Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Innovation
Seeing with New Eyes
IDEO U
© 2018
Insights for
Innovation
A Toolkit For Seeing With New Eyes
Throughout the IDEO U Insights for Innovation course, + A n overview of each lesson
we have created a set of activities for you to do, so you
+ Tips
can “learn by doing” along the way.
+ Advanced materials
These tools are a companion piece for the course, but
have also been designed to be useful to you on your + Project Assignment Worksheets
own projects. The more you continue to practice this in
+ A nd much much more
your work, the better you’ll get at discovering insights
that inspire innovation. We encourage you to keep practicing and have fun!
IDEO U
Lesson 0 Assignment: Choosing your
project challenge
We believe in learning by doing. Consider your five-week experience a sandbox – or a place to take risks and try out new
methods. You need a problem on which to practice these insights-gathering tools, so that at the end of the course you feel
equipped to take them out and apply them to the challenges in your own organizations and communities.
The challenge you select will serve as the common thread EXPLORING YOUR CHALLENGE
throughout your course experience. Each assignment will
After choosing your challenge, consider the
help you explore your chosen challenge from a new angle, and
following questions:
position you for the final project.
++ What existing assumptions might you have around
CHALLENGES
the challenge?
++ How might we design new products and services
for the modern 70 year old? ++ W hy is there a chance for a new opportunity in the
current landscape?
++ How might we design a better experience for people on
public transportation in your area? ++ What makes this challenge appealing to you and
what do you hope to learn and explore?
++ How might we inspire households to adopt healthier
eating habits?
++ How might we encourage children to read more?
IDEO U
Practice
Observing
IDEO U Lesson Overview
HOW TO
PROJECT ASSIGNMENT
To heighten your attention before and during an observation: WHAT What are they doing? What sparks your curiosity?
3 Look for what people care about WHY Why are they doing it?
6 Look for the unexpected Approach your observations with an open and curious mind.
Stay away from generalizations, judgment, evaluation,
assumptions, and prescriptions (should/would/could).
What to A O
Look for ACTIVITIES. What activities areOBJECTS. Are there any
people engaged in? Why might objects being used? If so, how,
these activities be important? and why are they important?
E U
ENVIRONMENTS. Take note USERS. Interview users to
of spaces and locations. better understand their
What’s unique about them? needs.
How do they support or
frustrate people?
I
INTERACTIONS. Who’s
interacting with users in this
context? What’s the purpose
of these interactions? What’s
the tone?
1.5 HRS
Practice Observing
Now it’s time for you to practice listening with your eyes. We want you to get
out in the world and start observing your target audience and their behaviors.
STEP 1—PLAN FOR OBSERVING
you want to observe in your target audience your target audience in the What are you curious to
order to learn and get online? Are they on social real world? learn? What themes will
inspired? media? you be looking for?
Choose 1-2 people and observe them. Practice using the 6 Tips for Observing and pay attention to how and why people do what
they do. Bring your notebook, your plan, and a camera.
Create a high-level summary of how you practiced observing. Bring it to life with a photo, story or quotation.
WHO DID YOU OBSERVE? WHERE DID YOU OBSERVE? WHAT ARE 1-3 IF YOU’RE FEELING BOLD,
OBSERVATIONS THAT WHAT MIGHT BE MOTIVATING
SPARKED YOUR CURIOSITY? THE BEHAVIOR YOU
OBSERVED?
Considering what you observed, where are you curious to dig deeper and learn more? Think about user groups, specific contexts,
or scenarios. Your observations should pique areas of interest around your challenge that you will further explore during
interviewing.
IDEO U • PRACTICE OBSERVING • PROJECT ASSIGNMENT © 2018 • 14
Learning
from
Extremes
IDEO U
Learning
from
Extremes
IDEO U Lesson Overview
LEARNING GOAL WHY MINDSET INTRODUCTION
PROJECT ASSIGNMENT
Extremes Extremes
If the extremes you choose aren’t well balanced, and you have
a good reason for this, just be sure to articulate why.
UNBALANCED PERSPECTIVE
1 HR
Describe the typical users of your project challenge in terms of their demographics and behaviors. Your answers to
these two questions are ‘lenses’ you’ll use to stretch your thinking. Come up with 2-3 lenses that can help identify extreme
people and behaviors.
1 HR
Select one to two extremes and consider what you are curious
to learn from each.
IDEO U © 2018 • 21
Conducting
A Great
Interview
IDEO U Lesson Overview
LEARNING GOAL ACTIVITIES MINDSET INTRODUCTION
Pacing matters. First, get to know the person, then explore Keep in mind, what they say might not match up with what
your topics of interest and conclude by digging deeper into the they do. They might not be able to verbalize—or even be aware
most interesting areas. of—what they need. Tune into the things that don’t match up—
said or not said. Then ask!
Tips for Ask participants to tell a story about an event in their past,
e.g. “Tell me about a time when you made a significant
Try not to fill any silence. After asking a question give them
time to reflect and answer. Don’t assume you know what
Going discovery in your lab.” they’re going to say or put words in their mouth. Let them
articulate their thoughts in their own words.
Deeper 5 WHY’S. THINK ALOUD.
STAY UNBIASED.
Asking “why” in response As participants perform an
to five consecutive answers exercise, ask them to think Observe and ask questions without judging. Don’t correct,
pushes the interviewee aloud to uncover relevant refute or challenge.
to examine and express the motivations, concerns,
motivations behind their perceptions and reasoning.
INTERVIEW CURVE // 60–90 MINS
behavior and attitudes.
Thank
Evoke Yous
ASK NAÏVE QUESTIONS. Stories
Project
Unassuming questions encourage people to explain the Introductions
logic of their behaviors. Be careful to pose these questions
with genuine curiosity to avoid sounding patronizing.
Emotional
Highpoint
Introduce Build Push
Yourself Rapport Back
What to CAPTURE NOTES ABOUT TOP 3 IMAGES TO CAPTURE DURING EACH INTERVIEW
+ Ideas
+ Insights
Conduct an Interview
1.5 HRS
As you plan for and conduct an interview, think back to our tips for interviewing
and how you might use these to get to deeper, more honest answers.
STEP 1—PLAN YOUR INTERVIEW
First, you’ll have to choose your interviewee. If you are able, find one of the people you identified in your Extremes assignment, or
someone related to your project challenge. However, interviewing a friend, family member, or colleague is also a valuable way to
practice.
Identify topics that you want to learn more about and write eight to ten questions that will help you do just that. Return to the 5
Tips for Interviewing for guidance.
These questions should range from getting to know someone, to theme-specific questions for your project challenge, to digging
deeper into specific areas of interest. Have at least one or two questions that will help you explore the extreme attitudes,
behaviors and situations you brainstormed in Assignment 2.
Conduct your interview. Set the stage, ask your questions, and listen actively.
Create a high-level summary of your interview. Capture a few key quotes. Include a photo, video clip, or tell a story.
WHO DID YOU INTERVIEW? WHAT ARE 1-3 HIGHLIGHT MOMENTS FROM THE INTERVIEW?
Why did these stick out to you? Maybe it gave you a window
into motivations, unmet needs, or the WHY...?
How has your understanding of your selected problem and your focus evolved based on what you uncovered in your interview?
Remember, each assignment will help you understand your project challenge from a new point of view, and set you up to craft
your final insights.
IDEO U © 2018 • 27
Immersing
in Empathy
IDEO U Lesson Overview
Design an Think of ways you can alter your perspective to better relate
to someone who sees things differently than you do. See what
Immersive you discover.
Experience Consider who you’re designing for and any aspect of their
experience that you might take for granted. What happens
when you take that ability away from yourself?
3 DO IT YOURSELF.
Have you personally experienced the products, services or
experiences you’re creating? How can you do something
firsthand to understand what it might feel like?
Think about people you want to better understand for your project challenge. If you could walk in their shoes, what would you
want to know? Come up with five different answers to this question:
Using the 4 Tips for Empathy Immersion (Change your Perspective, Limit Yourself, Do it Yourself, and Engage in an
Analogous Experience) as your inspiration, brainstorm 5-10 ideas for experiences that would help you better understand a
different perspective.
STEP 3—DESIGN IT
Pick one of your ideas for an empathy experience and design it in more detail by answering the following questions.
WHAT WILL YOU DO? HOW WILL YOU DO IT? WHAT PROPS OR TOOLS DO WHOSE HELP WILL
YOU NEED? YOU NEED?
© 2018 • 30
Try It: Lesson 4 Assignment TIME ESTIMATE
As you carry out your empathy experience, make note of how you feel, what you are learning and what is surprising.
WHAT DID YOU DO? AND HOW DID IT FEEL? WHAT ARE 1-3 HIGHLIGHTS FROM YOUR EMPATHY EXPERIENCE?
Describe your empathy experience and how you conducted Summarize any moments that stood out or your reflections
it. To help bring it to life, include illustrations or photos. on what you learned.
How has your understanding of your project challenge evolved based on what you uncovered during your empathy experience?
Remember, each assignment will help you understand your challenge from a new point of view, and set you up to craft your final
insights.
IDEO U
Sharing
Insights
IDEO U Lesson Overview
4 Steps to 1 CAPTURING INDIVIDUAL DATA POINTS 3 CRAFTING INSIGHTS TO SHARE WITH OTHERS
2 CONNECTING THEM TOGETHER IN MEANINGFUL WAYS 4 STORYTELLING YOUR POINT OF VIEW THROUGH
WORDS AND VISUALS
Notice themes and patterns and cluster your post-its when
they have similar topics. Try out a few things you might call Pull your themes together into a story. Use visuals to bring
that theme. your points to life for others.
As you work on sharing the most important things you’ve learned with others, focus on these 3 qualities of a good insight:
1 INFORM Does it shed light on what people need and want?
2 INSPIRE Is it motivating? Does it make you FEEL something in order to DO something?
3 MEMORABLE Is it phrased in a way that will stick with you and be easy to share with others?
IDEO U • SHARING INSIGHTS • 4 STEPS TO SUMMARIZE & 3 TIPS TO CRAFT INSIGHTS © 2018 • 34
The Anatomy
of an Insight
Here’s how you know you have an
insight worth sharing.
Insights are the heart and soul of creating solutions. You can’t For something to be an insight, it needs to be:
leverage the richness of what you’ve learned in the field to AUTHENTIC Supported by observations with real people.
inform your team or your work if it’s locked inside your head.
NON-OBVIOUS “News you can use” that goes beyond an
Sharing your learnings aloud allows you to bring them to observation or something someone would immediately think
life in the shape of stories. When we communicate insights of when describing the subject.
in a compelling way, we motivate people to take action.
REVEALING Offers a (previously hidden) glimpse into how
people think or feel. It helps interpret the “Why?” behind
human behavior.
CAPTURING YOUR RAW LEARNINGS PROMPTS TO HELP YOU CAPTURE DATA POINTS
HOW TO CAPTURE
Capture each data point as a statement, phrase or visual.
Push yourself to think beyond words and communicate your
notes visually whenever possible.
THE ART OF CRAFTING INSIGHTS CRAFTING WORKS WELL IN PAIRS AND TEAMS
Great insights don’t just ‘appear’ out of your observations and It’s fine to work alone, but ultimately, you’ll want to share your
conversations. You have to craft them. insights with others. Working side by side with one or more
people can help the process.
+ INTUITION IS YOUR GUIDE.
Rely heavily on what ‘feels’ meaningful and push yourself to + TRADE STORIES WITH SOMEONE ELSE.
take leaps and make connections. What are the top 3-5 most interesting things you’ve learned.
Put them into words in less than 10 minutes. Then listen
+ EMBRACE THE MESS.
to what someone else has learned on a similar challenge.
Get comfortable with the chaos. Honing insights gets a little
messy until the big idea emerges. Let the process meander + BUILD ON THE IDEAS OF OTHERS.
and flow until things feel anchored. Use what they say to spark new thoughts.
+ DON’T RUSH THE PROCESS. + LISTEN ACTIVELY.
It may take a while to find meaning, so give it some time Engaging and paying close attention to details is critical to
to emerge. the process.
+ PRESENT YOUR INSIGHTS TO OTHERS FOR FEEDBACK.
Do a quick presentation to someone you trust. Pull it together
in 2 hours or less and then share. Ask them what’s working
and what isn’t. What/s confusing? What’s informative,
inspiring, and memorable?
Great insights don’t just ‘appear’ out of your observations and + STAY AWAY FROM GENERALIZATIONS.
conversations. You have to craft them. These include judgments, evaluations, assumptions and
+ BRING CREATIVITY AND YOUR OWN PERSPECTIVE
prescriptions (thoughts that start with “should, would or
TO THIS PROCESS. could”)
There’s no ‘right’ answer. It’s about sharing your unique + TELL SPECIFIC STORIES.
point of view to motivate others. Try out different storytelling Focus on the individuals and talk about what actually
techniques such as photography, video, metaphors and happened. It helps to begin stories with “One time...” or “After
vignettes. such and such happened...”
XPERIMENT with the wording and structure to best
+ E + TELL IT THROUGH WORDS AND PICTURES.
communicate your insights. Experiment with words, charts, images and prototypes until
+ INTUITION IS YOUR GUIDE. you have a robust way to express your thinking.
Rely heavily on what ‘feels’ meaningful and push yourself to + BE DESCRIPTIVE.
take leaps and make connections. Share vivid details. Use physical senses and emotions to give
+ GATHER FEEDBACK from others as you craft and practice
texture to stories.
telling your story. What’s working and what isn’t? + EDIT AND FILTER.
Don’t be afraid to let go of superfluous information or
patterns that don’t move the project ahead.
IDEO U
Try It: Final Project Assignment TIME ESTIMATE
1-2 HRS
Sharing Insights
Now it’s time to distill what you’ve learned from the previous lessons. Move through the
‘Steps for Summarizing Insights’ to narrow down and create 1-3 insights for your
final project.
STEP 1—CAPTURE
Capture individual data points. Grab your post-its and capture quotes, observations, and interpretations.
STEP 2—CONNECT
Connect data points together in meaningful ways. Cluster different data points around similar themes.
STEP 3—CRAFT
Craft 1-3 insights to share with others. Write multiple versions of each statement, utilizing the ‘3 tips for crafting a good
insight’. The more you write it, the closer you will get to something powerful.
For the final project, you will bring your insight statements to life using images, quotes, and stories. From your data points, start
preparing evidence for your insights.
Summarize the insights you crafted in Step 3 and your reflection on this process.
SHARE THE FINAL 1-3 INSIGHT STATEMENTS FROM STEP 3 WHAT WAS SURPRISING, CHALLENGING, OR EASY ABOUT THE
(CRAFT). PROCESS OF CRAFTING INSIGHTS? If possible, share a photo
The idea is to craft insight statements that inform, inspire or artifact of how you captured, connected and crafted
and are memorable. your insights.
IDEO U
Ethics for Engaging
Participants
Great insights come from establishing a quality and trusted
relationship with your participants. When they feel comfortable,
they go beyond superficial responses and share at a deeper
level. With this level of access and openness the interviewer must
be respectful, responsible and honest in every engagement.
+A
pproach people with courtesy +K
eep all the information you
RESPONSIBILITY
gather confidential
We act to protect people’s current and future interests. + I dentify yourself, your intent
and what you’re looking for +L
et people know they can
Consider: Am I confident that our research isn’t harmful to
decline to answer questions or
our participants? Is a participant aware of the consequences +O
ffer to compensate stop participating at any time
of what they have shared with me? Do I have their informed participants fairly for their time
consent? Am I sharing information about a participant that +M
aintain a non-judgmental,
might compromise them in some way? +D
escribe how you will use relaxed and enjoyable
this information and why it’s atmosphere
valuable
HONESTY +P
rotect a participant’s identity
+A
sk for permission to record and confidential data before,
Be truthful and timely in communication.
or take photos/video at the during and after the interview
Consider: Am I doing my best not to mislead participants beginning when agreed upon.
or leave them with false impressions? When and how should
+G
et permission to use and share
we identify ourselves, what we’re doing, and the intended
the information and any photos
outcome of their participation? or video you take
1 If you are only taking pictures or sharing insights from people
for the purposes of this course and to share with the IDEO
U community, feel free to fill in the form with your personal
information and use it for your interviews and observations
to gain consent. If the participants agrees and selects “Yes” at
the end of the form, then you are fine to share anything with this
course and community.
2 If you want to use the insights, media you gather for your
work or to share more publicly, then you will need to share
this form as a starting place to discuss with your own legal
department, or use forms that your own company provides.
IDEO U
Framing your own challenge
After the course finishes and you take these tools out into your
organizations and communities, use this worksheet to help you frame
your own challenges.
Just right
It should be: How might we positively engage kids with their own
exercise and fitness?
++ Focused on a need (rather than a functional benefit)
1. Have you baked a solution into your problem statement? That doesn’t leave you very much room for creative thought.
2. Is your question generative and inspiring? You should feel giddy to get started.
3. Have you narrowed down your audience? Is your audience specific enough that you know what they need and care about?
You can’t solve for everyone at once.
4. Have you chosen a specific part of the journey to design for? What moment might your solution exist in? Narrowing
your timeframe helps unearth contextual needs.
5. Have you drawn on insights or inspiration to make your question juicy and interesting? Adding some texture about
what is driving the needs of your audience can help your team be more generative.