In this interactive workshop, we explore the detailed interview, the card sorting technique and digital experimentation, three foundational skills for primary market research in a startup setting.

1. MIT Entrepreneurship and
Maker Skills Integrator
Primary Market Research Skills Clinic
June 5, 2017
Elaine Chen and Nick Meyer

2. “THERE ARE NO
FACTS INSIDE
THE BUILDING,
SO GET THE
HECK OUTSIDE.”
Steve Blank
Entrepreneur, Author,
Stanford Professor
Imagecredit:entrepreneur.com

3. So, when do we do it?

4. A few tenets
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8. versus
Qualitative Quantitative
Primary Market Research:
A Bird’s Eye View

9. Some go-to PMR techniques
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Detailed Interviews Observation Immersion
Landing page experimentsCard sorting exercise Facebook ad experiments

10. What we will practice today
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Detailed Interviews Observation Immersion
Landing page experimentsCard sorting exercise Facebook ad experiments
+ Experimental
design

11. EXERCISE 1: DETAILED
INTERVIEW
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12. Technique cheat sheet
• Establish rapport before you begin
• Be 100% present. Don’t multitask.
• Listen and observe. Pay attention to body language.
• Don’t follow a script line by line. Let the subject lead.
• Ask short, open ended questions – and practice active listening.
• ”Tell me about the last time…”
• “Tell me about how you…”
• ”You said XXX. Tell me more?”
• “Why?” | “Why not?”
• … 12

13. TALK LESS
Listen more

14. Simulation: Pretend you are Kenta! Passionate about
solving the luggage problem
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• ”Tell me about the last time…”
• “Tell me about how you…”
• ”Tell me the story of…”
• ”You said XXX. Tell me more?”
• “Why?” | “Why not?”
• …
• TALK LESS, LISTEN MORE

15. Sharing!
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16. Why interviews work
• Best choice when you don’t know
what you don’t know
• Excellent ROI for time invested
• Gives your customers a face and a
name
• Learnings will help you with future
research (qualitative or
quantitative)
16

17. EXERCISE 2: CARD SORTING
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18. Card sorting exercise
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19. Simulation: Luggage problem, cont’d
• Brainstorm 10-15 features
• Write down 1 feature per card
• Make the features as separate
as possible
• KEEP IT MOVING!

20. Sharing!
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21. Pro-tips
• Make the features as small as
possible
• Run the card sorting in 2 stages:
• Elimination
• Prioritization
• Ask the test subject to keep
talking while sorting – and take
notes along the way
• KEEP IT MOVING!
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22. EXERCISE 3:
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
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23. Hypothesis template
• Basic structure:
• I believe [target market] will [do this action /
use this solution] for [this reason].
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24. Example experimental design
24
Hypothesis: “I believe users will love our new
touch UI feature to pan and page the sleep
graph.”
Thing: Functional interactive prototype
Experiment: Usability benchmark.
Duration: 30 min UX test + 15 min debrief
Threshold: 50% of users will complete the task
without help.

25. In Class Exercise: Design an experiment
Take the top hypothesis you chose just now, and design an
experiment.
• What’s the hypothesis?
• What’s the Thing you use to test with?
• What is the design of the experiment?
• What’s the duration?
• What’s the measuable threshold to decide whether to
persevere or pivot?
25

26. Sharing!
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27. Pro tips
• Best choice when you don’t know
what you don’t know
• Excellent ROI for time invested
• Gives your customers a face and a
name
• Learnings will help you with future
research (qualitative or
quantitative)
27

28. STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO
STARTUP PMR

29. PMR, Procter and Gamble style
• Expensive (hundreds of
thousands of $ and up)
• Long (3-9 months)
• Often done in
conjunction with an
agency
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Image credit: continuuminnovation.com

30. PMR, startup style
• Cheap
• Fast
• DIY. NOT rocket
science. You can do
this.
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31. “THERE ARE NO
FACTS INSIDE
THE BUILDING,
SO GET THE
HECK OUTSIDE.”
Steve Blank
Entrepreneur, Author,
Stanford Professor
Imagecredit:entrepreneur.com

32. Learning more
• “Talking to Humans” E-book - Giff
Constable
• UX for Lean Startups: Faster,
Smarter User Experience Research
and Design – Laura Klein
• Resources section of ConceptSpring
website - Elaine Chen
• Templates and samples – Elaine
Chen
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33. Questions?
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