Empiricism as an approach to driving continuous improvement

When approaching learning and continuous improvement, the way in which we learn and understand knowledge (whether this be totally new or partially new or a reminder of something once learned and now forgotten) can be very individual. We might learn through reading, through listening, through experiencing, or through engaging actively and doing something. Some people prefer theory over practice, others prefer engaging with others as opposed to learning alone in silence. There is no right or wrong approach to learning, but one way in which we can approach learning is to look through the lens of empiricism.

“Empiricism, defined as: the theory that all knowledge is based on experience derived from the senses. Stimulated by the rise of experimental science, it developed in the 17th and 18th centuries, expounded in particular by John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume.”

The empirical approach to learning is thus based around learning through experience. Coming from the Ancient Greek word “empeiria”, which means “experience”, the empirical approach to learning is a process that involves gathering observable data and using this data to formulate key insights, test theories based on these insights and drawing conclusions from these.

What does all this have to learning in an organisational setting??

By looking at the empirical approach to learning in organisations, we can understand how individuals within an organisation might learn through experience in on-the-job application (or apprenticeship-style learning). We can also understand how organisations can learn through experience. An organisation that applies the traditional “double diamond” method of design thinking when developing a new product or service, has to test the new design as part of its development. The testing element offers an opportunity for empirical learning: how far does the service / product offer the desired experience? What is the actual experience of using the service / product? Does it meet expectations? Does it deliver the benefits expected? Does it need any changes / adaptations? Can it be improved? All of these questions offer us useful insights which can build on existing knowledge to create a base of empirical evidence to drive further understanding to create improvements.

Let’s look at an example…

A car company wants to develop a new feature that prevents drivers from falling asleep at the wheel. After going through the design thinking process and creating a prototype, they test the new feature and find that some drivers experience it positively, seeing it as a greatly enhanced safety feature. Other drivers experience it as intrusive and too violent. Other drivers feel that it is totally unnecessary and superfluous to their method of driving, and frustrating as part of their driving experience. From all these experiences, the car company can draw some clear conclusions to understand what drivers want; which elements of the feature are positive and can remain; and which elements of the feature are negative and need to be changed / removed. As such, they can learn through the empirical evidence provided by their customers and tailor their product accordingly, to develop a better and improved car feature.

Any company can learn from this, doing their own customer / stakeholder research to inform decisions on their product so that they can offer a more relevant, desirable product to the marketplace.

To conclude

When using empirical evidence to drive learning in the workplace, it is important to consider how experience can offer valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of your product/ service. However, we must also take into account the variety of experiences that individuals might have - some may have very negative experiences whereas others may have really positive experiences. We need to reflect and digest this vast spectrum of experiences and understand where the median is (or where there are distinct clusters), and what this median or these clusters mean for our product or service. If the average individual really dislikes the product / service, we can understand the need to redevelop and edit it to suit their needs more. Yet, even if the average individual really enjoys the product / service, it doesn’t mean that it is perfect - we can still use others’ experiences to drive further improvements so that we can continuously iterate and improve.?

To conclude, empirical research can enable us to learn more about our customers, to understand more about our product/ service in practice, to drive further improvements and continuous learning, based on empiricism. So, when you’re looking to improve your offering, or developing a new offering, ensure that you conduct empirical research to drive more effective, desirable improvements.

Thanks to Stuart Young for his fantastic Agile Nugget illustration. Find more here: https://www.cprime.com/resources/agile-nuggets/