Challis Hodge’s UXblog

Interesting writeup by Mike Kuniavsky over at Orange Cone.

Continuing my project of observing how terminology shifts to describe the process of researching and designing the user experience of ubiquitous computing, I noticed a blurb in the latest issue of the IDSA’s “design perspectives” newsletter. In it, they note a new service launched by RAHN, Inc., which RAHN calls “Quantitative Ethnographics (QE).” They claim this “integrates performance metrics into the analysis and illustrates innovation’s positive impact on a prospective client’s customer.”

Apart from the error of assuming a “positive impact” before starting research, it’s interesting to me how RAHN seems to be using the current vogue for the use of “ethnographics” as a term to describe user research, but modifying it by using the language of measurement (presumably because numbers and figures look better in client reports). Measurement–and the “finding of an average” that it implies–is kind of the opposite of the goal of traditional ethnography, which aims to describe culture in its complexity. That doesn’t actually seem to be the point anymore. “Ethnographics” has come to mean “we go onsite and look at people.” It has ceased to have the meaning it once had as an anthropological practice, and has been repurposed by the design community.

We in the design business have bastardized the term ethnography (though I doubt there is much sleep being lost in the academic communities). Still, Quantitative Ethnography is–practically speaking–an oxymoron. I’m comfortable with phrases like ethnographic approach or technique as the furthest stretch of usage. On the other hand, comparing design research to an ethnography is silly. Throw in quantitative and your clients ought to be wondering!

Philips Research has integrated experience research into its innovation pipeline. “Our people-centric research involves understanding what people actually want from technology to improve their daily lives,” continued Rick Harwig. “For this purpose Philips Research has built two new research laboratories in Europe, next to the existing HomeLab. One for personal healthcare technologies (CareLab) and another for atmosphere creation for retail (ShopLab). Here people are confronted with the latest innovations and we are able to research the functionality and acceptability of the concept, as well as the way people experience it.”

The Talent Hunt
Desperate to innovate, companies are turning to design schools for nimble, creative thinkers

Designed in China
With more than 400 design programs in Chinese schools, Asian design education is undergoing its own revolution

Tip Sheet: How To Hire a D-School Grad
Headhunter RitaSue Siegel tells you what to ask — and what to listen for

When MBA Meets Designer
A GE manager learns to think creatively: INSEAD graduate Sameer Agrawal shares his story

Inside the Volcano
Carnegie Mellon graduate Maggie Breslin brings her innovative thinking to the Mayo Clinic

Designing to Help
Georgia Tech design grad Janna Kimel works as a design researcher at Intel

Joining J&J
Justine Dube Donnelly’s joint MBA/Master’s of Engineering Management prepared her for her role in strategic marketing at Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals

A nice article in The New York Times Business section on customer research: Get Out of That Rut and Into the Shower (I can’t vouch for the title though). I really liked the fact that this brief article steered clear of the usual academic rhetoric about anthropology and ethnographic methods. Instead, just a couple of quick anecdotes that illustrate why it’s so important to get out and observe your customers.

For those of us who spend our time turning customer research and understanding into solutions we know that all forms of customer-centered design are not created equal. There is a continuum that breaks down something like this:

I am the customer –> I asked the customer –> I observed the customer

I am the customer
Customer empathy is a great thing and sometimes all you can do is put yourself in a potential customer’s shoes. It certainly beats designing for yourself and assuming everyone else will love it. It’s important to remind yourself that you’re almost never close to a customer’s world and even if you are, you bring all sorts of baggage, bias and insider knowledge to the equation. I call this the “Brains Around the Table” approach.

I asked the customer
Asking the customer is by far better than pretending to be the customer. Still we know from experience that customers are prone to telling us what they think we want to hear and they’re terribly bad at imagining alternative futures. In fact, quite often a customer’s perception may be dramatically different from reality. Still, we can gleen insightful information in this way if we understand the limits.

I observed the customer
By observing the customer you see how they really live, work and play. You see real experiences in action as they unfold. You see problems and fixes that the customer may not even be aware of. You see the patterns of their behavior that point to new ideas, solutions, products, services and futures. These patterns are the foundation of innovation!

INVITATION FOR PAPER AND SESSION/PANEL SUBMISSION

International Usability Evaluation and International Ethnographic Studies sessions Usability and Internationalization Conference - HCII 2005 July 22-27, 2005 Las Vegas, USA (www.hci-international.org).

On behalf of Usability and Internationalization Conference Chair, we would like to invite you to participate in the International Usability Evaluation and International Ethnographic Studies sessions, Usability and Internationalization Conference in association with HCII 2005, which will be held in Las Vegas, NV, USA, July 22-27, 2005.

As industries expand into global markets, designers and developers are becoming more concerned with the needs of culturally diversified target users. This makes internationalization and localization one of the key concerns in their minds, and gives a new twist on how we approach usability globally.

Join experts from around the world to understand the impact of internationalization on user interface design, share experiences in designing for global markets, and understand the future trends in internationalization. This technical conference will explore the opportunities created by the latest advances in HCI and how to leverage them for global users, as well as potential pitfalls to be aware of, and problem areas that need further research. There will also be demonstrations of best practices for designing applications that can accommodate any language. Attendees benefit from the wide range of basic to advanced topics and the opportunities for dialog and idea-exchange with experts in the field. The conference features tutorials, lectures, and panel discussions that provide coverage of standards, best practices, and recent advances in the internationalization and usability of user interfaces for software applications and the Internet.

We would like to invite you to submit a paper and becoming a panel/session presenter with a topic related to:

INTERNATIONAL USABILITY EVALUATION
or
INTERNATIONAL ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDIES

IMPORTANT DATES/TIME FRAME:

July 27, 2004 - Title of Paper/Presentation and Affiliation
End of August 2004 - Paper/Presentation Abstract
Late Fall 2004 - Full Paper

Submissions are to be sent to:

adi@the2the.com (International Usability Evaluation)
or
eny@the2the.com (International Ethnographic Studies)