Chapter 50

An Ethnographic Approach To Design

Jeanette Blomberg, Mark Burrell, and Greg Guest
Sapient Corporation

 

Outline

Introduction

The Relevance of Ethnography for Design

The Roots of Ethnography

Principles of Ethnography

Natural Settings

The Holistic

Descriptive

Members ’Point of View

The Postmodern Inflection

Ethical Issues

Ethnographic Methods

Planning Research

Sampling

Gaining Access

Observation

Why Observe?

The Researcher ’s Observational Role

Structuring Field Observations

Videotaping

Interviewing

The Interview As a Communicative Event

Rules of Thumb When Interviewing

Connections Between Observation and Interviews

Self-reporting Techniques

Diaries

Visual Stories

Remote Date Collection Techniques and Strategies

Remote Video and Audio Via the Internet

Observations and Interactions in the Digital Domain

Artifact Analysis

Record Keeping

Relation Between Qualitative and Quantitative Data

Communicating and Applying the Results of Ethnographic Research and Analysis

Enriching and Enhancing the Working Models of Developers

Generative Tools or Frameworks to Support Innovation and Creativity

Critical Lens for Evaluating and Prioritizing Ideas

Guideposts for Development Teams

Making Ethnography Matter: Communicating and Applying Ethnographic Insights to Design

Experience Models

Opportunity Maps

Pro?les

Scenarios

Design Representations: Mock-ups and Prototypes

Ethnography in Action

Case Study 1: Health Care Provider

Case Study 2: Department of Highways

Conclusions

References

 

Figures

Figure 50.1: Innovation.

Figure 50.2: Experience model of financial development zones. ESO = employee stock options.

Figure 50.3: Experience model of stages of readiness.

Figure 50.4: Opportunity map for stages of readiness.

Figure 50.5a: Composite profile of Blake in relation to wireless communications.

Figure 50.5b: Composite profile of Bridget in relation to wireless communications.

Figure 50.6: Simple scenario of a woman exploring online investing resources.

Figure 50.6b: (Continued)

Figure 50.6c: (Continued)

Figure 50.7: Communication model.

Figure 50.8: Engineer using mock-up of coding form to code documents.

Figure 50.9: Components (document scanner, PC, coding forms, etc.) of the designed document management system and document search results page with thumbnails.