Ethnography in Software Design - An Anthropologist's Perspective

Ethnography in Software Design  
An Anthropologist’s Point of View
ACE! Conference 2015, Krakow Poland
: https://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/101187156@N03/14366224997/

Kelly Moran
Lead Design Researcher

“Uncover user needs,  
Design great solutions,  
and build out solutions to launch.”

DistillMeaningfromObservation
BuildtheBacklog
CONTACT BUILDING & EVOLVINGFOCUSED INNOVATION
Only a subset of these activities will be appropriate for any given project.
Qualitative Research
Quantitative Research
Affinity Diagramming
Construct themes from qualitative
data.
Analysis & Synthesis Opportunities
Ideation & Iteration
Validation & Evaluation
Approach Planning Design Research Experience Strategy & Strategic Ideation PlanningDefinition
IdentifyChallengesinContext
SettheStage
REVEALING REALITY
Foundational Analysis
Heuristic Evaluation
Identify inital breakdowns and
opportunities
Digital Marketing SWOT
Analysis
Identify strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities & theats.
Stakeholder Interviews
Understand staheholders’ business
goals & strategy.
Technical Organization
Capability Aanalysis
Analyze existing skills and toolsets.
Scenario-based System
Walkthroughs
Demo of existing solution.
Metrics Evaluation
Establish quantitative baseline of
engagement & conversion data.
Content Inventory
Catalog the content of the site or
application.
Competitive Analysis
Evaluate competitors and
comparables on specific axes.
User Experience
Data
Technology
Enterprise Architecture
Capability Assesment
Review existing enterprise
technology infrastructure.
Solution(s) Architecture
Assessment
Review existing application(s)
architecture.
RFP Request
Deliver proposal to defined scope
document and existing
requirements.
Project Approach
Asses a possible project and plan
high level approach.
Align & Assess Workshop
Assess readiness across core
capabilities.
Backlog Grooming
Reprioritize backlog, add new
stories.
Zero Feature Release
Demonstrate CI, automated
testing, core solution setup.
High Level Technical
Architecture
Describe high level architecture,
including packaged components.
Development
Infrastructure
Configuration
Continuous integration setup.
Technical Package
Identification & Evaluation
Perform product evaluations for
package solution components.
Architecture Spikes &
Proofs of Concept
Prove candidate architectures via
top bottom spikes.
Existing Research Review
Market research, website feedback,
corporate strategy, etc.
BringtheSolutionintoFocus
Research Plan
Design activities to meet research
goals.
Contextual Inquiries
Observe & document user in
context & environment.
User Journals & Diaries
User document their experiences
over time.
Participatory Design
Co-creation explorations with
users.
Card Sort
Explore users’ mental models for
content and labeling.
Surveys
Solicit structured feedback from
users.
User Workflow Modeling
Visually document workflows &
work systems.
Ideation Workshops
Immerse stakeholders in data and
brainstorm opportunities.
Persona Development
Create customer types to
document observed behaviors and
values.
Consolidated Workflow
Diagram
Aggregate individual user workflows
into one diagram.
Current Journey Map
Visualize the user’s perspective of
the current experience.
Quantitative Data
Visualization
Present quantitative data visually.
Opportunities Generation &
Evaluation
Opportunities & prototype choice.
Opportunities Matrix
Prioritize in three dimensions,
including user experience impact.
Marketing Opportunities
Strategic planning of owned,
earned & paid online tactics.
Engagement Plan
Develop the strategic and tactical
plan to achieve the client’s goal.
Experience-Driven
Roadmap
Plan how great UX can be achieved
through the design.
Design Principals
Articulate design principals to
guide the design and development
process.
Requirements & User
Stories Definition
Write user stories based on
detailed user scenarios.
Application & Navigation
Framework
Validated navigation and
framework.
Wireframed Key Workflows
Validated wireframes of key
workflows.
Visual Design Language
Visual design language defined.
Information Architecture
Map the product from the users’
point of view.
Storyboards
Illustrate graphical representations
of scenarios.
Qualitative & Quantitative
Data Synthesis
Analyze validation data..
User Scenarios
Write detailed narratives for user
experience flows.
Future Journey Map
Visualize the user’s future,
improved experience.
Concept Validation
Validate design prototypes through
user feedback.
Application & Navigation
Framework Concepts
Create models for the navigation &
framework of the application or
site.
Workflow Concepts
Draw high-level wireframes for key
workflows.
Visual Exploration
Explore different visual treatments
and styles of the application or site.
KANO Feature Prioritization
Prioritize features with users
through KANO analysis.
we make software make sense.
TM

Findings and themes from the research synthesis
Personas
Consolidated Workﬂow Diagram
Journey Map
Stakeholder workshop: Findings presentation and Opportu
Experience Principles
Opportunities generation and consolidation
Documentation/Data Review
Identify participants, begin coordinating recruiting
Scenario-based Product Walkthroughs
Stakeholder Interviews
SME Consultations
Revealing Reality
Continue contextual inquiry (CI) participant scheduling
CI protocol development

“Design Research directs
the strategy & design for
our software projects”

WHAT DOES  
ANTHROPOLOGY
LOOK LIKE?

http://michaelvhurley.com/2013/01/04/my-worthless-degree/

“Anthropology demands the
open-mindedness with which one
must look and listen, record in
astonishment, and wonder that
which one would not have been
able to guess"
– Margaret Mead

WHAT IS  
ETHNOGRAPHY?
10 things to know

1
Ethnography is the descriptive
study of people and cultures
@Kel_Moran

2
Ethnographic Research is…
An approach not a speciﬁc
method
@Kel_Moran

3
Ethnographic Research…
Favors qualitative over
quantitative - the ethnographer
seeks to provide “thick”
description
@Kel_Moran

4
Conducted in context, typically
over an extended period of time,
and holistic, seeking the wider
picture
@Kel_Moran

To understand the pen, you must
understand the paper.

5
Systematically (purposefully)
conducted, but is responsive to
emerging trends and themes
(ﬂexible).
@Kel_Moran

6
Utilizes key informants who can
act as guides and help provide
access to the community
(Also oﬀer “reality checks”)
@Kel_Moran

7
Seeks out the insider (emic)
perspective and layers in outsider
(etic) insights and
interpretations
@Kel_Moran

8
Generative - done to discover
new information, not to test
existing hypotheses
@Kel_Moran

“Never theorize before you have
data. Invariably you end up
twisting facts to suit theories
instead of theories to suit facts.”
- Sherlock Holmes
(Arthur Conan Doyle)

9
Seeks to tease out the implicit, not
typically stated, features of a group
“Making the familiar strange and the
strange familiar”
@Kel_Moran

Is inclusive, typically including a
participatory component
10
@Kel_Moran

BONUS!
Bronislaw Malinowski was a
Polish born Anthropologist who
pioneered extended ﬁeldwork.
@Kel_Moran

WHAT IS  
DESIGN ETHNOGRAPHY?
3 things to know

1
Design Ethnography…
Is a way “…to increase the success
probability of a new product or service
or, more appropriately, to reduce the
probability of failure speciﬁcally due to a
lack of understanding the basic
behaviors and frameworks of
consumers.”
Salvator, Tony; Genevieve Bell; and Ken Anderson (1999) “Design Ethnography,”
Design Management Journal (pp. 35-41). p.37 @Kel_Moran

2
Avoids an over-reliance on
self-reported data
 
(what they say is not always what they do)
@Kel_Moran

3
Qualitative research, done in the context
(environment) of the intended users,
seeking to discover and understand
their problems from their viewpoint,
with the designer’s viewpoint used to
ideate potential solutions.
@Kel_Moran

INTEGRATING 
IN-CONTEXT RESEARCH .

Discovery Phase
• Designer pairs with a Researcher
• Researcher leads with a background in the social
sciences
• Designer assists
Researcher Designer

Design Phase
• Roles switch, and the Researcher assists the Designer
ResearcherDesigner

After Detailed Design
• Designer typically is embedded into the Development
Phase
• Researcher comes back on board for user testing
DesignerDeveloper x N
Researcher

Discovery Design Build
Provides continuity and keeps the
user’s voice present
User Focused Innovation

ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE
ACCOUNT RECONCILIATIONS

The Client and the Product
Vendor of accounting software
• Customer feedback of “too many clicks” and “hard to use”
• Sales were lagging
Used in organizations with large, multi-functional
accounting departments
• Needed to be customizable
• Should fit within a suite of other enterprise products

Research Basics
Who
• 19 users at 6 user sites, plus 3 users inside the client company
• = 22 total observed users
• Both primary reconcilers (doers) and reviewers (managers)
Where
• 7 locations across 4 states
• 2-4 users at each location

From 22 users: Around 800
unique insights and observations
were recorded

“We have everything set up for
you in a conference room.”

Contextual Learnings
• 5 out of 6 of the client-user groups observed used two
monitors
• adding machines (calculators) still in use
• typically in either a cube or an open workspace
• = lots of noise and movement
• users “get into a zone” to focus on their work
• paper everywhere
• one user had multiple post-it notes with the same number
for customer support displayed near the phone
• User observed walking to a locked room (with a broken ankle)
to look up reference numbers

Contextual Learnings
• With a lot on their minds, Excel is king
• High cognitive load
• High use of Excel quick keys
• Importing data of multiple types into Excel as images
• Highlighting and/or circling important data
http://icons8.com

“It’s better than having it
rejected back.”

Contextual Learnings (continued)
• Attachments and cover sheets
• Manager preference for a single attachment
• Printing out documents from multiple sources to scan
them into one attachment
• Making a Custom “cover sheet” in Excel to sum up the
work

“I look at [the product] as basically
just a holding station.”

• “Roles” as defined in the software did not match the work-based
roles of the users
• In several locations a “reconciler” also held the role of
“administrator,” but juggling these in the software was
cumbersome
• The administrator role could become overwhelming
Assumed User Role with Linear Workflow
Observed Interrupted User/Admin Workflow
Start
Administrative Work
Start End
User Work
End
User WorkUser Work
Interruption

“I have to change gear…to move to
that other role.”

“Soon I won’t have any
accounting work. It will all be
[administrative] work.”

• The problem goes beyond the system
• Lack of technical support
• The “real work” was done outside the system before we
arrived.

EXTENDED RESEARCH
FOLLOW-UP RETROSPECTIVES

Understanding What We Didn’t See
• Visited 4 new groups
• Plus an internal
check with the
client’s accounting
department
• Increased our overall
reach
• Used a custom-built
research activity
• Helped us understand
how the users view their
work stream, and where
the software fits in

Now what do we do
with all that data?

Synthesizing the Data - Major Insights
1. Learning, training, & support
2. Don’t make it hard on us
3. We know who we are and
what we need
4. We need an agile, smart
workflow and tracking system
5. Don’t add to our cognitive
load
6. Be our partner
7. We have a lot going on
besides what you do for us
8. Collaboration, teamwork,
communication, & working
with others

Concepts Lead to Design
• Organizing the system’s
workstream to match the
user’s view.
• Renaming the “account home
page” the “cover sheet” and
emphasizing its similarities
to the Excel-made
coversheets.
• Bringing in more Excel patterns
• Users viewed the system as
supplementary, and part of a
larger process.
• Cover sheets were created and
standardized by each
accounting group.
• Observed high use of Excel.

Concepts Lead to Design (continued)
• Making both uploading and
viewing attachments easier
and more consistent with
the rest of the UI.
• Overall more consistent UI
• Putting the information the
users needed most to keep
in mind in a prominent, and
persistent, place on every
screen.
• Uploading and viewing
attachments was a
common problem; and it
didn’t match the rest of the
experience.
• Inconsistent UI was jarring to
navigate.
• Users had to scan the page to
find the most relevant
information on each
screen.

Three Pages Tested - Two Versions Each
(revised and re-tested for a total of three testing rounds)
• Reconciler Dashboard
• List Page - results of search
• Refined filtering
• Details page - account home; i.e. cover sheet

User-Led Validation and Changes
• Most users don’t need the 6-currency view panel
• Changed the default to 3 currencies
• Accountants need to be sure their entries save
• Ties back to the generative research
• Added a “save” confirmation button instead of auto-saving
• “Build-a-filter” concept performed better than the “expose
all filters” option
• Attaching files to the cover page was validated as preferable
to using a separate attachments page

BRINGING ETHNOGRAPHY 
TO YOUR PROJECTS .

Start Small - Start Anywhere!
Does not need to cover 7 regions across a continent
(seeing a few users makes a diﬀerence)
Get into the environment (try Skype if needed)
Don’t go in with solutions in mind (don’t be too sure
you know the problems already either)
@Kel_Moran

How to Observe
The physical environment - open? cramped? hot? cold?
Lighting, noise - pleasant? distracting? manipulated by the user?
People - who interacts with whom?
Artifacts - equipment, paper notes, binders…
Document it all - notes, yes, but also photographs and audio/video if
permitted.
@Kel_Moran

How to Ask Questions
Be respectful, but don’t be shy - they have a job to do, and so do you
You are not an expert in their work/play - even if you think you are
Rephrase what they say and ask if you got it right - let them
correct you even if you know you did
Avoid leading questions - ask them to describe instead
Take note of their ideas and ask “What problem does this
solve?” - they’re not the experts at finding solutions, but they tried their
best
@Kel_Moran

Honor the Idea of Reciprocity
Your users (research participants) are giving
you something, so be sure to give
something back.
@Kel_Moran

: https://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/101187156@N03/14366224997/
Kelly Moran
Lead Design Researcher
Thank You
@Kel_Moran

How Tos
Brian A. Hoey. "A Simple Introduction to the Practice of Ethnography and Guide to Ethnographic Fieldnotes" Marshall
University Digital Scholar (2014): 1-10. 
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/brian_hoey/12
Methods of Discovery a Guide to Research Writing http://methodsofdiscovery.net/?q=node/19
Ethnography https://www.academia.edu/1022047/
Picken_F._2009_What_is_Ethnography_in_M._Walter_Ed_Social_Research_Methods_Melbourne_OUP
What is Ethnography http://www.cusag.umd.edu/documents/workingpapers/epiontattrib.pdf
Articles
Horace Miner’s (1956) article “Body Ritual among the Nacirema”
Available at: https://www.msu.edu/~jdowell/miner.html or at: http://www.sfu.ca/~palys/Miner-1956-
BodyRitualAmongTheNacirema.pdf

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