I conducted ethnography, particularly contextual observations in Indonesia for a technology giant to:
1. Understand current technological device sales contexts
2. Identify key steps (highlights and pain points) and touchpoints in people's purchasing experience to then create customer journeys and devise the ideal purchasing experience
3. Understand how culture impacts device adoption, usage and workarounds to generate design concepts that adequately responded to the cultural context
1. Understand current technological device sales contexts
2. Identify key steps (highlights and pain points) and touchpoints in people's purchasing experience to then create customer journeys and devise the ideal purchasing experience
3. Understand how culture impacts device adoption, usage and workarounds to generate design concepts that adequately responded to the cultural context
Personally I like to keep a written account of what I see while I'm conducting ethnography because post-research, during analysis, writing is more accessible than media sometimes (photo/audio/video). Instead during fieldwork I find that particularly in emerging countries, writing doesn't call as much attention as recording or taking pictures, and it helps me maintain aligned to my original objective: be unnoticed.
I've included some extracts from the observation to exemplify how I conduct them, as well as some references to additional materials. Generally, I structure my notes in the following way:
Place: and its learnings
Related observations: usually behaviors that call my attention
Quote/dialogue: I try to fill in the gaps with natural language, as it colors
the context
Categorization: I usually categorize my notes so that in later analysis stages
I can refer back to groupings of ideas instead of scattered notes.
I've included some extracts from the observation to exemplify how I conduct them, as well as some references to additional materials. Generally, I structure my notes in the following way:
Place: and its learnings
Related observations: usually behaviors that call my attention
Quote/dialogue: I try to fill in the gaps with natural language, as it colors
the context
Categorization: I usually categorize my notes so that in later analysis stages
I can refer back to groupings of ideas instead of scattered notes.
Jakarta busway
Place: An air-conditioned red bus that makes a large effort to pump out air– the ventilators are noisy and dated. The seats are patterned-blue and upholstered, with sweat stained orange and yellow-frilled towels acting as headrests. Bodies' indentations are seen imprinted forever into the old cushions, which in turn bend your back and make you slump if you do sit.
There are light gray, triangle-shaped, plastic hooks to dangle from in case you don't find a seat. As the bus sways and jerks you mistakenly bump into people, skin sticking momentarily. Peeking into the back of the bus I can see men's tired and sun-damaged skin, while in the front, women look away or out the window- avoiding eye contact. Everyone's face glimmers, people wipe sweat off of their upper lip.
Related observation: All people on the bus wear clothes that cover their
shoulders, women wear pants or over the knee skirts and never cross their legs.
Women prefer to sit next to other women, there have been many complaints
about harrassment on the bus which is why now there are gender specific
separate seating areas.
Dialogue with people: "They should have made a very comfortable bus, with
charging stations, good AC and comfortable seats. Then people would use their
mobiles or computers."
Learnings: Jakarta Transway or "busway" is a safer alternative than other means
of public transportation; Amongst the working class, Islam's decency laws
prevade most if not all interactions.
There are light gray, triangle-shaped, plastic hooks to dangle from in case you don't find a seat. As the bus sways and jerks you mistakenly bump into people, skin sticking momentarily. Peeking into the back of the bus I can see men's tired and sun-damaged skin, while in the front, women look away or out the window- avoiding eye contact. Everyone's face glimmers, people wipe sweat off of their upper lip.
Related observation: All people on the bus wear clothes that cover their
shoulders, women wear pants or over the knee skirts and never cross their legs.
Women prefer to sit next to other women, there have been many complaints
about harrassment on the bus which is why now there are gender specific
separate seating areas.
Dialogue with people: "They should have made a very comfortable bus, with
charging stations, good AC and comfortable seats. Then people would use their
mobiles or computers."
Learnings: Jakarta Transway or "busway" is a safer alternative than other means
of public transportation; Amongst the working class, Islam's decency laws
prevade most if not all interactions.
Grand Indonesia: Upscale shopping mall
Place: Asian and Indonesian employees, outfitted in traditional, long sleeved button jackets, open the doors for you as soon as they see you approach. The cleaning staff is ignored by everyone and look quite surprised when I smile or say thank you.
Everywhere I look there are people working – cleaning, shining windows and banisters, sweeping – even though I could probably eat off the shiny, bright white-tiled floor.
Everything glimmers and reflects the bright light streaming in from the floor to ceiling windows. Store employees stand at the doors of their shops greeting passerbys and escorting shoppers inside. Popular music plays over the speakers- undisruptively framing this very Western experience.
Related observation: Nanny accompanied mother while food shopping. The nanny
carried the baby while the mother pointed at merchandise. The nanny would say
yes or no, and the mother would put the product into the shopping cart.
Dialogue with people: "There are more people working in a home than family
members."
Learnings: Top of the pyramid customers employ various employees; often
alienating themselves from the daily routine of their families. Upscale citizens
are brand savvy and live very Westernized lives, it's almost as if they're outside
of any religious or cultural norms.
Outside of upscale shopping mall
Local "corner" store.
Traditional market, as a comparison to upscale mall.
Our team:
2 UX Researchers, 2 UX Designers, local teams in India, Chile and Indonesia
My specific duties:
Co-prepare research documentation (screener, study guide, debrief docs) and moderate ethnographic interviews; plan PD and UX workshop protocols; prepare post-interview documentation; participate in user analysis and persona creation; co-design service and experience scenarios; participate in client-facing presentations.
2 UX Researchers, 2 UX Designers, local teams in India, Chile and Indonesia
My specific duties:
Co-prepare research documentation (screener, study guide, debrief docs) and moderate ethnographic interviews; plan PD and UX workshop protocols; prepare post-interview documentation; participate in user analysis and persona creation; co-design service and experience scenarios; participate in client-facing presentations.
www.uwex.edu/ces/4h/evaluation/documents/Observation.ppt
http://learningstore.uwex.edu/pdf/G3658-05.pdf
http://learningstore.uwex.edu/pdf/G3658-05.pdf
