future of design research: 5 key themes (part 1)

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FUTURE OF DESIGN RESEARCH

Five opportunities to shape the future of the practice

AUGUST 2016 CURIOSITY LABS www.c-lab.space | [email protected]

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AGENDA NEXT STEPS / GET INVOLVED

CONTEXT

WHAT IS DESIGN RESEARCH?

5 OPPORTUNITIES

OBJECTIVES & APPROACH

CONTACT

CURIOSITY LABS www.c-lab.space | [email protected]

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WHAT IS DESIGN RESEARCH?

The practice of understanding humans and contexts to inform and inspire design

Applies to any kind of human-centered design in any sector, from tech products to smart cities to sales strategies

Additional notes: Includes innovation research.

Shares many similarities in principles and practices to qualitative research Includes user research if the intent is to inspire UX design


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CONTEXT: DESIGN RESEARCH IS AN EMERGING PRACTICE…

“Itisbecomingadisciplineinitsownright.Companiesaremoreawareofit'svalueandgivingitmoreresource.Communi;esandthoughtleadersareemerging.”-DrAndrewMuirWood,CustomerInsightsLead,London

“BysinglingoutDesignResearch/UserResearchasadefineddisciplinewithinbroaderqualita;veresearchskills,ithasprovidedamorefocusedentrypointformanymore,younger,smartpeopletoexpandthediscipline."-JanetStanden,ScootInsights,SanFrancisco


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…THAT IS STARTING TO SPREAD ACROSS ORGANIZATIONS, SECTORS AND INTO NEW GEOGRAPHIES

“DesignthinkingiswellknowninSouthEastAsia.ItravelforGoogleintheregionandeverywherestudentsaretalkingaboutdesignaskeyintheirproblemsolving.”-SachaCarinavanGinhoven,MrLeopard,Singapore

“Designresearchiss;llinitsinfancy,asaprofessionalprac;ceinBrazil,eventhoughitisslowlygrowing.”-PatriciaMourthe,SaoPaulo,Brazil

Its recent rise is in part thanks to the growth in design-led cultures like Apple and human-centered approaches like Design Thinking and Lean, as well as through the growth of the tech sector and the emergence of user research


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5 OPPORTUNITIES To spark ideas and ignite conversations

STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP

EDUCATION

DYNAMIC PRACTICE

INTEGRATION OF ANALYTICS

STORYTELLING


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DYNAMIC PRACTICE Adapting mindsets and practices to faster, more fluid and experimental ways of working will be critical over the next few years

Tom Chi’s Prototype Thinking integrates user research into a rapid prototyping process


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DYNAMIC PRACTICE

FASTER, MORE ITERATIVE AND INTEGRATED DESIGN PROCESSES

RAPIDLY CHANGING WAYS FOR COLLABORATION

CONTINUAL INFUSION OF CROSS DISCIPLINARY INFLUENCES

[Mostexci;ngdevelopment]“Thecon;nuouscrossdisciplinaryinspira;onsfromdomainslikesocialscience,psychology,technology,philosophy,etc.andfurtherintegra;onofdifferentmethodologies.”-HelenZhao,Researcher,Shanghai

“It’sanongoingvsastageoftheprocess,thecyclicandcon;nuousnatureofdynamicdesignresearch,asitshouldbe.”-SoniaManchanda,DesignStrategist,India


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DYNAMIC PRACTICE: THE INNOVATORS

MURAL

Mural, founded by Mariano Suarez-Battan, is highly rated by several leaders in the community as an online collaboration tool (for Design Thinking) that actually works

THE DESIGN SPRINT

The 5-day problem solving intensive, developed at Google, is a practical application of design thinking and lean and has quickly gained traction in the tech industry and beyond over the past few months

TOM CHI’S PROTOTYPE THINKING

“FactoryX/Tom Chi's Prototype Thinking is by far my favorite way of getting into action and making things happen, seeing change occur around you. It's SO fast, incisive, and capable of making an impact on a problem in new ways, every time.” - Megan Goering, San Francisco CURIOSITY LABS

www.c-lab.space | [email protected]

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EDUCATION Educating stakeholders on the basics of what design research is and why it is used, to training the next generation of world-class design and user researchers, are among significant challenges we are facing

Pittsburgh, USA is home to both Carnegie Mellon’s School of Design and LUMA Institute


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EDUCATION “Scalingdesignresearchthroughouttheorganiza;onisamajorchallenge.IBMhascloseto400Kemployees,over1000designers,geangallthoseteamstodoqualityresearchandstrategyisabigchallenge.“AdamCutler,IBMDesign

[Onwhat’sexci;ng]“Thedemocra;za;onofdesignresearch.Inthepast,itwasaskillonlyafewcoulddo.Webelievethatyoucanteachthistomanypeopleandthatallpeopleshouldbeexposedtotheideas.Ithinkthere'smomentumforthisview.”BrantCooper,Author,TheLeanEntrepreneur

FROM BASIC LITERACY…

…TO SCALING ACROSS LARGE ORGANIZATIONS

Around what design research is and why use it for decision-makers or other key stakeholder groups

Many (larger) organizations are trying to figure out how to most effectively scale design/research education programs

…TO HIGH QUALITY TRAINING There are few trainings designed specifically for graduates or early-to-mid design and user research professionals


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EDUCATION: THE INNOVATORS

THE LUMA INSTITUTE THE DESIGN EXCHANGE

Co-founded by Pete Mayer, the LUMA Institute has established itself as a highly respected institution by some of the Bay Area’s leading technology companies, advancing innovation through human-centered design

Conceived at UC Berkeley, the Design Exchange is an online platform led by Celeste Roschuni currently in beta where designers and researchers can share methods and best practices

CARNEGIE MELLON: SCHOOL OF DESIGN

Several contributors mentioned CMU’s Transitional Design program as an exciting development. Terry Irwin heads the School of Design @ CMU.


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INTEGRATION OF ANALYTICS There’s huge interest in big data; specifically, ways in which it can most effectively be integrated with design research. However, many design researchers lack basic literacy in statistics and data science. A few leading organizations in tech and finance have fully integrated DR with analytics on a range of problems; others are just beginning.

Data-driven music companies Spotify and Soundcloud are among the leaders integrating DR with analytics


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INTEGRATION OF ANALYTICS “DataSciencewillplayanincreasingroleinourcustomerunderstanding,andwhileIfirmlybelieveDesignResearchersshouldn'tallswitchtobeingDataScien;sts,Idothinkabecerunderstandingofhowtopartner(anddirect!)thisquan;ta;veworkwillbeamust-haveskillin5years.”SamZaiss,Microsoh,USA

“Thebiggestchallengeistheexclusivefocusdatagetsinansweringabroadrangeofbusinessques;ons.Thetroubleherebeginswiththeexpecta;onsoffastandimmediateac;on,sothereisliclespaceor;mefordiscovery.”-FrankRomagosa,Strategist,Cinemiro,USA

“Findingtherightintegra;onofdesignresearchgivengreatfocusonbehavioraldata("bigdata").-Buildingin;metointerpretdesignresearchintodeeper,non-obviousinsights.Ourcons;tuentsohentakeresearchandrunwithoutthediges;ngandinterpreta;on”-AdrienLanusse,VPInsights,Neklix


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INTEGRATION OF ANALYTICS: 3 USE CASES

Designresearchersanddatascien;stseachhaveaseatatthetableandcollaboratestrategically;evidencedinthetech,financialandretailsectorsinpar;cular,incompanieslikeGoogleandWellsFargo

BASIC, AD HOC ACCESS TO DATA

BEHAVIORAL DATA WITH QUALITATIVE OUTPUTS

FULLY INTEGRATED TEAMS

Accessingbasicusagedatatoanswer,forexample:“arepeopleactuallyusingthisproduct?”Knowingwhatdatatopullandfromwhereisachallengeforsomeinternalteams

DataScien;stsanddesignresearchersaddaddi;onallayersofdataandinforma;ontostrategicprojectslikepersonasorcustomerjourneymaps


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STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP Design Research leadership is starting to emerge at product, organizational and sector-wide levels, as design-led cultures are becoming the norm The next few years presents an opportunity for researchers and designers to play a more influential role in shaping the design of organizations and societies more broadly


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STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP

Some design researchers are getting a seat at the visioning table. However, many others still have a long way to go.

PRODUCT

ORGANIZATIONAL

SOCIETAL Applying design research to solve societal problems is gaining traction

Beyond product, a few leaders are influencing at a higher level, in some cases by integrating with analytics or market research

“Thegreatestsourceofenergyinthedesignresearchcommunityrightnowisgeangthedesignerlywaysofthinkingintothesocialsector”BarryKatz,Stanford,CCA&IDEO

“Beingaresearcherthatcaninfluencethecoreofwhattheproductis,ratherthanvalidatetheoutcomeofdesigns,iskey”SaraOrtloffKhoury,UXDesignDirector,Google


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STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP: THE INNOVATORS

Of 3 key questions to be discussed, “How can design research frame and address societal problems that face us?”

Robin Beers built an leading research team at Wells Fargo to over 30 people, integrating analytics and design research..

STANFORD D.SCHOOL

The d.School has been hugely successful in branding Design Thinking over the past few years – driving design-led cultures across sectors

DRS 2016, BRIGHTON, UK

INSIGHTS TEAM @ WELLS FARGO


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STORYTELLING In a world increasingly awash with data and information, the ability to communicate insights in a clear, compelling narrative has never been more important

MichaelMargolisistheCEOofGetStoried,aglobalcompanythattrainsleadersinstorytellingforinnova;on

andhuman-centereddesign


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STORYTELLING

“Influencing,storytellingandtakingaposi;on:theseareimportantskillsforadesignresearcher”RobinBeers,SVP,CustomerExperienceInsights

“Communica;onskillsareoneoftheacributesthatdividesagoodUXresearcherfromagreatUXresearcher”RobertYoumans,HeadofUXResearch:Streams,Photos&Sharing,Google

“Storytelleriskey:findingswillneedtobesharedwidelyandspeedily,thusinsightsexplainedthroughvideoandstorytelling,throughillustra;onsandcomics-willbetops”-Anonymous


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NEXT STEPS / GET INVOLVED

CONTACT

PROTOTYPING WORKSHOPS

JOIN THE UDR COMMUNITY

Workshops in San Francisco and Boulder to explore opportunity areas and prototype new solutions 1st August 2016: “How might we educate the next generation of design researchers?” Join Curiosity Labs email list here to stay updated: www.c-lab.space/future-of-design-research/

User and Design Research Google Group

Andrew Brown 415-657-6473 [email protected] www.linkedin.com/in/andykbrown

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Growing global community, yet little open discussion on the current state of the practice or where it’s going Community appetite to understand the greatest opportunities and challenges

WHAT

WHY

An exploration of attitudes and practices in relation to design research


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3 workshops with core team of 8

people

130 people from the global community

contributed via a survey*

Themes are based on qualitative research for directional use. *Around 4/5 contributors to survey from North America; 4/5 currently working in tech (software or hardware); two-thirds design researchers one-third designers, product or innovation, academics, thought leaders or analysts

20 interviews with design, research &

thought leaders

WHO

HOW

Design Researchers (inc. User Researchers) Designers Product, Innovation, Brand Managers/Leaders Analysts Data Scientists Authors and Thought Leaders Academics


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CURIOSITY LABS SAN FRANCISCO, USA BOULDER, USA

www.c-lab.space

N.B. Images are either part of the Creative Commons or sourced with permission from owner

Andrew Brown +1 415 657 6473 [email protected] www.linkedin.com/in/andykbrown