User Research Methods That Actually Work

Contenido del curso

Getting into the world of innovation

Listening to your user

Creating valuable ideas

Considering the outside world

Recap

15
Innovación Empresarial: Estrategias para la Creatividad y el Análisis Competitivo
04:08 min

Putting your ideas to the test

Going from idea to business

Getting people on board

Innovating in the real world

Tomar examen

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User Research Methods That Actually Work

Curso de Innovación para Emprendimiento

Clase 6 de 27

Clase 6 / 27

Comentarios (62)62 comentarios

Juan Diego Rodríguez Rodríguez

Hace 5 años

Listening Methods

What do you nee to learn about?

Behaviours: What people do
Values: What is important to people
Needs: Requirements or goals they want to reach
Barriers: Pain points
Catalysts: Events or condicions that cause people to act
Contexts: External conditions that influence people's behavior

3 Ways to do this

Inmersion: Putting yourself into the context of your user
Digital Ethography: Documentation of the situation of the user
Ethnographic interviews: Deep unterstanding your user by interviewing

Tips:
- Establish an open, friendly, trusting tone
- Use open questions
- Listen actively and explore
- Note everything of interest

My challenge: I think my method would be Digital Ethographic by social media, and inmersion.

franklin andres rodriguez gonzalez

Hace 5 años

thanks so much for your time.

Christian Gómez

Hace 5 años

a survey might be the comun idea. but i think the videocall sessions with my users can help more. And i can aply this methods of conversation to listen them.

Lorena Muñoz Arias

Hace 4 años

In my challenge I would initially use digital ethnography to analyze the behaviors of parents with children and additionally I would use the ethnographic interview method to understand from their points of view the reason for the behaviors.

Javier Sánchez Serrano

Hace 5 años

video calls to be closer to my customers, so they feel that I really working to impove the service I'm giving them

Eliana Alexandra Zegarra Pajares

Hace 5 años

Consejos para llevar a cabo una Entrevista etnográfica:

Mantenerse abierto, amigable, con un tono seguro.
Realizar preguntas abiertas.
Escucha activamente y explora.
Anota todo lo interesante.

Juan Pablo Jimenez

Hace 5 años

7.-Listening methods

. There are lot of types of "information" about your users.

What do you need to learn about?

Behaviors: What people do (specific activities).
Values: What is important to people, their priorities, decision criteria.
Needs: Requirements or goals they want to reach.
Barriers: Pain points, things that get in the way of their goals.
Catalysts: Events or conditions that cause people to act.
Contexts: External conditions that influence people's behavior.

. "Go beyond stats and basic info!" . Listening methods

Immersion: Put yourself into the context of your user. Live the experience directly like your user would.
Digital ethnography: This is useful when you can't be there face to face with your user, you can ask them to give you evidence of their experience.
Ethnographic interviews: A really deep understanding of our users or potential costumers and why they behave the way they behave. Talk to a variety of users and people. They are powerful tools because you go to a really deep conversation with the user and get information that you might not get in any other way. Here are a few tips:
- Establish an open, friendly, trusting tone.
- Use open questions.
- Listen actively and explore (give yourself the chance to explore the answers of the user, don't go 100% with the guide cause you can loose rich information).
- Note everything of interest. It might help having someone else taking notes as we interview the user, this way they take notes and also have input on the conversation if they catch a point that we missed. You can also record it and take notes later if you are by yourself.
- Interesting info is not just what they say, it can also be their gestures, tone or body language. Take notes of these too.

. And there a lot more.

Juan Diego Palomino

Hace 4 años

one listening method I'd like to implementt and apply to know my clients's requeriments would be Inmersion in real situations hos is their experience with our services

Ricardo Gomez

Hace 4 años

In our challenge we use: ● Immersion ● Digital ethnography ● Ethnographic interviews

We implemented them because the main user currently does not have all the attention he requires and we are investigating what he feels, what he thinks, how he sees things, what he expects, what he is looking for and the frustrations he feels about the whole process he has to go through to be able to do what he needs to do.

Andres Diaz

Hace 4 años

My challenge is: Understand the catalysts that make the user take the decision to change their actual home.

and the way i can learn the most from users is thru ethnographic interviews.

Yosef Enmanuel Blandin Rios

Hace 4 años

My method is going to be immersion and digital ethography in order to know a little bit more about the conditions of each of my users and be able to document what the users need in the first place.

Lee Andy

Hace 4 años

Es demasiado interesante la herramienta de la entrevista uno a uno y saber y conocer mas sobre las necesidades y como se sienten los clientes. Así uno puede mejorar la experiencia del cliente sobre lo que uno ofrece.

Daphne S. Leger

Profesor

Hace 4 años

así es! y es una herramienta muy SUB-estimada/utilizada :)

Jhoan Vivas Villanueva

Hace 4 años

Siento que dependiendo del área de innovación donde me vaya a desarrollar, es necesaria la aplicación de las 3 métodos mencionados en esta clase. Puedo tomar por ejemplo, estudiar la experiencia de una persona en realidad virtual. Usando los métodos empleados puedo obtener de cada uno de ellos puntos esenciales para continuar con mi emprendimiento:

Inmersión: Dejando que la persona se desenvuelva en el entorno, sienta la experiencia de entrar en esta realidad.
Etnogra. digital: Tomando notas, momentos destacables, fotos, mientras se encuentra en el entorno.
Entrevista: Logrando que la persona exprese ante otra, su posición, opinión, comodidad, indiferencias, etc.

Sol Angie Parra Cuestas

Hace 4 años

The best method is to interview with open questions, how I give the users the opportunity to listen to them, understand their needs and prove the importance to their opinion for me

Daphne S. Leger

Profesor

Hace 4 años

exactly!

Marvin Carreno

Hace 5 años

I would use the inmersion in first place to understand the costumer needs and etnographic interviews to grasp specific aspects of their needs and life.

Daphne S. Leger

Profesor

Hace 5 años

great mix of methods!

Sahl Molina

Hace 5 años

For my challenge I could use the method of Ethnographic interviews, setting up meetings with prospects to learn about their ailments and have a broader panorama of the problem I want to solve.

Daphne S. Leger

Profesor

Hace 5 años

great idea!

Gabriela Garcia

Hace 5 años

What are we trying to learn about?

Behaviors: What people do.
Values: What is important to people, their priorities, decision criteria.
Needs: Requirements or goals they want to rearch.
Barriers: Pain points, things that get in the way of their goals.
Catalysts: Events or conditions that cause people to act a certain way.
Context: External conditions that influence how they behave.

Immersion: Live the experience directly like the user does.

Digital ethnography: Ways to get as close as you can to immerse in the situation of your user when you cannot be there, by getting digital evidence.

Etnographic interviews: Deep understanding of your user. Talk to a variety of people, different types of potential users to get a nice perspective.

Tips for etnographic interviews:

Establish an open, friendly and trusting tone with your user.
Use open questions.
Listen actively and explore
Note everything of interest. Have a backup person taking notes, if not, focus on doing the interview and record it.

Samuel Andrés Agudelo García

Hace 5 años

Pablo Antipan Quiñenao

Hace 5 años

Excelente aporte! ;0

Elvis David Ruiz Alvarez

Hace 3 años

the digital ethnography method, looking for a way for the client to give me information through this method,

Sandra Aldana Angulo

Hace 3 años

My method is to interview and observe how the user behavior is, like their bodily acts when they talk and record the interview and take note afterwards

Luis Francisco Montero

Hace 4 años

Listening methods:

Behaviours: What people do.
Values: What is important to people.
Needs: Requirements or goals they want to reach.
Barriers: Pain points
Catalyst: Events or conditions that cause people to act.
Context: External conditions that influence people's behavior.

Recursos

Understanding your user goes far beyond surveys or databases. The most powerful listening methods in innovation help you uncover behaviors, values, needs and barriers that shape how people really live an experience. If you are working on an innovation challenge, these three techniques will change how you gather insight.

What are you actually trying to learn from a user?

Before choosing a method, get clear on what you want to discover. Statistics and demographics are just the surface.

The goal is to dig into six layers that most teams never question [00:38]:

Behaviors: the specific activities people carry out.
Values: their priorities and decision criteria.
Needs: goals or requirements they want to reach.
Barriers: pain points that block those goals.
Catalysts: events or conditions that trigger action.
Context: external conditions shaping behavior.

This is the difference between knowing your user on paper and understanding why they do what they do. And here is where listening methods become your best ally.

What is a listening method in innovation? It is a structured way to gather information from your user while practicing empathy. It goes beyond surveys to capture behaviors, emotions and context you would otherwise miss.

How does immersion work as a listening method?

Immersion means putting yourself inside your user's context and living their experience as directly as possible [02:00]. It is the closest you can get to walking in someone else's shoes.

In the Sala Uno health clinic project, the innovation team acted like real patients. Because many patients had low vision, team members covered their eyes and moved through the entire healthcare journey without seeing clearly. Others used wheelchairs to feel what it was like to navigate the physical space with limited mobility.

When you cannot fully replicate the experience, like undergoing an actual surgery, the alternative is to accompany the user through it. That way you notice the moments of tension, confusion or impatience that would never show up in a report.

When should you use immersion?

Use it when the experience is physical, sensorial or emotional, and when being present unlocks details no interview could reveal. It is especially useful for services, spaces and processes where friction is felt in the body, not just described in words.

How do you apply digital ethnography with your users?

Digital ethnography is your go-to method when you cannot be physically with your user [04:04]. Instead of showing up in person, you ask them to send you evidence of their experience.

Some examples that work really well:

Take a picture of your route to work.
Document your favorite part of the day.
Record a video of the process of making an appointment.

The more creative your request, the richer the evidence base. You get a window into moments you could never schedule yourself, and your user becomes an active collaborator in the research.

When should you use digital ethnography? Use it when distance, time or privacy prevents you from being present. It lets users document their real life in their own environment, which is often more honest than any interview.

What makes ethnographic interviews so powerful?

Ethnographic interviews are one-on-one conversations designed to reach a deep understanding of why your user behaves, thinks and believes the way they do [05:24]. The word ethnography signals depth: you are not collecting answers, you are decoding a worldview.

Talk to a varied group: different ages, genders, backgrounds and types of customers or potential users. Variety gives you a fuller picture of your challenge.

How do you run a strong ethnographic interview?

Four practices make the difference between a flat conversation and one full of insight [06:20]:

Set an open and trusting tone. Welcome your user, thank them, remind them there are no right or wrong answers and that everything stays anonymous.
Use open questions. Instead of "Do you like going to the park?", ask "How do you feel about going to the park?" so the user can express anything without bias from multiple choice options.
Listen actively and explore. Bring an interview guide, not a script. When something is surprising or unclear, follow up with "Tell me more" or "What do you mean by that?"
Note everything of interest. Record the interview and, if possible, run it with two people: one leading, one taking notes and catching details the interviewer might miss.

Interesting information is not only what people say. It is also their gestures, body language, silences and moments of discomfort. In many interviews, noticing that a user became tense on a specific topic revealed more than their actual words.

Which listening method should you choose for your challenge?

There is no single right answer. Immersion works when you can live the experience, digital ethnography when distance is a factor, and ethnographic interviews when you need depth and nuance. You can also combine them, or invent your own method if your context demands it. After all, this is innovation, so your listening approach can be entrepreneurial too.

Now it is your turn: define which listening methods you could use for your innovation challenge and how you will implement at least one of them in the real world. Share your plan in the comments and get out there to listen to your users.

Resumen

What are you actually trying to learn from a user?

Before choosing a method, get clear on what you want to discover. Statistics and demographics are just the surface.

The goal is to dig into six layers that most teams never question [00:38]:

Behaviors: the specific activities people carry out.
Values: their priorities and decision criteria.
Needs: goals or requirements they want to reach.
Barriers: pain points that block those goals.
Catalysts: events or conditions that trigger action.
Context: external conditions shaping behavior.

This is the difference between knowing your user on paper and understanding why they do what they do. And here is where listening methods become your best ally.

What is a listening method in innovation? It is a structured way to gather information from your user while practicing empathy. It goes beyond surveys to capture behaviors, emotions and context you would otherwise miss.

How does immersion work as a listening method?

Immersion means putting yourself inside your user's context and living their experience as directly as possible [02:00]. It is the closest you can get to walking in someone else's shoes.

When should you use immersion?

How do you apply digital ethnography with your users?

Digital ethnography is your go-to method when you cannot be physically with your user [04:04]. Instead of showing up in person, you ask them to send you evidence of their experience.

Some examples that work really well:

Take a picture of your route to work.
Document your favorite part of the day.
Record a video of the process of making an appointment.

The more creative your request, the richer the evidence base. You get a window into moments you could never schedule yourself, and your user becomes an active collaborator in the research.

When should you use digital ethnography? Use it when distance, time or privacy prevents you from being present. It lets users document their real life in their own environment, which is often more honest than any interview.

What makes ethnographic interviews so powerful?

Talk to a varied group: different ages, genders, backgrounds and types of customers or potential users. Variety gives you a fuller picture of your challenge.

How do you run a strong ethnographic interview?

Four practices make the difference between a flat conversation and one full of insight [06:20]:

Set an open and trusting tone. Welcome your user, thank them, remind them there are no right or wrong answers and that everything stays anonymous.
Use open questions. Instead of "Do you like going to the park?", ask "How do you feel about going to the park?" so the user can express anything without bias from multiple choice options.
Listen actively and explore. Bring an interview guide, not a script. When something is surprising or unclear, follow up with "Tell me more" or "What do you mean by that?"
Note everything of interest. Record the interview and, if possible, run it with two people: one leading, one taking notes and catching details the interviewer might miss.

Which listening method should you choose for your challenge?

Getting into the world of innovation

Innovación Empresarial: De la Idea al Negocio Real

How Might We Statements Define Innovation

Why Innovation Keeps Your Career Relevant

What Innovation Really Is (It's Not Tech)

Design Thinking vs Lean Startup Explained

Listening to your user

User Research Methods That Actually Work

Why Empathy Shapes Better Solutions

How to Turn User Research Into Insights

Creating valuable ideas

Creativity as a Skill You Can Build

Finding Ideas by Borrowing From Other Fields

Brainstorming Rules That Actually Generate Ideas

De idea a concepto: Transformación y priorización efectiva

Considering the outside world

Identificación y Análisis de la Competencia en Negocios

Context Map Canvas for Your Business Idea

Recap

Innovación Empresarial: Estrategias para la Creatividad y el Análisis Competitivo

Putting your ideas to the test

Prototipos: Validación de Ideas Empresariales

Prototipado Efectivo: Qué y Cómo Validar Ideas

Six Prototyping Methods Before You Build Anything

Iterations, Pivots, and Killing Bad Ideas

Going from idea to business

Business Model Canvas Explained in One Page

Business Models That Capture Value

Getting people on board

Why Most Innovations Die Before Launch

How to Pitch Your Idea Using Aristotle

Innovating in the real world

Frugal Innovation: Doing More With Less

Romper Hábitos para Fomentar el Pensamiento Innovador

Entrepreneurial Innovation Skills Course Recap

Habilidades de Innovación para Emprendedores e Intrapreneurs

User Research Methods That Actually Work