Great topic. Success depends on "connecting the wires" between research results and subsequent action. Our approach for connecting the wires can be summed up in 3 points.
1) Begin with the end in mind At the start of every research project, we identify the people who are expected to take the results and turn them into a reality, and we ask to meet with them so we can identify the design parameters we can realistically impact. Ignoring them until it's time to socialize the results is a big mistake, because at that point they may actively deep six the results. The format of the results needs to be something they are prepared to own and carry forward. For our projects, this often involves conceptual wireframes with medium fidelity design components. 2) Provide specific, unambiguous recommendations Findings are great, but many clients don't know what to do with findings. They need specific recommendations, whether text or conceptual diagrams. One client actually forwarded me an internal thread that said, "We're concerned that the experts are going to leave us something that is brilliant but then we don't know what to do with it. Can they sit down with us and discuss specific design changes?" The answer was, of course, yes. If recommendations are brilliant but non-directional, people not intimately acquainted with the details will question the value of the exercise. 3) Give stakeholders a vivid picture of the issues Whenever possible, we include a small video reel that highlights the core issues. We often conduct in-depth interviews or ethnographic research in homes, workplaces, retail outlets, etc., so it's relatively easy to pull together video scenes that drive home the findings and support the recommendations. I've found that the busiest executive sponsor or design director will pay rapt attention to 3 minutes of video, but may get glassy eyes or start texting with the the same volume of presentation data. The details are only for the people who want and need them. In one presentation for a media company, the sponsors literally clapped after the personas presentation. Paul Bryan Usography ( http://www.usography.com ) %u2028 Blog: Virtual Floorspace ( http://www.virtualfloorspace.com ) Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/uxexperts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48929 ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
