Have you ever had to do discovery research with no budget and no user researchers? Or is your discovery process limited to stakeholder interviews and competitor research? The market research industry are constantly berated for relying on focus groups but the same criticism could be levelled at the UX industry’s go-to methodology - lab based usability testing. One to one interviews in a lab are a great research methodology to choose when you have a clearly defined solution and are iterating on it. What about when you’re shaping the problem space and defining which user needs to focus on? In this talk, Emma Boulton shared examples of real world discovery research to inspire you to get out from behind your computer and open up your senses to the real world.

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

9. “…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

10. 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

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

12. Avoid the Research Graveyard!

13. 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!

14. You are the expedition leader

15. 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?

16. Expedition planning
• HOW? PROCESS? METHODS?

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

18. Discover new methods

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

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

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

22. 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/

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

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

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

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

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

28. When should we do discovery?

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

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

31. Jane Austin @msjaneaustin
Discovery?

32. The Research Funnel

33. “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

34. Discovery is a mindset

35. Jane Austin @msjaneaustin
Discovery

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

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

38. Digital Discovery Kanban

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

40. LINK goes here

41. 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

42. Thanks
@emmaboulton
emmaboulton.co.uk