Discovery operations guide

Problem framing

Project Lead

Manage the overall project, as well as early-stage conceptualization and articulation of the problem frame.

Leadership

If the project was generated from leadership, leaders should:

• Be deeply involved in the project-framing process.
• Agree to actively lend their sponsorship and support to the project.
• Work to ensure consensus and knowledge amongst their peers, as well as any partner organization(s).

(Note, leaders are generally not involved with grassroots projects at this stage.)

Leadership buy-in

Project Lead

Regular, ongoing communication with leadership and key stakeholders, including:

• Explain the frame and the logic behind that frame.
• Demonstrate the value of the project.
• Gain sponsorship and ongoing support for the project.

Current/Potential Team Members

• Help the research lead sell the project to leadership.

• Help define the shape of the team, including determining whether or not the project needs to have a local contact.

  • If so, identify the type of local contact needed, and begin recruiting.

• Read the HCD Guides

Build the team

Project Lead

• Confirm roles of potential team members, and tailor role assignments to team members’ soft and hard skills. People will do a better job if they have an affinity for their role.
• Manage the distribution of effort.

Team Members

• Sort themselves into preferred project roles, and communicate those preferences to the research lead.
• Maintain flexibility by recognizing they may have responsibilities outside of their preferred role, and that their role may change as the project progresses. For example, one team member might start as the recruiter and then move into the logistics coordinator role.

Local Contact

• Gain permission from local leadership to participate in the project.

Recruit participants

Recruiter

• Manage recruiting sources, follow-up on leads, and present potential participant options to the team.
• Work with the local contact to identify local leadership and book an on-site briefing.

Local Contact

• Work with the recruiter to find participants and gather references.
• Track down local leads, as needed.
• Scout and secure synthesis sites.

Overview planning

Logistics Coordinator

• Own and update the team calendar.
• Choose a hotel and reserve space for synthesis sessions.
• Identify transportation options.
• Plan for and coordinate printing and supplies.

Local Contact

• Work with both the recruiter and logistics coordinator.
• Conduct pre-visit evaluation of interview location options, and set a time to brief the team once they arrive on-site.
• Coordinate and communicate with the research lead and local power structures, such as local leadership, unions, or bureaucracies, prior to site visit.

Research

Project Lead

• Lead interviews and/or observations.
• Coordinate with the team to track changes in schedules, locations, or subjects.
• Take notes during interviews, when needed.
• Guide post-interview activities.

Researchers

• Lead interviews and/or observations.
• Take notes during interviews, when needed.
• Guide post-interview downloading sessions.
• Communicate broad strokes of interviews with Project Lead if working in multiple groups.

Synthesis

Project Lead

• Lead team through exercises to find insights and opportunities, ensuring they align within the project frame.
• Communicate the outcomes from the synthesis session(s) to leadership.

All Team Members

• Actively participate in synthesis and analysis by providing ideas, defending positions, documenting agreed-upon ideas and themes on sticky notes, and/or taking pictures.

Communicate findings

Project Lead

• Present and/or communicate planned deliverables to leadership and stakeholders.
• Coordinate the production, review, delivery, and communication of any products that come out of the research round.
• Ensure that project artifacts are savedand  organized in an approved location.

Researchers

• Support delivery of findings and deliverables to leadership and stakeholders.

Try it out

Create your team’s contact list. You’ll need to record this basic info for each team member on your project.

The basic roles you must identify at this point are: Leadership, Project Lead, Researcher(s), Recruiter, and Logistics Coordinator.