Design Research: Creating Products, Services, & Systems from the Voice of your Stakeholders

When was the last time you rolled out a service, product, or system that just didn’t find an audience? You spent valuable resources–time, money, bandwidth–creating something new, only to watch it fall through the reluctant hands of your target users. What could you have done differently??

The answer is design research, a starting point in the human-centered journey. Design research can pinpoint a target audience and erase unhelpful assumptions about the user’s wants and needs. It helps you identify a problem and design (better) solutions.

In this article, our human-centered designers share tips on the design research process and how you can create products, services, and systems by incorporating the voice of your stakeholders.

What is design research??

Plain and simple, design research is the act of embedding research into the design process, ensuring what you create is based on an understanding of the people who'll eventually use it!

The DOs and DON’Ts of design research

Steve Vassallo , the awarding-winning product designer, once said “data can tell you what’s happening, but they can’t tell you why it’s happening.” That’s where research comes in. Here are five basic tips to keep in mind before starting the research process:

• Don’t wait until you have a product to test. Research is PHASE 0.
• Do engage potential users and let them tell you what works, what doesn’t, and what’s missing.
• Don’t assume empathy equals lived experience–your stakeholders are the experts.
• Do ask questions to better understand or define a problem you’ve identified.
• Don’t forget about research after launch–research can also be used to identify improvements that can be made to an existing offering, ensuring you’re consistently improving!?

The ABCs of user interviews

So you’re ready to start interviewing real potential users of your system, product, or service. Here are three easy-to-remember steps to set yourself and your interviewee up for success.

Asking people to interview

Make sure you have a diverse range of participants (ie job roles, departments, power disparities, identities). Identify your stakeholders, and try to find representatives of each group! Prepare yourself with as much info as you can about a participant beforehand to tailor the discussion to their expertise.

Be transparent about your ask, and consider their time

If you want to get the most out of your (and your interviewee's) time, prepare accordingly. Make sure to draft questions ahead of time and be direct about your goal and how the feedback they provide will be used. Transparency creates an open environment for honest feedback, and you’ll want all the honest feedback you can get before entering design mode.

Compensate your interviewees in some way!

Especially if their insights will be used in a for-profit business, it’s best practice to compensate your interviewees for their time. Offering some form of compensation is a great way to encourage participation, but make sure your subjects know they will receive compensation regardless of their feedback. Small gifts like VISA or Amazon gift cards work well!

Daunted by the research process? We get it. Visit Dotankdo.com to set up a call and see how we can supercharge your research stage, engage key stakeholders, and design solutions fueled by insights from your community.