Discovery operations guide

There are many means by which designers accomplish the research necessary to understand their problem frame. Two of the major methods are interviews and observation. 

Interviews are usually conducted with only one or two participants, and are structured more like guided conversations than formal interviews. You always need at least two team members to complete an interview: an interviewer and a notetaker.

Observation means understanding the system(s) with which your participant interacts in order to understand their experience. This can be as simple as a fly-on-the-wall tactic, in which you stay silent and take notes on your participant’s activities, or as in-depth as participatory observation, where you actually participate in the system in order to fully understand its function and how it might or does affect your participants. A single researcher can perform an observation, but if you are working as a team and/or the process seems to require multiple sets of eyes, two team members can work together in these engagements.

Preparation for both research methods is similar. A research guide with the key points you and the team need to touch on during interviews, or watch for during observations, is key to staying on task throughout these engagements. Also have your elevator pitch ready, in case you need to quickly explain your project.