Simple Ethnography
Simple Ethnography enables teams to uncover hidden needs and innovative solutions by observing and interviewing people in their natural environment. This method fosters empathy and provides a fresh perspective, leading to more effective problem-solving and design.
Use Simple Ethnography when you need to gain a deeper understanding of user behaviors, identify unmet needs, or discover innovative solutions by observing people in their real-world context.
Solves: Lack of user understanding, reliance on assumptions, failure to identify hidden needs.
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Step 1: Explain the problem and current understanding (5 min).
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Step 2: Identify observation sites and people to shadow (5 min).
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Step 3: Silently observe interactions and activities, recording details and reflections (10-180 min).
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Step 4: Identify novel behaviors and interview individuals about their feelings and actions (20-180 min).
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Step 5: Reconvene the group and use 1-2-4-All to compare notes and find patterns (15 min).
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Step 6: Write up observations or compose stories highlighting needs and opportunities (10-20 min).
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Step 7: Feed insights into brainstorming and prototyping efforts (10 min).
- Avoid adding interpretations too quickly; focus on objective observations.
- Encourage participants to look for irregular, intimate, and unpretentious details.
- Be prepared to repeat steps if initial observations don't yield powerful insights.
- Use a storytelling template (e.g., the Hero's Journey) to structure observations.
- Ask participants to draw or build a model of the challenge.
- Include clients in the observations.