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Insight & Ideas_In Here and Out There

Our observations of the world around us

• iPhone’s first real research app by Dan Rockwell on July 18, 2008

  Like most iPhone owners, I spent some time last weekend playing with Apple’s new App Store, part of the iPhone 2.0 release. There are games, social networking tools, audio recorders, radio stations, painting apps, you name it. As one of the data-capturing audio/video geeks at Lextant, I’m always on the hunt for yet another tool for my research tool box. I try to make sure that where ever we go, we’re able to capture those critical moments with our research participants. 

  It’s more challenging than you may think.  We often have just one chance to get the essence — the essential data McNugget (as my brother Chris likes to call it) — of a participant’s emotions and experiences that prove to be a critical insight to the research program. Some people call this data capture, but for me, I think of it as the art of capturing moments. 

  Researchers have plenty of tools at their disposal, from the almighty Moleskine notebook to digital video and savvy custom note-taking applications.  Every project brings yet another scenario to the table where I wonder, “hmmm how can we best capture these moments...?” Over the years we’ve developed a whole suite of custom tools and fancy video-capture rigs. My latest addition to our bag of tricks? A modest applet for the iPhone that costs just $9.99.

  

  TalkingPics allows you to take a picture and audio annotate it on your iPhone.  Big frickin’ deal, eh?  Well, yes, actually it is. There’s no other app on the iPhone that does this, and more importantly, it’s not as cumbersome as traditional audio and video capture methods. It’s a great way to capture what the participant is talking about, and then provide additional context to that image — what’s right or wrong about a product; what needs attention in a store; etc. Simply take a picture, and then record an audio snippet describing it. 

  You could do this with a video or still camera, but those mediums are still a bit too barbaric — they’re simply not as flexible as a cell phone, in my opinion.  A devil’s advocate might say “just capture it all on video,” and yes, you could do that. But then you have to relive the entire experience to find the meaningful commentary.  Capturing video without time-codes is what I call “brute force;” sure, you’ll capture the whole day, but unless you know which events happened where with what insight, you really have no choice but to watch the entire experience again, simply to find a nugget or two of truth. It’s an easy way to burn through budget. You can definitely do that, and I can tell you everyone in research does, but its often not as surgically percise as I’d like these methods to be. 

  With TalkingPics, I can stroll right up there, take that picture, talk myself or have the participant tell me why a certain design element is critical, all with the convenience of a cell phone experience.  This won’t replace video or still cameras, but it will provide another layer to look at.  As an added bonus, TalkingPics also lets you audio annotate locations on a map, which makes it easy to connect who said what where. TalkingPics is another welcome addition to the Lextant toolbox. 

  Note: At the moment, TalkingPics doesn’t allow you to export your image annotations to the web or PC, but Andrew Stone, developer of TalkingPics, assures me this feature will be in the next release of the app. Watch for it in an iPhone App Store near you.

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• “People can’t tell you what they want”—and 9 other design research myths by Chris Rockwell on July 14, 2008

  We’ve heard them all before.  ‘People can’t tell you what they want.”

  Designers are passionate about people and hungry for that key insight that will lead to a disruptive innovation. They see an equation: research into people equals huge breakthrough. But it’s easy to become enamored with the method du jour or to “focus group it” when you need some quick info.

  A little information can be a dangerous thing and the wrong process is bound to send you in the wrong direction. In short, there are many ways to do bad research. We get into trouble when we focus on the methods, not the underlying principles.

  I’m developing a talk for the upcoming IDSA National Conference that will challenge 10 classic design research myths and explore key principles of design research—when to use which and what to expect from each. We’ll explore what really matters for a successful user experience research program and offer a framework of building blocks to ensure your methods are appropriate and effective.

  I’m excited about the presentation, and am looking forward to the event. To learn more about when I’ll be speaking, and to register for many other terrific sessions, be sure to visit the IDSA 2008 Conference site. The theme this year is “Polar Opposites,” and it’s sure to have lots of compelling and challenging events and discussions.  I hope to see you there. 

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• Aligning your mission to your consumers by Taylor Lies on July 03, 2008

  Companies spend billions of dollars articulating the “consumer experience” to both the public and their own employees. Some messages are small, one-time efforts; others are campaigns that last for years. Behind those efforts, however, is a key avenue for articulating the consumer experience that is often missed — and with unfortunate consequences. I’m talking about mission statements.

  Take a look at the mission statements of two companies that have been in the news lately, and not for good reasons:

  “We are a global, diverse family with a proud heritage, passionately committed to providing outstanding products and services.” (Ford Motor Co.)

  “Establish [us] as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles as we grow.” (Starbucks)

  What strikes me about these statements is that they fail to reflect the experience that has historically earned them loyal customers. In the past, Ford’s advertising slogans have clearly touted toughness and quality, while Starbucks’ success is commonly attributed to transforming the coffee house into a “third place.”

  Imagine for a moment that you’re an employee at Ford trying to turn things around. Would this mission statement offer any reassurance in a period of uncertainty? Does it suggest a direction forward or guide future innovations? I can’t think it helped substantially. As for Starbucks, efforts to correct their course include retraining baristas, developing a new coffee brand, and purchasing of advanced brewing equipment. There’s consistency there with their mission but not really with the consumer experience they’re so noted for. Will such investments pay off?

  These simple questions suggest there may be at least two issues when companies don’t make the consumer experience a part of their mission statements. First, a company’s innovation resources aren’t correctly focused. Investments may not effectively impact the consumer experience and ultimately, the bottom line. Secondly, consumers and employees may be confused, disinterested, or, at best, unaffected.

  Am I expecting a simple mission statement to do too much?  Possibly. But markets are too competitive today for companies to miss opportunities to inform and inspire their consumers and employees with a shared vision for the future.

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