Virtual Floorspace

Usography conducted shopalongs with millennial females to determine possible access mobile commerce access drivers in common shopping experiences. As I mentioned in previous posts, we discovered interesting dimensions of decision-making. The clip below highlights one area of findings: the personality of clothing.

Retail Ethnography by Usography

Uncategorized customer research, e-commerce design strategy, e-retail, ethnography, methodology, qualitative research

After capturing all the data for the Millennials Apparel Ethnography, we needed to determine the strongest emerging concepts, to evaluate parameters that could drive the design strategy. First we reduced the transcipts to verbatims and observations that correspond directly to the codes, index terms, tags, etc. that we created from reviewing the complete data set. Then we placed the key sections of the transcript into an Excel table and assigned codes that represent their concepts. We then sorted by the codes and evaluated the strength of the concept for operationalizing as a variable to bring into quantitative research. An example coded transcript from the millennials apparel shopping project is shown below.

Uncategorized customer research, design strategy, e-commerce, e-retail, ethnography

The shop along is fun. I’ve done in-store apparel shopping with females before, and once again am confronted with a similar shopper decision framework, although the age group is very different. Body image is still critical in terms of time lapse of decision making. The more negative the self-assessment, the longer decisions take, and the more likely participants are to leave a given store without reaching the point of sale, and the more likely participants are, other factors equal, open to technology-based shopping aids. The more positive the self-assessment, the less the focus is on basic assortment factors like color, material, etc. and the more the focus is on less tangible attributes like body area draping and emotional lift. Technology interventions are different for the self-assessment dimension as well, with technology for negative self-assessments focused on shopping options, and for positive self-assessments on social confirmation of having hit the mark.

The above are basic in-process ethnographic study observations; we haven’t started coding the transcripts.

Uncategorized customer research, design strategy, e-commerce, ethnography, qualitative research

I’m conducting a millennials shop along research project this week. I am really enjoying it, as millennials (Gen Y, echo boomers, 18 – 29 year olds) is a frequent and favorite research topic of mine. The one thing that surprises me is how small of a role mobile technology plays in the shopping habits of these 20-somethings.

On the university campus, which is 5 minutes from my home, I see them on their mobile devices constantly. But in the shopping process, they refer very infrequently to mobile technology, and when prompted, they do not envision a significantly larger role. They seem far more likely to use mobile technology for social contact than for shopping (duh!), but I’m surprised at the extent to which that is true. I expected some inkling of a comparison shopping usage pattern using mobile devices.

Uncategorized customer research, e-commerce design strategy, ethnography, methodology, qualitative research

5. Maps depict the activity domain, with representation of key actors, sites, artifacts, and behaviors.

When conducting ethnographic studies, Usography researchers sketch out a map or diagram of the observed space, whether it is a store, an airport, or an area of a home. The most significant elements of the environment are represented either literally or conceptually. Flows that represent activities or processes are designated by arrows or other directional visual elements. The map can be a snapshot in time, but more typically interactions and physical paths are timed and represented as a holistic view over time. We usually include a few codes at the bottom of the interaction maps that indicate common types of behaviors or expressed emotions, such as consulting a salesperson (S) or acting frustrated (F).

Copyright 2009, Paul Bryan, Usography Corporation (http://www.usography.com)

Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/uxexperts

Uncategorized customer research, design strategy, e-commerce design strategy, ethnography, methodology, participatory design, personas

3. Interviews are used to clarify what is observed and to gain a deeper understanding of behavior.

After  period of observation in the field, we use intercept or in-depth interviews to elicit explanations of terminology, decision factors, perception of what’s most important, motivations and beliefs behind behaviors, and other variables of interest. The interviews may be with participants that we have observed, or may be with “informants” who understand behaviors from an insider perspective, and who collaborate with us in a structured way. The informant may be a salesperson who has just finished interacting with a customer, or may be a manager or gatekeeper in other business settings. Interviews may be unstructured or semi-structured. A snowball or chain sampling method may deployed if the interviews are unstructured, but in commercial settings it is more common to screen participants on the basis of a set of pre-defined criteria.

Copyright 2009, Paul Bryan, Usography Corporation (http://www.usography.com)

Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/uxexperts

Uncategorized customer research, design strategy, e-retail, ethnography, interview protocol, methodology

Yesterday I started listing 7 characteristics of ethnography to distinguish it from other forms of research, for people unfamiliar with ethnography.

2. Observation is a primary data collection method, resulting in “thick” descriptions.

Ethnography is important as a research method when there are key factors that participants either can’t or prefer not to verbalize for one reason or another. For this reason, observation is an essential ingredient for ethnographic research. Observation is either unstrucure or semi-structured. If the variables are understood to a degree that a structured approach can be formulated, then ethnography is not the best method to use. Field notes provide a rich, or “thick,” description of behaviors and events.

Copyright 2009, Paul Bryan, Usography Corporation (http://www.usography.com)

Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/uxexperts

Uncategorized customer research, design research, e-commerce design strategy, ethnography, methodology

Over the next few posts I will list some characteristics of ethnographic research as practiced by Usography.

1. The location of research is where the activity under study takes place, i.e. it’s native context.
With research intended to guide the design of a web site, the context of the activity may be where people use the web site, or where they conduct other activities related to the topic of the web site. For example, if the ethnographic study intends to guide design of a vacation resort web site, the context could be the participant’s home, where they use the web site and engage in planning and reminiscing activities. Or, alternatively, the context could be on site at the resort. If the problem we are trying to solve is well-defined, then the location context should be very easy to identify.

Copyright 2009, Paul Bryan, Usography Corporation (http://www.usography.com)

Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/uxexperts

Uncategorized customer research, e-commerce design strategy, ethnography, methodology, qualitative research

Once participants arrive, the interviews are mainly a matter of ensuring that the data you need to capture as outlined in the interview protocol is captured. After the first couple of interviews, the research lead will develop a sense of topics that are most likely to result in data that will be useful to innovative design work in the future. The research team should debrief after each interview to discuss whether the research protocol should be modified for any reason. Some questions or exercises don’t work as well as planned in terms of data capture and participation, and need to be amended or omitted. In my experience, the most changes are made either after the first session, the first day, or the first round of interviews.

As time goes by, the interview moderator may modify the interview for each participant to get the most value out of the interview. Some people feel that this is problematic because modifications to the interview precludes comparisons of data across participants for a given set of variables. My feeling is that assigning such weight and rigor to variables that are being measured qualitatively is to misunderstand the nature of the data being collected in customer interviews. I feel that it is best to get the most value out of each interview and to characterize each participant as clearly as possible, and then to compare variables across participants to the degree that it makes sense for the type of data being collected. If a participant is leading me down an interesting trail of discovery toward a potential opportunity for design innovation, then I will follow that trail in lieu of other sections of the interview that I feel will not be as fruitful. My sense of where to take the interview has developed over many years of interviewing customers for the purpose of creating innovative web sites.

Uncategorized customer interviews, customer research, Depth interviews, e-commerce design strategy, interview protocol

The research team should arrive at the interview location at least an hour before the first interview will take place. This gives you time to prepare the setting and agree on any mechanics of the interviews that are still open. If interviews will take place at different locations throughout the day, then my team usually meets for breakfast to run through the day’s activities and to make sure all materials are ready for use.

If interviews will take place in a central location, then a list of the current day’s interview participants should be printed out and posted in the area where they will take place. This list should also be emailed to team members and stakeholders.

Check with security prior to the day of the sessions to figure out what kind of documentation will be required to bring participants into the research area. Checking ahead with security is relevant in all kinds of research settings, from office buildings to retail locations, to special facilities like airports. This is often overlooked, and can lead to big headaches. At a minimum, security should be given a list of each day’s participants. They usually have some kind of guest badges or passes that can be issued at the check-in desk.

The research protocol you wrote identified the materials that will be required for your customer interviews. The materials identified in the research protocol should be refreshed at the beginning of each day. Copy machines for some reason seem to break more often the day that interviews take place, so we usually make lots of copies prior to the day we will need them. We are especially careful to have extra copies of any paper forms that participants will write on directly, because if we are lacking those, then we will be lacking data we need. Recording devices, media for data and copies, markers, pads, etc., should all be checked at the beginning and end of each research day to avoid unpleasant surprises.

As a point of reference, the following are materials that Usography typically requires for customer interviews:

• Copies of research protocol
• Release form (permission to use likeness and responses)
• Payment received form
• Cards with content types, features, concepts
• Photos for brand impression analysis, photo elicitation
• Grid with topic relevance on one axis, perceived value on the other
• Digital camera, recorder, or video camera
• Map of physical location where activities or interactions take place
• Markers
• Blank wireframes for screen sketches

Copyright 2009, Paul Bryan, Usography Corporation (http://www.usography.com)

Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/uxexperts

Uncategorized customer research, Depth interviews, design research, e-commerce design strategy, in-depth interviews, interview protocol