METHODBASE

(Hitta - Swedish - to find; also hitta.se, a popular website to find people or companies)

What is it for?

Following users in their daily routines / user scenarios to find out about their behavior and user patterns.

How does it work?

Observing an staying close to a specific user to see how they are using a product or service.

When should it be used?

To understand the needs and behavior of users and adapt the products accordingly. It can be done in rather early or middle stages of a project.

How long does it take?

What is it for? 

It presents what has been done within the process and what should be done in the future of the process.

How does it work? 

1) Draw a sailing boat.

2) The sail represents what drives the process forward, the anchor what holds it back and the body what the wishes are.

3) Give participants pen and post-its and each of them write down their thoughts about each topic.

4) Collect and discuss.

When should it be used?

In the middle of the process.

How long does it take?

What is it for?

Ideation, getting insights

To work with the human senses

How does it work?

Providing a buffet of materials and inspiration to ask people how something abstract, like a feeling or a brand, smells, tastes, sounds, feels etc.

When should it be used?

At an early exploratory stage

Understanding peoples associations

Keywords

Senses / Experiences / Associations / Insights

What is it for?

Letting go of your course aim

Discovering new ways of communicating, expression and exploring.

How does it work?

Triggering new ways of communication (different positions, media, environments, voices, etc), and explore how these news forms impact our understanding.

When should it be used?

In the middle of the project

understanding/ reasoning /  Ideation

Keywords

Exploring / New environments / Triggering

What is it for: 1) Understanding the client environment

2) Analysing trends influencing your work and users

How does it work: 1) Research on the topic connected to current developments in society When should it be used: Understanding-phase

What is it for?

To DO things.

To get creative. 

To shift your mindset.

To get new inspiration by using bodily senses.

How does it work?

Take some time (around 20min) to collect images, colours, materials, etc. that relate to you. Always trust your gut feelings. Put on some nice music. Order the images with your team according to three topics: 

Space 

Gravity

Energy

Arrange the images on a mood board, re-arrange, look at the full composition and again trust your gut feelings. After, make sense of the mood board and try to connect to your project.

When is it used?

Research phase: After analysing the environment of the project. 

Source

BiSmo BALLS

What is it for?

Analyzing complex systems of interactions.

How does it work?

Identifying key factors in systems and analyzing relationships between these factors.

When should it be used?

Should be used in the understanding phase of the design process; mainly for research and analysis purposes.

What is it for?

To have a break. 

To get to know your team mates better. 

To get new inspiration by using bodily senses. 

How does it work?

Change your environment. Go for a walk or have a Fika break in agreement with the group (use code word “Charlie”). 

When is it used?

Especially, when your group is stuck in the process. 

Source

What is it for?

Idea generation

Concentrating and not discussing

How does it work?

Everyone works on idea development on his own possibility; building up on each others idea

Rules

Yes, and...

No talking

When should it be used?

For idea generation

Keywords

Idea development, mindset

Source

What is it for?

Getting an impression of current journey of the customer through a service/action

Developing or redesigning a sample journey thorough service from the users perspective and the actors, touchpoints etc. involved

Mapping out steps and what surrounds them

Visualising a service

Experience mapping

Understanding the user’s perspective and empathising with it

How does it work?

Map out the customer journey by creating a timeline of the whole service experience (from awareness to after-usage)

More detailed guide here: http://www.polaine.com/playpen/media/uxaus/apolaine_UXAustralia_workshop_handouts.pdf

When should it be used?

To understand the context of users

To discover deeper layers, e.g. emotions

To formulate user goals

Keywords:

service, customer, user, ux, analytics, feelings

Visuals:

Sources:

Service design

http://www.servicedesigntools.org/tools/35

A. Polaine

http://www.polaine.com/playpen/media/uxaus/apolaine_UXAustralia_workshop_handouts.pdf

What is it for?

This method is used for seeing your idea from different perspectives and to get different views of your idea.

How does it work?

You imagine your idea as... 1. an animal 2. a meal 3. an environment and  4. a functional object. Which animal/meal/environment/object would your idea be?

When is it used?

It is used after idea generation and when you already have decided, which idea you want to dig into. It helps you discover new characteristics of your idea.

Source

Service design toolkit

What is it for?

For sparking creative thinking and for generating new ideas

For completing missing pieces of the story

For getting a bigger picture on the issue

How does it work?

One person in the group starts a story by answering one of the W-questions (Who, What, Where, When, Why). The next person builds up on the story by answering the next W-question. Eventually, the group gets a whole new made-up story with enough details in it. The story could either be related to the topic the group is working on or could just be used as a refreshing exercise

When is it used?

Relevant through research phase or idea generation. Could also be applied at any moment to push through stale points.

Source

Inspired by Swedish children game

What is it for?

Focusing on what is important.

How does it work?

Create an “idea parking lot” where ideas are parked that are less relevant at the moment.

When should it be used?

During the whole process

What is it for?

- Generating new creative ideas

- Learning from each other

- Combining creative thoughts

How does it work?

You write down an idea on a slip of paper. Then you pass the paper through so that everyone builds upon the idea. Before handing it to the next person you fold the paper so that you can only see previous post that was right before yours. 

When should it be used?

Idea generation phase

What is it for? structuring research

How does it work? -set timeframe - set template - do research - fill in template - present it to group

When should it be used? Research phase

Source Bespoke

What is it for? 

To let everyone try different roles within a group work in order to learn from each other and gain new insights.  How does it work? 

Make hats of different colors, each hat represents a certain group role. The hats are randomly distributed throughout the group. While wearing the hat you have to act accordingly to that specific role, after 5-10 minutes. Examples of group roles are (there can be more than one from each role): 

Shaper - task is to be argumentative, provocative and impatient.

Implementer - Tries to transform discussions and ideas into practical activities.  Recorder - Observes what is happening and tries to stay unemotional and detached from the other members reflecting on what is happening, while recording information.

Negotiator - Sparks discussions by asks the other group members questions about their ideas, feelings, and thoughts regarding the project. 

The Compromiser - mediates the differences between other members, attempts to reconcile disagreements, relieves tension in conflict situations

When should it be used 

Facilitations, Discussions, New Insights, Team Building