1. Ethnographic Opportunity
Analysis part 1 (Spring 2013)
Hank Delcore & Jim Mullooly
aka “TheAnthroGuys” @
www.TheAnthroGuys.com
1

2. io n?
v at
In no
Innovation is not the product of logical
thought, even though the final product is
tied to a logical structure - Albert
Einstein 2

3.  Innovation in Business (Schumpeter, 1934)
 1. Introduction of a new/improved good
 2. Introduction of a new method of
production
 3. Opening new market or territory
 4. Conquest of a new source of raw
materials
 5. New type of organization
3

4.  Innovation in Business (Schumpeter, 1934)
 1. Introduction of a new/improved good
Sweet
Chocolate
4

5.  Innovation in Business (Schumpeter, 1934)
Henry Ford’s
 2. Introduction Assembly Line
of a new method
of production
5

6.  Innovation in Business (Schumpeter, 1934)
Shushi in US
3. Opening new
market or territory
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7.  Innovation in Business (Schumpeter, 1934)
Sugar Beets
in 1870s
 4. Conquest of a new
source of raw materials
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8.  Innovation in Business (Schumpeter, 1934)
Japanese
Automotive
Administration
 5. New type of organization
8

9.  Innovation in Business (Schumpeter, 1934)
 1. Introduction of a new/improved good
Sweet
Chocolate
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13. 13

14. Steve Jobs
Master of
Innovation as
improvement of
an existing
good
14

15. How
Personal
Computers
were Used
(1984)
15

16. How Music
devices
were Used
(2001)
16

17. How Smart
Phones
were Used
(2007)
17

18. How Tablet
Computers
were Used
(2010)
18

19. BUT
Apple is a
Software
Company
(Steve Jobs)
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20.  Apple is a Software Company (Jobs)
The Macintosh Interface
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21. Apple is a Software Company (Jobs)
The Ipod’s Itunes Store
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22. Apple is a Software Company (Jobs)
The Iphone’s
App Store
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23. Apple is a Software Company
(Jobs)
The Ipad’s
App Store
23

24. How can you
find these
opportunities?
24

25. Through
t io n
d u c
In
25

26. Ethnographic (Inductive)
Opportunity Analysis
 Deductive Approaches
– Hypothesis  Data Collection 
Analysis
 from general to specific
 Inductive Approaches
– Data Collection  Analysis 
Hypothesis 26
 from specific to general

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28. 28

29. Engineering vs. Reverse Engineering
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30. Inspirational Induction Analytic Induction
Work Workaround
Engineer Reverse Engineer
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31. "The ability to observe consumers
in context, without preconceptions,
and then deliver a market-worthy
innovation."
Good, simple (i.e. biz-friendly) def. of "analytic
induction"?
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32. AnthroGuy Himself
Professor Hank Delcore
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33. CASE 1:
Dirty
Laundry
What do you do
with dirty clothes?
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34. Proctor & People doing
Observed
Gamble laundry
34

35. Found
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36. CASE 2:
Energy
Crisis
How can you
save energy?
36

37. Intel Observed Green Homeowners
as Lead Adopters
as Lead Adopters
37

38. Found
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39. C
A
S
E
3
39

40. All of these cases
illustrate one overarching
observation:
40

41. What People Say
They Do
and What They Do
Are Different
41

42. The Business Case for User-
Driven Innovation
 Unprecedented specialization and
segmentation, multiplied many times over
by domestic and international cultural
diversity.
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43. The Value of the Use Case
 Entrepreneurs can neither assume
that they are socially or culturally close
to users nor that they can keep up
with consumer trends themselves –
unless they seek user-centered
insights.
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44. Increased Competition
 Increased competition from emerging
economies
 Companies can no longer rely on the
advantages of being the first to introduce
new technologies to the market.
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45. Democratization of
Knowledge
 The democratization of knowledge, driven by the
internet and information technology in general
 Armed with lots of information and the ability to buy
from companies all over the globe, consumers no
longer consider the price/quality trade-off as the
sole driver of choice.
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46. Democratization of
Knowledge
 Instead, consumers increasingly consider how a
company and its products match their own personal
values, behaviors and needs.
 To get at this, successful companies must include
users in the innovation process.
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47. Just to Stay Solvent
 As Squires and Byrne put it: “…companies
have to manufacture the right commodities and
deliver them in the right way to the right
consumers at least four out of ten times every
year – just to stay solvent” (Squires and Byrne
2002:xiv).
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48.  Traditional R&D departments and
entrepreneurs with their own views on
“what people want” can no longer
keep up with the reality of rapidly
evolving needs and desires.
48

49. THE ASSIGNMENT
Pll
P
ea
ea
se
If I have ever made any
se
Pa
Pa
valuable discoveries, it
y
yA
Att
has been owing more
tte
enntti
ion
on
to patient attention,
!!!!!!
than any other talent.
Isaac Newton: (1642-1727)
49

50. THE ASSIGNMENT
 1) Conduct some sort of “inductive
observation”,
 2) analyze your notes, then
 3) expand those notes into a brief
report about what you found.
50

51.  DESCRIPTION
– Rather than looking into a completely
innovative idea (service or product), the
goal is to 1) observe something that
already works; 2) observe it in great
detail; then 3) begin to understand it in
such detail that you can 4) make
concrete suggestions about improving it.
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52.  In Other Words
– Rather than looking for how consumers
COULD use a NEW service/product, the
goal is to observe how consumers DO
use a EXISTING service/product with the
intention of looking for opportunities to
improve or “add value” to that
experience.
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53.  Steps
– 1. Find a routine, taken-for-granted
task/service/product,
– 2. “Hang out” and “thickly describe” it in a
notebook,
– 3. In a one page pitch, suggest some sort of
innovation that will add value. DUE: next
Wednesday by 3:00pm in class.
– The best observations will be published on our
blog and presented in class on the Wednesday
after that.
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54. Ethnographic Opportunity
Analysis part 1
Hank Delcore & Jim Mullooly
aka “TheAnthroGuys” @
www.TheAnthroGuys.com
Thanks for your Time
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