In order to discover what people really need, want, and do rather than just what they say. We have developed and adopted at Jazri Studio many types of product design research methods and processes.
From the products we have designed and through the manufacturing process we selected, this article shows a number of design methods we used to bring these products (our work) to life. You will discover, through reading this article how we looked with careful eyes while implementing product research to address the multitude of complex problems found while designing these products.
Understanding your targeted parties
Before moving any step forward, we start identifying the audience, then we start asking people many questions about their belongings, and how important they are to them. We do this to ascertain the things that are valued by them to identify any patterns of use or personal meanings.
Collecting Photos and Videos
We keep it visual as much as possible, it is highly effective to draft rich data out of images and videos. The key advantage of photo and video diaries provide an excellent way of studying and capturing significant moments of people in their lives.
Take a walk in the user’s shoes
Now we combine between the previous approaches, we get a ‘performer’ who regularly performs the task and we will observe and record everything while performing the tasks as well as the environment the performer interacts with. This approach helps in revealing unanticipated issues inherent in the routines and circumstances people may experience on a daily basis.
An Example: A Day of Waiter
Below an example of a waiter from the moment he takes an order in his working day till the time to put the order on the table, this can give a rich and comprehensive view of the role, approach, philosophy, and tasks of the subject being shadowed.
Conclusion
We can conclude that, to have a great product, we need to understand who we are making it for and how they will be using it in their natural environment to obtain specific goals. In other words, we can say, people do not want to buy the drill, they just want to have a hole in the wall, to be more specific they need to hang the frame!
