Workshops for Empathy and Understanding

7. 4 Workshops to Establish Empathy and Understanding from User Research Results

Workshops can increase stakeholder engagement with user research by using engaging techniques and interaction, allowing a deeper understanding of user needs.
Workshops give stakeholders a sense of ownership of the research project, emphasizing that the users are the company's users.
The best workshop method depends on the context, research purpose, and stakeholders.

IDEO suggests a workshop process with five exercises to move from raw insights to preliminary concept ideas.
User research is integral to design thinking, with research and analysis conducted as a team effort.
The workshop starts with the analysis of the research.
If the team hasn't participated in the research, the exercises can still be used with some moderation of the initial steps.

"Downloading learnings" is the first step to ensure that everyone understands the research process.
Ideally, this should be done immediately after the research when impressions are fresh.
The research team shares their experiences, including whom they talked to, where they met them, and what they found out.
Information is written on sticky notes and placed on a wall or a large sheet of paper.
Team members who didn't participate in the research listen and ask questions.
If not working in a design thinking process, this step can be skipped, and participants can read a summary of findings beforehand.

The "share inspiring stories" exercise ensures that team members can recount the most interesting stories from the research as if they were there.
Team members take turns sharing inspiring stories and being descriptive.
Other team members listen and write down their observations and thoughts on sticky notes.
Sticky notes related to each story are grouped together.
Clear and legible writing is essential for shared understanding.
If multiple people were not part of the research an exercise called "viewing parties" can be used.
Longer video clips showcasing interesting stories are shared with the team who then take notes.
After watching the videos, team members share their observations.
This approach requires prior analysis to identify relevant themes.
Audio recordings with relevant pictures can also be used.
Videos can showcase a mixture of themes and inspiring stories if a thematic analysis has been performed.

"Finding themes" involves identifying patterns in the research.
The design team gathers around the sticky notes from the "download learnings" and "share inspiring stories" exercises.
The team discusses and identifies important themes across the different stories.
Themes may include common elements, particularly interesting aspects, or related ideas.
Sticky notes are moved around to create thematic clusters.
The process continues until the most relevant themes for the design process are covered.
This exercise can still be done even if the “download learnings” exercise was skipped.
If a thematic analysis has already been done, the focus can be on identifying interface problems, design opportunities, or previously unrecognized patterns.
This exercise gives the team ownership of the research results and performs additional analysis.

Insight statements are created to focus future ideation on the most important aspects of the research.
Theme clusters from the “find themes” exercise are used to describe the themes in a statement.
The key insight from each theme is identified.
Examples of insight statements include “Users can’t find the search bar” or “It can be difficult for people with insulin-dependent diabetes to remember if they have taken their insulin.”
The 3–5 insight statements most relevant to the design project are selected.
Insight statements can be used for almost all types of research projects.
The purpose is to ensure that the entire team focuses on the most central insights from the research.

The "How might we" exercise turns insight statements into design challenges.
Each insight statement is rephrased into a “how might we” question.
The questions should not be too narrow or too broad.
Multiple answers should be possible for each question.
If there is only one answer, the question is too narrow.
If there is no idea of how to answer the question, it is probably too broad.
Each insight statement can lead to multiple “how might we” questions.
For the insight statement “It can be difficult for people with insulin-dependent diabetes to remember if they have taken their insulin,” a question could be: “How might we show insulin-dependent diabetics whether or not they have taken their insulin?”
“How might we” questions can be used to help take the difficult step from research to design decision-making.

Workshops give stakeholders a sense of ownership of the user research and move from insights to design ideas.
The five workshop exercises from design thinking are:
- Download Learnings
- Share Inspiring Stories
- Find Themes
- Create Insight Statements
- How Might We
The exercises can be used regardless of whether one is working in a design thinking process.
Suggestions have been provided to moderate the first few steps if some analysis has already been done.
The exercises are pivotal in transmitting necessary ingredients into embryonic solutions.