If a product wants to be loved by users, it must conduct in-depth research on the user group and design the product on this basis. However, there are still some misunderstandings and prejudices in product design. This article summarizes 9 principles that need to be paid attention to in the practice of product design, and shares with you.
Recently, I have noticed that both companies at the start-up stage and established organizations have shown greater enthusiasm for product design research. Companies have accepted the idea that meaningful innovation requires understanding customers as individuals with complex lives.
Of course, the myths, misunderstandings, and prejudices that follow will also make people confused. The following simple article explains some of the wrong views and summarizes the 9 principles that need to be paid attention to in the practice of product design, aiming to spread and share them widely.
1. Embrace uncertainty (Get comfortable being uncomfortable)
“I only know that I know nothing.”
——Socrates
We have been trained by traditional education to be people who value answers and fear questions. We are rewarded for correct answers at school, and we are rewarded for smart ideas at work. No wonder so many people are looking for reasons to avoid doing research, especially qualitative research.
Because qualitative research often appears to be “lack of advanced knowledge and theory”, it can cause anxiety. There are at least various standardized tests for quantitative things, which can bring familiarity and comfort. We are often addicted to standardized methods and various numerical indicators, because that is an area we are familiar with, and it looks very tall.
Maintaining a research mindset means to realize that prejudice is widespread, certainty is an illusion, and the shelf life of any answer is very short. In the long run, a good question is more valuable. Unless you admit that you don’t have an answer, you can’t ask good questions, which means you can’t study.
2. Ask first, prototype later (Ask first, prototype later)
“If we only test the corkscrew, we may never realize that customers prefer screw-top bottles.”
——Victor Lombardi, “Design Failure: Lessons from Famous User Experience Cases”
Of course, we do need a testable prototype that can be completed quickly. However, the prototype is a concrete answer, it is tangible, even if it is just a sketch on paper. This is very comfortable, much more comfortable than just asking questions, even if it is equivalent to burning a lot of money or spending a lot of work. For those who want to show their worth through rapid and obvious progress, simply asking questions is as futile as raccoons wash cotton candy.
However, the danger of developing a prototype prematurely is to devote resources to questions that no one asks and ignore the opportunity cost. Testing a prototype can help you refine an already good idea, rather than telling you whether you are solving the right problem. And it is easy for people to equate the polishing effect of the prototype with the quality of creativity (such as the failed Juicero juicer), and the bright spots in the research report can easily be mistaken for valuable insights.
Asking the right questions can help you identify and eradicate bad ideas faster, instead of retaining and defending weak ideas, you need to be strong enough to embrace and accept mistakes.
3. Know your goal
Asking questions is not a waste of time unless you know the reason for doing something in advance. You must make a public oath: your motive is not “to prove yourself right.”
Often, out of enthusiasm for research, the team will start talking to customers without clear and consistent goals. After that, they felt that they were wasting precious time, but they didn’t know how to use what they learned to provide solutions, and there was nothing to show up. So we often hear the saying, “We did research last year, it was a waste of time.” Then, the team returned to the comfort zone of creating and testing prototypes. Or, they have different understandings of what they heard, and as a result they start to argue about who is right and who is wrong.
In large companies, sometimes everyone has an unspoken goal: “Let the product owner do what he wants to do and show that we are doing our best to do research.” This may sound ironic, but I am in funding with many Senior researchers working in sufficient research departments have talked, and their grand reports have no influence on decision-making. Acknowledging this fact is the first step to prevent it from happening.
An excellent starting point should be “Let us establish a consensus method to quickly understand the views of others”, and do not attach other goals afterwards.
Only when you have determined a goal will you know what you need to know. Before choosing how to answer, you must know what your question is.
4. Agree on the big questions
“In essence, all business activities are bets on human behavior.”
——Wall Street Journal: “The Power of’Thick’ Data”
The quality of the problem determines the utility of the results. Asking the wrong question has the same result as solving the wrong problem with a prototype. They both give you something you don’t want. Start with the highest priority issue. If you make wrong assumptions on major issues, or simply ignore them, the risk is greatest.
The important research question is what you want to know, not what you ask in the interview. In fact, directly throwing out your research question is the worst method. People usually don’t know or don’t want to admit their true behavior, but everyone is good at making up answers.
Design research is always confused with user research. There are many ways to solve high-priority problems, and interviews with typical users are just one of them. What you need to know is not all about users.
Usually the most critical question is “Based on evidence, how much do we really know about customers/competition/internal capabilities?” This may be a very scary question, I am afraid that it will not be answered completely honestly, but you must answer it in a short time .
5. There is always enough time and money
When research is defined as a kind of work outside of design, it is easy for people to collect evidence as an extra thing and find reasons not to do it.
Usually, the team must obtain the permission of the authoritative leadership to complete the work that belongs to the research field. Asking questions itself threatens the authority. If you have ever worked with a leader who disagrees with qualitative research for a million-dollar project, ask yourself, would they do their own research before buying a $50,000 car? When you verbally raise objections, you are often just afraid that your ideas will be destroyed, proved wrong, or not so effective.
If you are clear and honest about your goals and high-priority issues, you can learn something useful at any time and within your budget. For example, look up information online, go outside to observe others at lunch, test their products, and be creative.
As long as it is not a formal investigation.
6. Don’t expect data to change minds
“When a person is paid by not understanding something, it is very difficult for him to understand it.”
——Upton Sinclair
This is usually difficult for well-trained professional researchers to accept, even if research has proven it to be true. If you are used to working with a group of people who value certain types of data, you may not be able to persuade those who do not accept such data. Insufficient data can make people feel that their professional abilities have been insulted.
The whole point of collecting evidence is to make decisions based on the evidence. If the evidence destroys or violates the beliefs of those who have the authority to make decisions, they will find reasons to reject or ignore the evidence. This is also the core reason why qualitative researchers are struggling in some engineering-driven organizations. People who are good at and familiar with numbers just want to use numbers to answer questions, even if the answer actually requires more descriptiveness.
Therefore, before trying to use data to influence decision-making, you must understand the personal characteristics of your colleagues and leaders and their environment, and understand how they make decisions.
7. Embrace messy imperfection (Embrace messy imperfection)
“We are fickle, stupid species with terrible memories and great gifts for self-destruction.”
—Suzanne Collins, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay”
Human life is chaotic. If people have no problems, they don’t need products and services to solve them, and we have no jobs. Finding the best way to solve problems for people requires spending some time in the real, chaotic world and letting go of a certain degree of control. Although it is necessary to adopt an ethical and rigorous method, there is no absolutely pure qualitative environment. A clear goal and a good question can withstand various unpredictable situations.
It is precisely because reality is chaotic that people prefer things that are organized and organized, and (especially for non-professionals) especially want professional knowledge to look visible and feel. People prefer activities that are comfortable, orderly and professional. Therefore, methods such as focus groups, usability labs, eye tracking, formal surveys, and glamorous reports, which are more than content, are often used inappropriately. In fact, something less formal will be more effective.
Incorporating evidence into design decisions is itself a learning process. You will never find the right answer to solve the problem, because there is no perfect solution in the real world. If this process is effective, even if it is not perfect, you will have confidence in making decisions.
8. Commit to collaboration
Everyone faces the same reality when doing the same job. The person who makes the decision about the product must be the person who knows the situation best. If knowledge only exists in one person’s mind, then it doesn’t matter how good the knowledge is.
Research without collaboration means that one group of people is studying and creating reports for the other group to approve or ignore. Working in this environment, even the most attentive team will lose knowledge. If there is a lack of evidence and consensus in cooperation, it means that everyone has acquiesced that the winner is because of personal preference, not correct knowledge. Neither method is the most effective.
Directly involving product designers and developers in questioning and answering is the most effective method. And it’s fun. Depending on the company’s organization, the implementation method is also different. The key to asking questions is to establish a common decision-making framework to make faster and better decisions. I opened a seminar for this. It changed lives.
9. Find your bias buddies
“We may turn a blind eye to the obvious, or we may turn a blind eye to our own blindness.”
——Daniel Kahneman, “Thinking, Fast and Slow”
So, you did this work, and you found some answers. Now you need to decide what they mean. When interpreting research results, collaboration becomes particularly important. Every human brain is burdened with prejudice, and there is no way to understand itself objectively. We all know what best fits our existing beliefs. Therefore, we must refer to an external standard (including pre-set goals and problems) and check each other.
It has nothing to do with how smart you are or how well informed you are. Once you accept this, and as long as you work in a respectful team, identifying biases and pointing out them can be a fun game.
There is a good list on the Wikipedia page, as well as a code of cognitive bias, which you can print out and post on your wall.
10. Maybe, this is the right design
In short, when we talk about design research, we are talking about evidence-based design. Creation, criticism, and inquiry are all integral parts of the design process. Separating them will lead to ignorance and self-fear to optimize the wrong product.
Design is an exchange of value. Before putting anything into the market, you must ask people what they really need, what they value, and what business value you want in return.
As long as the method is ethical, you treat yourself honestly, and you are committed to a worthy goal, then the question you ask and the way you find the answer are irrelevant. There is not only one correct method, nor is there only one correct answer. Enjoy uncertainty! It never ends.
