Asking «How might we» at the start of a team project is a creative problem-solving tool that can be applied to almost any ambitious, achievable challenge. How Might We questions is turning insight statements into opportunities for design. For example, «How might we make the application process easier on mobile devices ?» or «How might we explain to users why we need this information this information whithout boring them ?»
Identifying user needs that have yet to be met.
Testing market demand for services that do not exist.
Providing a holistic view of a problem space.
Exposing opportunities for competitive differentiation.
See the impact of the physical world on factors that coul drive digital design.
Ethnographers and UX researchers are well-versed in sophisticated interviewing and observation techniques, wich maximise the richness of information extracted, and deliberately avoid biases wich would otherwise skew results or suppres information.
Provide any previous customer or market research you’ve conducted as part of your brief.
Provide any regulatory constraints on interviewing customers.
Assume observation and interviews will take place outside your office.
Assume that your experts may want an opportunity to go back and clarify insights gained during initial observations.
Don’t forget to allow sufficient time to analyse findings - ethnographers capture and process a great deal of information.
Use the results of your ethnographic study to generate new personas, define the costumer journey, or update your canvas.
