How do I uncover what users need and want? What exploratory research techniques are there? How should I organise my research? And how can I turn qualitative data into actionable insights? These questions and more will be answered in this hands-on, interactive online Exploratory research training.
Exploratory research is qualitative research ideally undertaken at the very start of the design process. It explores the needs, behaviours, pain points and context of (potential) users. Insights from exploratory research are used to inspire and guide product and service design strategies.
This introductory training will give you a practical understanding of what exploratory research is, and why and how it is done. The focus is on learning-by-doing, so you will be given a case and exercises to practice with. You will learn how to prepare for research, conduct and analyse in-depth interviews and share results as actionable insights.
Here’s what you’ll get from the training:
- ✔ Understand what exploratory research is and when and why it is needed
- ✔ Have a practical understanding of how to plan, conduct and analyse exploratory research in the form of user interviews
- ✔ Be ready to apply your practical learnings in your own work
Outline of this training
This training will be delivered online in 4 x 2,5-hour interactive sessions. Note that you will be required to conduct at least one interview between sessions 2 and 3.
Session 1 - Introduction
- Welcome and introductions
- Training overview
- Sharing learning goals
- What is Exploratory research: goals and methods
- Why and when do you do Exploratory research
- Our practice case
Session 2 - Preparing for in-depth interviews
- Welcome/agenda
- Planning your research (exercise)
- Writing your discussion guide (exercise)
- Interviewing tips
- Homework: conduct at least 1 in-depth interview*
*Note - personal experiences of interviews will be discussed in the next session. Individual feedback on the interviews is not included in this training.
Session 3 - Analysis: from data to insights
- Welcome/agenda
- Sharing interview experiences and data
- Analysing qualitative data
- Clustering data - affinity mapping (exercise)
- Identifying patterns and insights (exercise)
- Homework: think about a case you (would like to) work on so we can discuss it in the next training
Session 4 - Sharing research results effectively
- Welcome/agenda
- Ways to present insights so they stick
- Creating a persona (exercise)
- Discuss personal cases
- Reflect & Close
