive Analysis
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5. Generative get a work Evaluative take the ideas
room, cover the walls with outside the room, see
real world stories, how well they actually
reasoning, & intents; swim support people
around in your user
research to gain empathy,
generate supportive ideas
BY-NC-ND Flickr ewadams/6355930407; CC-BY-NC Flickr jasonunbound/6811217950/ cc by-nc-nd PAH SF Apr 2013 5

6. What Kind of Research Have You Done?
Generative Evaluative
Empathy Interview Remote Usability
Diary Study In-Home Usability
Lab Usability
Journey Map
In-Context Interview
A/B, Multivariate Study
Card Sort
KLM / GOMS
Cognitive/Expert Review
Observation / Follow Along
Search Engine Analytics
Completion Path Analytics
Competitive Analysis
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7. T-shirt created by Todd Wilkens, Dan Saffer, Jesse James Garrett cc by-nc-nd PAH SF Apr 2013 7

8. As a savvy traveler, my own
experiences form my perception of
travel. Now that we have interviewed
many different types of customers, I
realize I was approaching design from
my own point of view … not theirs.
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9. You Can’t Gain Empathy by Only
Analyzing the Steps in a Process
Testing tensile strength – Argonne National Laboratory BY-SA Flickr argonne/3468640655 cc by-nc-nd PAH SF Apr 2013 9

10. You Can’t Gain Enough Empathy Just by
Observing Activities
Yokosuka, Japan, Oct 29, 2002 – MilitaryHealth CC-BY Flickr militaryhealth/7029696503 cc by-nc-nd PAH SF Apr 2013 10

11. You Have to Ask People to
Know Their Inner Thoughts
Chat with a friend – Gary Knight CC-BY-SA Flickr garryknight/2919584686 cc by-nc-nd PAH SF Apr 2013 11

12. Products, Services, Processes Are Hard
Because They Are for Humans
Flickr: Sam Solomon CC-BY-NC srs0001/4562512283; CC-BY-NC-ND oldonliner/3484504583; CC-BY
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flybritishairways/4793367997; CC-BY-NC-ND pchow98/6520985357

13. Empathy Interview
1. Set a scope perimeter inside
which any sort of conversation
can happen
2. Listen without an internal
dialogue
3. Ask why, to get to the root of
motivations & reasoning
4. Follow the action –verbs!
5. Conjecture would be futile
LAI Ryanne CC-BY Flickr laihiu/4430962611 cc by-nc-nd PAH SF Apr 2013 13

14. Start With the Scope
I want to know all
about the reasons The reaction of the crowd is an
you go to movies. important part of the movie. It can
make it better or worse. If there
are only three people in theater, I’ll
be disappointed. It’s fun to see
how they react, what jokes work
and what don’t. I love crowds.
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15. Make the Participant Comfortable
The reason I go see movies?
Because I want to. Because it’s a
movie I want to see.
Why go see the movie
at all?
spaceodissey CC-BY Flickr spaceodissey/2580085025 cc by-nc-nd PAH SF Apr 2013 15

16. Make the Participant Comfortable
Um, because I want to see it.
The last movie you saw …
what were you thinking
about when you decided you
were going to go see it?
spaceodissey CC-BY Flickr spaceodissey/2580085025 cc by-nc-nd PAH SF Apr 2013 16

17. Make the Participant Comfortable
I was thinking that the new Daniel
Craig movie was out, and I needed
to see it.
So true! I love his
movies.
spaceodissey CC-BY Flickr spaceodissey/2580085025 cc by-nc-nd PAH SF Apr 2013 17

18. Make the Participant Comfortable
He’s kind of an obsession of mine.
You see all his movies?
spaceodissey CC-BY Flickr spaceodissey/3042235184 cc by-nc-nd PAH SF Apr 2013 18

19. Make the Participant Comfortable
Yeah. And I have added some
references on his Wikipedia site …
and some character biographies on
IMDB.
That’s awesome! How
come you made those
contribution?
spaceodissey CC-BY Flickr spaceodissey/3042235184 cc by-nc-nd PAH SF Apr 2013 19

20. Make the Participant Comfortable
Well, I noticed that the IMDB entry
was missing the entry from his
character in Elizabeth, and I had
just re-watched that movie, so I …
…
spaceodissey CC-BY Flickr spaceodissey/3042235184 cc by-nc-nd PAH SF Apr 2013 20

21. Avoid Assumptions
Some days my back hurts so
much I feel like a frail old lady.
When I go out of the house, I
have to go really slow getting
down the front steps.
That sounds hard!
The front steps must
be pretty scary on
those days.
spaceodissey CC-BY Flickr spaceodissey/2580085025 cc by-nc-nd PAH SF Apr 2013 21

22. Avoid Assumptions
Oh no. It’s not that I’m scared of
falling on the steps. It’s that each
step down jars my back and makes it
throb, so I have to stop and wait for
the pain to die down a little before I
take the next step down.
Oh wow! That sounds
incredibly painful! …
spaceodissey CC-BY Flickr spaceodissey/2580085025 cc by-nc-nd PAH SF Apr 2013 22

23. Empathy Research Helps You Understand
Preference
Reasoning
Statement of Fact
Opinion
Motivation
Guiding Principle
Reaction
Explanation
Complaint
Emotion
Observation
Explanation
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24. Empathy Research Helps You Understand
Reasoning
Motivation
Guiding Principle
Reaction
Emotion
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25. Recognize Reasoning
1. “After it’s approved, I assign it to one of my staff.”
2. “I was telling this other customer how they don't treat
people with respect here.”
3. “I'm on the committee to write the technology plan, you
know, the five-year plan.”
4. “I figured the fastest route home would be through
Houston, since Denver and Chicago were likely to
experience storms that time of year.”
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26. Recognize Reasoning
1. “After it’s approved, I assign it to one of my staff.”
2. “I was telling this other customer how they don't treat
people with respect here.”
3. “I'm on the committee to write the technology plan, you
know, the five-year plan.”
4. “I figured the fastest route home would be through
Houston, since Denver and Chicago were likely to
experience storms that time of year.”
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27. Recognize Reasoning
1. “After it’s approved, I assign it to one of my staff.”
(explanation)
2. “I was telling this other customer how they don't treat
people with respect here.” (complaint)
3. “I'm on the committee to write the technology plan, you
know, the five-year plan.” (statement of fact)
4. “I figured the fastest route home would be through
Houston, since Denver and Chicago were likely to
experience storms that time of year.”
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28. Recognize Emotions/Reactions
1. “I hate it when the bus gets full.”
2. “It made me angry to see TSA patting down a woman in
her 90’s.”
3. “I feel that the City should allow that lot to be turned into a
park.”
4. “It’s outrageous that in my city, hillside neighbors’ views
are protected.”
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29. Recognize Emotions/Reactions
1. “I hate it when the bus gets full.”
2. “It made me angry to see TSA patting down a woman in
her 90’s.”
3. “I feel that the City should allow that lot to be turned into a
park.”
4. “It’s outrageous that in my city, hillside neighbors’ views
are protected.”
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30. Recognize Emotions/Reactions
1. “I hate it when the bus gets full.” (preference)
 Why? “Because it gets smelly and disgusting.”
2. “It made me angry to see TSA patting down a woman in
her 90’s.”
3. “I feel that the City should allow that lot to be turned into a
park.” (opinion)
4. “It’s outrageous that in my city, hillside neighbors’ views
are protected.” (opinion, explanation)
 Why? “Because I have to pay to trim my trees for
their benefit, which is unfair.” (feel exploited)
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31. Recognize Guiding Principles
1. “We strive to define a home that bears the watermark of
an individual’s personal style.”
2. “I believe the multitude of weekly meetings at this
company prevent me from keeping up with industry news.”
3. “I think will be really hard to find good child-care if I have
to move to a new city.”
4. “We believe in craftsmanship simply because it stands
the test of time.”
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32. Recognize Guiding Principles
1. “We strive to define a home that bears the watermark of
an individual’s personal style.”
2. “I believe the multitude of weekly meetings at this
company prevent me from keeping up with industry news.”
3. “I think will be really hard to find good child-care if I have
to move to a new city.”
4. “We believe in craftsmanship simply because it stands
the test of time.”
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33. Recognize Guiding Principles
1. “We strive to define a home that bears the watermark of
an individual’s personal style.”
2. “I believe the multitude of weekly meetings at this
company prevent me from keeping up with industry news.”
(emotion: feel frustrated)
3. “I think will be really hard to find good child-care if I have
to move to a new city.” (conjecture)
4. “We believe in craftsmanship simply because it stands
the test of time.” (statement of fact)
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34. Recognize Opinions
1. “I believe collaborative research produces stronger
results.”
2. “I guess ... my co-workers will, um, shun me, if I ask them
for help.”
3. “I think the project hasn’t started yet because the
company process is complicated.”
4. “I feel that I’d fit best in a smaller-sized school.”
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35. Recognize Opinions
1. “I believe collaborative research produces stronger
results.”
2. “I guess ... my co-workers will, um, shun me, if I ask them
for help.”
3. “I think the project hasn’t started yet because the
company process is complicated.”
4. “I feel that I’d fit best in a smaller-sized school.”
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36. Recognize Opinions
1. “I believe collaborative research produces stronger
results.” (guiding principle)
2. “I guess ... my co-workers will, um, shun me, if I ask them
for help.” (emotion: fear)
3. “I think the project hasn’t started yet because the
company process is complicated.”
4. “I feel that I’d fit best in a smaller-sized school.”
(preference)
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37. Score: How Did You Do?
1. 4 (100%) – Fantastic!
2. 3 (75%) – Darn good.
3. 2 (50%) – Good try.
4. 1 (25%) – This stuff is takes practice.
5. 0 (0%) – Perhaps we went too fast.
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38. Each Decision, Spend a Few Seconds …
… even though (especially because) you
are racing time.
Navajo Moccasin – Gary Graves CC-BY-NC-ND Flickr ggraves/2745631003 cc by-nc-nd PAH SF Apr 2013 38

39. Joint Taskforce Screenshot, for mobygames.com cc by-nc-nd PAH SF Apr 2013 39

40. Empathy Requires Time to Dwell
All this is time spent with your customers. The
more time you spend with them, the more you
absorb their thoughts and reactions and
philosophies.
Don't short-cut it.
Evaluate later in the process, once you've identified
what you're doing and why.
First discover why.
Simon Sinek, Start With Why, also TED Talk: http://www.ted.com/speakers/simon_sinek.html

41. Collect Analyze Apply
… what my … from my … what the
organization perspective as organization
needs to know a researcher sees as priority
Traditional Research
(either Evaluative or Generative)
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42. Collect Analyze Apply
… what my … from my … what the
organization perspective as organization
needs to know a researcher sees as priority
Traditional Research
(either Evaluative or Generative)
Collect Interpret Compare Apply
… what people … from user’s … with my … aligned with
want to tell us, perspective organization’s organization’s
in scope direction & needs strategic goals
Empathy Research
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43. A model of people’s behavior, beliefs, & emotions in
a certain scoped situation
Capabilities, competition, business goals, technical
foundations, slotted where appropriate to support
that behavior
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44. Push Back at Management Directives
Please create this feature.
That feature, plus this
addition. Our empathy
research indicates we
should include it, and
focus on this perspective.
Okay … if it’s not risky.
This is gold!
Like it was
made for ME!
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45. Forge Stronger Teams
(across philosophic differences)
Jennifer Conley CC-BY-NC-SA Flickr jenniferconley/6897577191

46. Never Stop Adding to Your Understanding
… in parallel with design & evaluation
Brain- Proto- Eval-
Design
storm type uate
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47. Thought Experiments (If We Have Time)
1. After collecting and interpreting many stories,
how would reactions, behavior, and guiding
principles be different 100 years ago?
2. What is the emotional mood of the whole
collection of stories?

48. Free Resources:
RosenfeldMedia.com
- slides & videos
- comic strips
- articles
- how-to’s & templates
Slideshare.net/indi
@indiyoung
indi@acm.org
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