We have to be careful not to get too far ahead of ourselves and build solutions without fully understanding the problem; we risk losing time, energy, and other resources building a lack-luster solution to our customer’s issue.
How have you been defining your current solution? My solution is:
What is your customer’s problem you hope to solve? My customer’s problem is:
Why frame a problem over a solution?
Problem framing opens us up to explore opportunities for multiple solutions.
Empathy is putting yourself in your customer’s shoes and seeing the world from their point-of-view so you can understand and possibly relate without judgement. Empathy doesn’t put a silver lining on things, it stays neutral, meeting your customers where they are.
Extra: Google the Brené Brown talk about empathy. She shares that empathy fuels connection and feeling WITH people, not for people.
Consider a recent time where you showed empathy vs. sympathy.
When showing empathy, you’ll find more insights that go beyond your current understanding of your customer’s problem.
As you begin to plan your interviews, ask yourself:
Recruitment: who do I know that represents my ideal customer?
Gaps: what do I need to learn right now to make my work better?
Themes: how can I start to organize some themes around my desired learnings?
At the end of your interview time with a user or customer, you want to have captured what that person said and did. You want to have an understanding of what that person thinks and feels.
The following sheets will help you plan for your best possible interviews.
Themes:
Ask why.
You are not the expert on their lives — they are. Ask them why they do or say certain things.
Encourage stories.
Ask questions that get people telling stories. “Tell me about a time when you…”
Listen for inconsistencies.
Sometimes what people say and what they do are different. These inconsistencies hide interesting insights.
Capture your interviews.
Interview in pairs. Use a voice recorder. Capture video. You’ll need this later.
Use fewer words.
Set up questions with ten words or less. Try not to lead them.
Listen and watch for nonverbal cues.
Body language and emotions are revealing.
Let silence linger.
Silence allows a person to reflect on what they’ve just said and may reveal something deeper.
Write down the top ten insights from each interview. Compare your list with your partner’s. What was most surprising? Most expected?
Validation: I need to change:
After you let your top ten list simmer for a few days, come back to your data and do an empathy map. You may want to copy this and make one for each prospective customer you talked with during your interviews.
SAYCapture specific quotes from the customer as well as any phrases or words that struck you as something that might contain a deeper meaning |
THINKCapture phrases that begin with “I think...” or “I believe...” that were specifically stated by the customer You might also capture other thoughts that may not have been explicitly stated but can be inferred from what the customer said. |
DOCapture things you saw the customer doing. Writing down specific details or even drawing out diagrams can be useful. |
FEELCapture feelings and emotions that the customer displayed or talked about having. You might also capture other feelings that you infer from behaviors that you observed. |
What feelings of tension and anxiety were present for your customers?
What do you see that they may not see? These are your insights!
My customers need and are motivated by:
What do you see that they may not see? These are your insights!
My customer’s are contending with these circumstances:
When [Situation], [Customer] is/has [Experience] and needs a way to [Needs] because [Insight].
Write your best 2-3 from your post-its.
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