Lean Ethnography

If you are looking to understand user needs and deliver an improved user experience (UX), a lean version of ethnography – one that can be accomplished with minimal resources and cost – is a valuable addition to every research methods toolkit. This session will teach a lean, agile version of traditional ethnography methods for researchers to adopt to gain knowledge and insight that can change the trajectory of your product planning.

The creation of a successful user experience hinges on a deep understanding of user needs and emotions during the information-seeking journey. While usage metrics may deliver data that document users’ click paths, the story behind those clicks may remain untold. Traditional usability testing proves useful in identifying areas for improvement, but going “offscript” to capture user pain points is not always sanctioned. Ethnographic research is a way to capture the panoramic view of the patron user experience. Instead of focusing on a single moment of the journey, ethnography is about unearthing the reasons behind the choices users make, and insights gained from a user narrative.

At first glance, the details of ethnographic user research may appear complicated – distilling findings, synthesizing results, modeling after the Six Sigma method – but what may appear to be overwhelming is in fact, quite manageable, even if the UX team is a team of one. In this session, Kate Lawrence of EBSCO Information Services will break down ethnographic research into lean, digestible and actionable steps, inspiring attendees to “go into the wild” and learn the true experiences of their users.
Starting with identifying an appropriate sample size, to planning participant sessions and analyzing findings, workshop attendees will learn why ethnography trumps other research methods when you are trying to understand users’ true behaviors.Guest Speaker

Guest Speaker: Kate Lawrence

Kate Lawrence is the Vice President of User Research at EBSCO Information Services, leading the research activities that power EBSCO’s evidence-based product development process, across the portfolio of EBSCO products. Kate has been a UX practitioner for 20+ years, starting her career in health care, then moving into online travel. Since 2011, Kate and her team have watched thousands of users interact with EBSCO products, mobile devices, websites and interface designs, and they have discovered insights that drive improvements to products, services and processes. Kate is a member of the User Experience Professionals Association (UXPA) and an active presenter in the Boston and international UX community. Kate has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Simmons College and a Master of Public Health in policy and management from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/katescottlawrence

Thanks to our host this month – Alpha Loft!

Alpha Loft, a NH based non-profit, incubates and accelerates startup and early-stage companies in NH, creating an entrepreneurial culture of growing companies.

With multiple coworking locations Alpha Loft provides high value programming, events, advice, and mentoring, improving entrepreneurs prospects for successfully launching and scaling innovation-based businesses.

Learn more about Alpha Loft