1. Epistemology I
   1. Form Teams and Receive Observation Assignments
   2. In-class epistemology exercise
2. Ethnography and participant observation
   1. Field notes and video editing: coding notes, creating shareable post-its
   2. Informed consent
3. Downloading your data

Goals for Today

When we get started today you'll have been assigned (or have selected) a mini info design problem. By the end of class today you should have a plan for research. Your next milestone will include a presentation of your revised "Problem 0.2" based on that research. So, our goal for today is to equip ourselves for how to think about that task and how to carry it out.

This lecture is titled "Empathy, Research, and Documentation." Let's very briefly tell you what we are going to tell you.

Empathy. Like grandmothers and apple pies, just good. Who wouldn't want more empathy? And most of us rate our own empathy pretty highly. But that's the first thing we want to disabuse ourselves of: empathy, as we mean it here, is not a character trait, it is not a NOUN; empathy is a verb. It's is something we do, we carry out. And that means it is something we can learn to be better at and we can learn techniques for being more effective at it.

Research. We are going to use this word in a very broad sense in this course. But for the most part we will not mean the one thing many of us do many times a day: looking things up on the internet. We'll often have cause to learn about ideas, to figure out how things are done, to find examples of companies that are doing something related to a problem we are working on, or to read the Wikipedia article on some topic. Let's just use the words "learning" or "looking something up" for those activities.

You've probably heard of the distinction between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources. Most of that stuff amounts to what is sometimes called "tertiary" research : accessing material that's been aggregated or published by Let's reserve the word "research" for going out and finding out things about the world either first hand or second hand.

Idea: Cognitive Bias and

Availability Bias: a mental shortcut in which examples that come easily to mind dominate when thinking about a topic or making a decision.

Selection Bias: systematic error due to non-random sampling. More concretely, it’s error caused by the way you collect your data. It undermines the validity of your research.
What is Research (10/30)
First, take a few moments to think about what "research" means and jot down your definition.
What is research? Write it down.
REVIEW. Ask several folks to read what they wrote.

If you were running this (our) company, what would you want to know from you before committing a bunch of our firm's resources? Name five things. Write it down.
REVIEW. Ask several folks to read what they wrote.
Back to basics. OR don't skip the basics.
IS IT REAL? (5/35)
Do you remember an article you read your first semester called "Is it real? Can we win? Is it worth doing?"? Chat with your table mates about what you remember about that article.
From Is it Real to Is it Desirable (5/40)
Let's focus on "is it real?" What did it mean? Two things: is the technology real, yes. But also, is there actually a market out there? People who want what you will produce? Who can and will pay what you need to charge? Who can be reached and turned into adopters by marketing.
Raising this question points toward one of the three circles in the design thinking Venn diagram …
SKETCH IT: DESIRABILITY.
Sermon (10/50)
The user. Even if you don't think of yourself as an IDEOesque human centered designer you can do a lot worse than starting with a focus on whom you are designing for.
DO IT NOW: Who is it? Name her! Spend some time on it. Who are the humans you are designing for?
But do not just think. Observation. Field work. Interview. Listen.
Even if this is something you have been thinking about for years, go back to basics as you start this process.
In most of your proposals there is a "posit" line where you assert that some need exists. How well founded that is varies a lot.
In this first phase, job one is to find out demonstratively that the need exists. Or rather, to find out what the real need that's hovering around the one you asserted is.
It's too easy to ape the business creation process putting together a deck, evaluating technologies, thinking about a business model, talking to funders, lawyers, and accountants, all sorts of things that make you feel like a grown up innovator.
But don't forget the basics and that includes starting the process with research, research that is bullishly human centered.
Don't tell me people like to cook and are frustrated by dull knives. Or that car enthusiasts weep over parts buying. Or that elected officials are dying to have some digitally mediated version of their constituents' opinions. Or that pro-zoo attitudes are under threat. Or that people are hungry for smart homes. Or that Indy musicians would kill for a better booking platform. Or that what the world needs is a trusted information source or an easier way to learn how to write video games.
Show us.
Document this need. Talk to real people. Talk to the ones least likely to confirm your biases. Listen most carefully to the ones who think you are wrong. Collect quotes. Collect observations. Count things. Always be on the lookout for the denominator.
"Lots of people." Lots out of how many?

Exercise 1 (20/70)
Arrange class into clusters of 4 teams each. Label the teams A, B, C. An extra three OK

Round 1 Teams A and B will discuss C, C and D will discuss A.
Round 2 Teams B and C will discuss D, D and A will discuss B

Go around the table and recite your current 3 word title and tweet.

Take 4-5 minutes to discuss your target team's project as you understand it and formulate as many answers to the following

Who has the problem? What are their needs? The goal is divergent thinking, brainstorm, crazy ideas, expand their vision, turn over stones they haven't turned over.

Take 2 minutes for A&B to present their top ten to the table.
Take 2 minutes for C&D to present their top ten to the table.

Let discussion continue as needed to end of 5 minutes.

Repeat with teams B&C and D&A as the discussants.

If there is a table of three first round is A on B, B on C, C on A. Second round is A on C, C on B, B on A.
BREAK (5/75)
Exercise 2 (20/95 – finish at 12:05
Same set up. This time the assignment is to generate as many factual questions as you would like an answer to before you'd be satisfied signing off on this project with YOUR money.
LUNCH: to 1230

Exercise 3 (25 to 1250)
Same set up. This time we hand out IDEO methods cards. Groups sketch out an application of the methods held by members at the table for the other team's research topic.

Exercise 4 (20 to 115)
Same setup. This time take a stab at filling out the other teams' lean canvas.

Fill out your own lean canvas and put together a draft research plan.