1. “Towards identifying the user’s unarticulated needs”
Gujarat Technological University
Empathy
“Towards identifying the user’s unarticulated needs”
Asst. Prof. Karmjitsinh Bihola,
Centre for Industrial Design (Open Design School)

2. EMPATHIZE OBSERVE IMMERSE ENGAGE
To Empathize the User one need to have observation again and again
For better Empathy of User, students need to follow below mentioned steps -
EMPATHIZE OBSERVE IMMERSE ENGAGE
Observing users’ action and hypothesizing why they are acting a certain way
Generate the questions like – What, Why, When, Where, How…..
Become the user and live their experience by Role Playing
Visit the Industries for Observe, immerse, Engage
(At least for 4 weeks*)
Interacting with User/Industry people about their products, processes and all related queries

3. Activity 1 - observation

4. A DESIGNER WITHOUT OBSERVATION IS LIKE A BIRD WITHOUT WINGS
Activity 1
A DESIGNER WITHOUT OBSERVATION
IS LIKE A BIRD WITHOUT WINGS

5. How to? A We follow – AEIOU Framework U E I O Activities Environments
Activity 1 A
activity
We follow – AEIOU Framework
(developed by Ethnohub)
Activities
Environments
Interactions
Objects
Users U
users E
environment
User
Experience I
interaction O
objects
The AEIOU framework was originated in 1991 at Doblin by Rick Robinson, Ilya Prokopoff, John Cain, and Julie Pokorny. Its aim was to help analyse Ethnomethodology data and Conversation analysis with MECE categories.
(Source:

6. Observation record sheets
Activity 1
Observation record sheets
Following set of record sheets are to be kept with students for recording and documentation on field during Ethnographic observations.
It basically, will contain:
OBSERVATIONS by means of…
Notes, Photographs, sketches, interviews and such…
These are of 5 types.
Each type may be in varying numbers depending on the project.
Observations for all five aspects must be recorded on Log Book.

7. Activities
Activity 1
These are goal-directed sets of actions— paths towards things people want to accomplish
What are the modes people work in, and the specific activities and processes they go through?
Someone (User) is involved…
- How?
- What actually is going on?
- Why it is going on?
- How it is going on?
- What is involved?

8. Activities General impressions / Observations Activity 1
GROUP ID: _______________________
PROJECT ON: _____________________
DATE: ___________________________
SHEET NO. _________
General impressions / Observations
Elements, Features and Special Notes
Sketch/ Photo –
Summary of activities
Ploughing the farm
Crop maintenance
Drip tube winding
Seeding
Harvesting
Spraying pesticides – manual/spray pump
Quarrelling
Fencing
Talking with experts
During interview, we came to know that winding of drip tube after crop has been ready, is done manually and for the same lots of labour work is required.
Also labours are very demanding and costly.
It takes 2-3 days for manual winding the one small farm area

9. It include the entire arena where activities take place.
Activity 1
Environment
It include the entire arena where activities take place.
What is the character and function of the space overall, of each individual's spaces, and of shared spaces?

10. Environment Why variations What versions What governs…? Activity 1
Where (Activity) is happening?
- What are the circumstances?
- Time effects, any?
- Seasonal effects, any?
- Person effects, any?
- Operational effects, any?
Why variations Or
What versions
What governs…?

11. Environment Activity 1 General impressions / Observations Floor plan
GROUP ID: _______________________
PROJECT ON: _____________________
DATE: ___________________________
SHEET NO. _________
General impressions / Observations
(Style, materials & atmosphere)
Elements, Features and Special Notes
Floor plan
Breezy
Muddy farm
Clean air
Water flowing
Birds chirping
Sunny most of the day in Saurashtra region
So manual activity is tedious
Scene
Nowadays, due to the global warming, seasons are not steady in nature as before. This is the pain of most of the farmers during our interviews

12. Activity 1
interaction
These are between a person and someone or something else;
They are the building blocks of activities.
What is the nature of routine and special interactions between people; between people and objects in their environment, and across distances?
- Who are involved? Why? How?
- How the contacts are in action?
- Action vs. Reaction…

13. interaction General impressions / Observations Activity 1
GROUP ID: _______________________
PROJECT ON: _____________________
DATE: ___________________________
SHEET NO. _________
General impressions / Observations
(Who is interacting with whom, what?)
Elements, Features and Special Notes
Scene of interaction
(How it is being done)
Farmers are taking to each other
Winding the drip tube manually
Farmers are interacting with their instruments
Making proper way to water flow
Spraying the fertilizer with pump
Interacting on phone with government agency for getting latest knowledge of farming
Some of them are skilled and some are not
Many a times drip tubes broken while winding
They are quarrelling for money to be paid to labours

14. These are building blocks of the environment,
Activity 1
objects
These are building blocks of the environment,
What are the objects and devices people have in their environments and how do they relate to their activities?

15. Inventory of Key Objects
Activity 1
objects
GROUP ID: _______________________
PROJECT ON: _____________________
DATE: ___________________________
SHEET NO. _________
General impressions / Observations
(How components are involved?)
Elements, Features and Special Notes
Inventory of Key Objects
Some farmers are using wheel to wind the drip tubes
Farmers are using bullock to plough their farm
Some are using tractors
Some are using automatic thrasher and some are using manual instruments
Most of farmers (villages) were doing manual work rather using technology to increase their efficiency and that is why they can not compete with big farmers
Also not so aware of Govt. Subsidy and loan schemes.

16. Activity 1
user
Users are the people whose behaviours, preferences, and needs are being observed.
- Who is there?
- What are their roles and relationships?
- What are their values and prejudices?

17. Scene of users in context
Activity 1
user
GROUP ID: _______________________
PROJECT ON: _____________________
DATE: ___________________________
SHEET NO. _________
General impressions of people
(Who is present? Their Roles & responsibilities?)
Inventory of people
(List of identified people involved)
Scene of users in context
Farmer – Doing lots of activities related to farming mentioned in activity framework
Family members of farmer – helping him in various activities
Sales men of various pesticides and seeds
Farmer
Family members of farmer
Sales Men
Villagers

18. Helps from observation
Activity 1
Helps from observation
It pays dividend into two ways –
Helps broaden & perhaps even change the perception of problem or opportunity we are focusing
Helps uncover the unarticulated needs of user – which are the keys to innovation

19. Activity 2 – immerse via role playing
In this activity student need to become the user and actually live their experiences. One need to put himself/herself into the shoes of user
During this process the innovator needs to envisage himself/ herself as the user of the desired product and identify, codify various needs from his/her perspective
During the immersion process, students and their guide can get insights about the non-codified and undocumented needs of the contemporary user/industry

20. Being the user and primary problem identification:
Activity 2
Being the user and primary problem identification:
The group shall be divided into two: few members will be ‘role-playing the users’ and identifying the problems by first-hand experience and the rest of the group members will be video-graphing the interviews (primary users, secondary users, stake-holders, etc.)
The group members that would be role-playing are encouraged to perform the function in the industry/domain they visit, exactly how the actual user performs.
For example, for problem identification in a steering wheel of a car, the group must learn how to drive a car and understand how the steering wheel is being used and in how many different ways it can be used.
The members that would be video-graphing are suggested to record the videos at high fps (frame per second) to enable them to view the videos in slow motion at a later stage for reference and better understanding.

21. Activity 3 – engage via interview
Interact and interview users through both scheduled and short “intercept” encounters (Formal/Informal)
Getting out of the building and actually talking to your users is probably the most uncomfortable but potentially most effective way, if it is done in right way
The thing here is not to directly go up and ask your user for the solution because most of the time they really don’t know about the solution and even about problem. Hence, Prepare the set of sequential questions to be asked to the same industry workers / executives / stake holders for thorough research
Engage them in conversations that allow users to tell stories of their experiences and a likely solution (Build the story like Environment)
All interviews are to be video-graphed, hence necessary equipment to be carried along with the logbook and necessary frameworks

22. Activity 3
Some guidance is given in the link which describes different methods for interviewing and observation from Stanford University on how to formulate questions to get the most relevant answers and how to verify / validate the same
( )

23. Activity 4
2b – prior art search

24. Activity 5 diachronic & synchronic analysis

25. diachronic analysis Activity 5
Diachronic analysis means the analysis of how a particular activity has been performed since thousands/hundreds of years ago
This is better studied by plotting it along a timeline
For example: How forging was done in renaissance era to how it changed during the industrial revolution, how it is done in modern times and how it is being done with the help of robotic arms
Identify the changes in process and tools and why those changes were adopted. Refer the images of Diachronic Analysis for Mobile phone/Communication Device in the given link:
phone-the-worlds-gone-crazy.png

26. Activity 5
Synchronic analysis
Synchronic analysis means the analysis of how a particular activity is being performed in various other parallel industries. Activities similar in action like forging.
Refer the images of Synchronic Analysis for Mobile phone/Communication Device in the given link:
Q00&authuser=0

27. Activity 5
In general, 
Diachronic analysis relates to the way something changes (or doesn't) over time and why. 
Synchronic analysis relates to the way something is used at a certain point in time but in different contexts (Students must observe the constants and the variables).
The groups stay in house and generate their prior art search data and primary diachronic and synchronic analysis.
The above process leads one towards the second component of design driven innovation:

28. Activity 6 – Group Discussion
After the industry visit; prior art search; and diachronic & synchronic analysis; team needs to discuss on their activities and scouted challenges from industry with the faculty guide and other groups
On the basis of discussion, team needs to define the problem statement for which they will be working for Design project
Problem identification by the group members is overlapped by the problem identification by the user/s with the problem identification by the various stakeholder/s
On that basis Final identified problem statement is generated.

29. Defining the problem statement
By the process of observation, immersion and engagement; students would be able to understand the problem of users/industries whether the problem is in Form, Feature or Function and/or Material, Method or Application or any other
After the observation, perhaps your perception for the problems may change or even differ from previous one
And from those inferences students need to define their final problem statement.

30. Thank you
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