Summary
So all of a sudden, everyone at your company is interested in going into the field, meeting with clients, and “building empathy.” What could possibly go wrong? At ADP we created a program of ethnographic (lite) research designed to harness this excitement for exploratory research, enable anyone in the org to participate in conducting research, and help stakeholders think outside of their own product or screens. Secretly, our program was carefully designed to also teach our partners what it means to do Research: listen thoughtfully, analyze holistically, and truly understand client feedback before jumping to solutions.
Key Insights
-
•
Democratizing research involves both involving non-researchers in the research and upskilling them to collect better data.
-
•
Having a large appetite for research is a positive problem that requires structured management to avoid chaos.
-
•
Using exposure hours for non-researchers to regularly interact with research helps build empathy and understanding.
-
•
The 'Come See For Yourself' program breaks research into three phases: planning, data collection, and analysis, to teach fundamentals.
-
•
Planning research carefully with scripted interview questions aligned to business goals improves reliability and avoids on-the-fly errors.
-
•
Empathy training for non-researchers before interviews teaches active listening, managing power dynamics, and avoiding leading questions.
-
•
Non-researchers as observers use note-taking sheets to focus on specific research questions, reinforcing data collection rather than casual conversation.
-
•
Synthesis sessions use unstructured, inclusive discussion to surface similarities, differences, and underlying themes across all interviews.
-
•
Analysis involves translating factual data into user needs and problem statements, often framed as 'how might we' questions.
-
•
Collaborative solution workshops prioritize problems and evaluate multiple solution ideas, enabling user-centered decision-making beyond individual opinions.
Notable Quotes
"Doing research is not always the most natural transition for people who don’t really care about research."
"If you want to be involved in developing solutions at the end, you better have gotten yourself significant client exposure."
"Break research down into planning, data collection, and analysis phases — that’s how non-researchers understand it better."
"Just being smarter and really having been exposed to the research is not going to lead to a specific feature, but a better overall product."
"Listening is different than conversation, even though it looks and feels similar."
"We view ourselves as Sherpas on the adventure — we do the work, they get the experience."
"The note-taking sheet helps reinforce that just because it seems like a conversation, we are still collecting data."
"Synthesis sessions focus on facts rather than interpretation to find underlying themes and consider outliers."
"Problem statements help us discuss and compare solutions in a user-centered way, aligning goals versus the hip of the highest paid person's opinion."
"We can help develop a friendly and informed army of people who do research part time, not just part way."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Empathy is not just for users but also vital for stakeholders, developers, and colleagues."
Shaping design, designers and teams
November 8, 2018
"We are not a circus juggling nine balls; we focus on two to avoid cognitive overload and achieve meaningful output."
Sabrina Mach Nina WainwrightHow to Design Your Design Operating Model
September 29, 2021
"If you think IE identity verification is necessary, ask why and if you really have to do it."
Samuel ProulxInvisible barriers: Why accessible service design can’t be an afterthought
December 3, 2024
"Meeting designers where they spend their time and integrating accessibility into their tools is the most effective way to drive adoption."
Saara Kamppari-MillerDesignOps for Inclusive Design and Accessibility (Videoconference)
May 26, 2022
"The Photoshop AI design team fundamentally changed how Adobe products incorporate AI technologies."
Briana ThomasThe Quiet Force: Uncovering Hidden Leadership in High-Impact Design Teams
September 24, 2024
"Can you show me your process, not just your portfolio? That shows me your real design thinking."
Adam Cutler Karen Pascoe Ian Swinson Susan WorthmanDiscussion
June 8, 2016
"We had no idea where we were going, so we had to build and connect with teams like we’d never had before."
Operationalizing DesignOps
November 7, 2018
"This is not brain cancer. Nobody dies if we get it wrong — the worst is taking a different approach."
Leah Buley Joe NatoliAsk Me Anything with Leah Buley and Joe Natoli, co-authors of The User Experience Team of One (2nd edition)
October 8, 2024
"Tell tight, brief stories of insights focused on impact, not on how you conducted your research."
Nathan ShedroffDouble Your Mileage: Use Your Research Strategically
March 31, 2020