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Design
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Faster, cheaper, deeper user

research
Patrick Whitney, Director, Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Design
Vijay Kumar, Professor, Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Design

Reprint #03142WHI50
This article was first published in Design Management Journal Vol. 14, No. 2
Fusing Design, Strategy and Technology
Copyright © Spring 2003 by the Design Management Institute . All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
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 DEVELOPMENT

Faster,
cheaper,
deeper user research
by Vijay Kumar and Patrick Whitney1

s told by Vijay Kumar and Patrick Whitney, the Illinois Institute of Technology’s
A Institute of Design and Tsinghua University’s Academy of Art and Design in
Beijing are creating a set of “activity-focused” research methodologies and a
prototype database of research results. The goals are to identify unfulfilled culturally
centered design opportunities and to increase the speed and success of innovating in
new geographic regions.

In yesterday’s one-size-fits-all world, Western companies that are strong in

big companies could often migrate their local markets are paying a great
something that was a hit in the US or deal of attention to the growing num-
Europe by tweaking the language and ber of people with expendable income
advertising and funneling a lot of in China, India, Brazil, and other devel-
money into local marketing efforts. oping regions in which the cultures are
Germany’s Mercedes-Benz, for exam- very different from those in the West.
ple, traded on its reputation for build- Patrick Whitney, Director, While some categories of products and
ing highly engineered automobiles to Institute of Design, services will succeed in these new
drive into foreign markets. Japan’s Sony Illinois Institute of markets in spite of, or in some cases
Corporation found that compact, eco- Technology because of, their association with
nomical, and reliable electronics, such modernity and the West, many more
as the Walkman, struck a chord with offerings will succeed only if they make
people everywhere. Coca-Cola Co. and critical accommodations to the behav-
Philip Morris’s Marlboro cigarettes iors, beliefs, and aspirations of local
traded on their American-ness to create
large overseas followings. 1. A shorter version of this article was present-
Things have changed. No company ed at the Tsinghua University International
can safely assume there will be viable Design Management Forum, September, 21,
foreign markets for an existing prod- 2002, and published in the Chinese journal
uct, and any company seeking to Vijay Kumar, Associate Product Design (Issue 4, March 15, 2003) and
expand globally needs to ask if its offer- Professor, Institute of in 2002: In Motion, a publication of the Future
ings are culturally and socially appro- Design, Illinois Institute Design Days conference, Sweden, January
priate for its targeted market. Today, of Technology 2003.

50 Design Management Journal Spring 2003

 Faster, cheaper, deeper user research

cultures. An example of this insight was given typically uses surveys, focus groups, interviews,
by Gerald Levin, former CEO of Time-Warner, home visits, and usability tests to ask customers
who once held a board meeting in China to help about existing or prototypical products and
his colleagues, who wanted to focus on “the services. The strength of this type of research is
China market,” to realize that there were actually that it leads to specific insights about the offer-
about 30 “China markets” created by the coun- ing, enabling the company to fix problems or
try’s diversity of geography, climate, religion, add features. It can be fast and practical, and it
economic status, language, and other influencers can lead to statistically valid conclusions about
of culture.2 important details. Perhaps most important, if a
To complicate matters for companies, pursu- prototype of a new offering is examined by a
ing new customers around the world is no sample group, these
longer a strategy exclusive to Western mega- research techniques
brands. Strong businesses in developing coun- can tell you if they hate While some categories
tries are expanding into new markets. A prime it—a good thing to
example is Legend Computer, China’s largest know early in the of products and
computer manufacturer, which is rapidly grow- process. The problem
ing by using great design to serve the diverse with this type of services will succeed
needs of the Chinese population. research is that its [outside Western]
One of Legend’s innovations is a PC designed results almost never
specifically for elderly people. Instead of a lead to insights that markets in spite of, or
keyboard, it has a touch-sensitive screen that could translate into
displays, at all times, large icons for topics like large-scale improve- in some cases because
Family, Friends, Pets, Medicine, and Hobbies. ments. Discoveries
Legend has designed another model to appeal drawn from focus
of, their association
especially to families. This computer features a groups and surveys are with modernity and
large, physical button on the keyboard that almost always limited
rotates, clicking to several positions. Each posi- by the participants’ the West, many more
tion sets the computer to the favorite programs current expectations.
and configuration of a family member, allowing This is perfectly fine if
offerings will succeed
him or her to personalize the computer without your goals are limited only if they make criti-
having to navigate through a single menu. to incremental
Legend, along with Apple Computer, stands changes, and if you are cal accommodations to
apart from all other PC manufactures in creating sure that none of your
products that are based upon a deep under- competitors are about
the behaviors, beliefs,
standing of user behavior. They are using this to launch something and aspirations of
understanding to create value-added products that meets users’ needs
for the diversity of markets in China, and they in a fundamentally local cultures
will soon extend their human-centered approach better way.
to create products for markets outside China. The second type,
As more companies from diverse countries culture-focused research, uses measures like
create offerings for a market, people have more census-taking and demographic data to look at
choices, making it increasingly difficult for a general patterns of daily life: value systems, for
single company to figure out how to produce instance, or social structures and relationships
an offering that wins. In this environment, among friends and relatives. This sort of
companies need sophisticated information research can lead to surprising discoveries about
and ever-faster reaction speed. Is it possible a culture. A company can learn, for example,
to win this race? that increasing numbers of families have two
people earning salaries, that more people are
How companies try to understand consumers
There are two general types of research that 2. Conversation with Patrick Whitney at the Aspen
companies use to understand new markets. Institute 50th Anniversary Symposium: Globalization
The first type, product-focused research, and the Human Condition, August 19-22, 2000.

Design Management Journal Spring 2003 51

Fusing Design, Strategy, and Technology

getting high-school educations, and that people use of the products, we learn much more about
are putting more value on the privacy of their the problems users encounter and what they
personal information. This research will give hope to achieve in the process of preparing food.
deep insights into behaviors, beliefs, and goals, These insights enable the client company’s devel-
which can in turn be used to think, in a general opment team to make fundamental improve-
way, about the products a company is planning ments in the products and services supporting
to launch. these activities. Improvements grounded in this
The findings from this type of research, research can lead to substantial new benefits for
however, are seldom specific enough to help a users, making these alterations intrinsically more
development team improve the offering they are valuable than incremental changes achieved in a
trying to create. Because this research is time- conventional manner.
consuming, while development time for The technologies usually used for this type of
companies only gets shorter, it’s difficult to use research include small video cameras and related
efficiently. equipment to conduct video ethnography,
It’s easy to see the dilemma here. Which type disposable cameras given to subjects to create
of research is more useful: the one that is more photo diaries, and software tools for managing
practical but often does not lead to new insights, research data. The software tools are used for
or the one that leads to major new insights that tagging the video clips as representative of
are nevertheless difficult to apply? Of course, certain activities, making comments about the
the answer is that companies usually do some activities, recognizing patterns of people’s
of both—and hope for the best. But there is behaviors, and extracting insights to help in the
a third way. development of new products and systems. (A
case study using these research methods appears
Activity-focused research later in the article.)
At the Institute of Design, researchers have While demonstrably effective, doing these
developed a set of activity-focused methods that studies on an ad hoc basis is still expensive,
can be applied rapidly to the process of develop- time-consuming, and difficult to manage. But if
ing new products and services. Using these tools, we systematize the collection of social and cul-
companies can quickly make surprising discov- tural data from countries all around the world
eries about a new mar- so that high-quality information can be gathered
ket. We achieve this in less time for less money, we could also reuse
The Global Companies neither by looking at our qualitative research when it is relevant to
the specific product additional inquiries.
in Local Markets nor by looking at the
Global Companies in Local Markets
project is working to general culture, but by
focusing on people’s Global Companies in Local Markets is a
develop a database that activities when they are corporate-funded research consortium at the
using a product or Institute of Design that is in the process of
relies on a small service a company creating a shared database of observations and
number of frameworks wants to develop. As an insights about the way daily life is conducted in
example, for a compa- various cultures.
common to many types ny that makes kitchen The Institute of Design, together with
appliances, we would Tsinghua University, in Beijing, has begun
of design projects look at family activities collaboration on the first phase of this project,
about cooking, eating, exploring the potential of such a database. Our
and drinking at home. We would examine and intention is to include other research teams in
seek to understand all the activities of meal cities throughout the world. Global Companies
planning, shopping, preparing and serving the in Local Markets aims to help companies
food, eating, and the necessary cleanup at the understand cultural differences in a timely and
end. During observation, we would naturally actionable way in three application areas:
look at the way people use products. But by planning products and services for culturally
looking at the broader activities surrounding the divergent markets; managing brand and

52 Design Management Journal Spring 2003

 Faster, cheaper, deeper user research

corporate identity across cultures; and attracting working on a project develops analytical frame-
and managing culturally diverse employees from works, a set of values tied to the project, and
around the globe. even a type of language for describing the users
Using established methods, an international and innovations. The way they tag the video and
body of academics and professionals will gener- photographs is also idiosyncratic to the project.
ate research content customized by company, The Global Companies in Local Markets
project, sector, or industry. Powerful software project is working to develop a database that
tools will help manage data collected from the relies on a small number of frameworks com-
field, gathering and tagging observations, com- mon to many types of design projects. This will
paring them, and identifying overall patterns require some common use of language and
and insights. The databases that are created will frameworks that define the types of things
form the core of a reusable system to benefit observers should tag when they are analyzing
multiple projects across multiple cultures. tapes and photographs.
Companies participating in the consortium Our prototype software tool uses four
will access comparative, quantitative, and quali- frameworks, dealing with brand, strategy, user
tative information about different markets. The experience and user
database will be a dynamic resource rather than interaction. For exam-
a static repository of information, and as it is ple, the POEMS frame- There are so many
used it will continue to grow, making its content work helps researchers
timely and relevant. Companies will make tag video observations
companies trying to
extrapolations and find insights about products of user interactions by expand… and their
and services based on existing primary informa- giving them lists of
tion. Tapping into the database, a company words in five cate- markets are growing
could learn, for example, which aspects of an gories: people, objects,
offering would succeed in several cultures and environments, mes- and changing so
which are culture-specific. Ultimately, such a sages, and services. The quickly, businesses will
candid collection of information will aid a list of words in each
company’s decision making and increase its category will change need to be much faster
odds for success in unfamiliar markets. depending upon the
The project will yield three outcomes: a context. For example, and more efficient in
“toolbox” of research and product development when the team is
methods that participating companies can use, a observing people using
mining useful insights
global network of researchers who can help home entertainment if they are to succeed
companies apply the new methods to their own systems, the list would
projects, and a database of cultural similarities relate to the people and
and differences that can help companies create elements in the home, such as boy, computer,
new offerings, form productive cross-cultural office, game, internet. The words would be very
development teams, and manage their brands different if they centered around healthcare
across cultures. workers using medical equipment in a hospi-
tal—for example, doctor, stethoscope, office,
The POEMS framework: A tool for recording patient records, or information retrieval. Because
users’ interactions the framework will be able to cross subject areas
It is standard procedure during user observation (like home entertainment and professional
for the team working on a project to break hours healthcare work), some of the observation data
of video into small segments, make notes about will be reusable.
the user activities shown in each segment, and Figures 1 through 5 show screens from the
develop insights about innovations that could be software tool at various steps of the process.
designed for the users. This is an extremely These screenshots are taken from a study under
time-consuming and expensive process, but way at the Institute of Design on understanding
what is really frustrating is that the data gleaned the activity of “entertaining at home” across
can seldom be used for a second project, even if many cultures.
it is similar. This is because each team that is

Design Management Journal Spring 2003 53

Fusing Design, Strategy, and Technology

Figure 1. Gather observations. Figure 2. Tag observations with POEMS framework.

In this step of the process, software tools allow researchers to log observations collected from the Another step in the process is tagging individual observations within a comprehensive framework,
field. These observations might come from video, still, and disposable cameras, field notes, like POEMS (people, objects, environments, messages, and services). Possible keywords for a
personal digital assistants, and other tools. Individual observations, for example, video clips, can specific observation are listed under the framework categories. In this screenshot, a video
be viewed and edited using the video control panel. Languages unfamiliar to the researcher can be observation about children playing on a computer in a Chicago home is being tagged to the
auto-translated and displayed as a scrolling text on the video panel. Data fields allow the appropriate keywords of the POEMS framework. The researcher can also enter more-detailed notes
researcher to enter the relevant reference data about each observation, such as date, time, in pop-up windows about the observed behavior as the tagging proceeds.
location, and others. Later, searches can be performed based on these reference data to facilitate
active browsing. The active video clip shown here is an observation about children playing
computer games at a home in Shanghai, China. The lower strip of images represents other already-
logged observations in the form of video clips, still images, and field notes, any of which can be
activated at any time.

Figure 3. Tag observations with user-experience frameworks. Figure 4. Find clusters of observations.
This screenshot shows how a particular observation can be tagged to a UX (user-experience) As research teams in different global markets continue to build the database with more and more
framework consisting of five human factors: physical, cognitive, cultural, social, and emotional. observations, the database becomes richer in content. Analytical tools help look at this rich set of
Here, for example, each of the relevant criteria under Cognitive Human Factors (listed on the left) observations in many ways to gain insights about overall behavioral patterns and user preferences.
can be tagged to the active video clip by scoring on a five-step scale. During scoring, the One such tool is “find cluster,” which helps the researcher group observations based on selected
researcher can also note the rationale behind scoring in the text field (shown on the right). These criteria. Shown here is the use of the POEMS framework to find all observations that relate to boys
notes are useful for other teams accessing the database later for a different project, especially playing computer games (“boy,” “computer tools,” “game”). Once the cluster is identified, the
when they are from a different culture than the original team. researcher can study its observations to mine insights about boys’ common behaviors while playing
computer games. The tool also offers text fields in which the researcher can enter notes. The clus-
ters, along with the notes, will be saved in the database for later retrieval by other teams.

54 Design Management Journal Spring 2003

 Faster, cheaper, deeper user research

Figure 5. Compare clusters of observations.

Another tool facilitates comparison between the clusters. Here two clusters of video clips can be
simultaneously analyzed to understand similarities or differences. In this example, the activity is
children playing computer games at home in two cultures—China and the US. Behavioral
differences between them while they engage in this activity can be understood visually and
simultaneously. Such comparisons are valuable to help companies fit their innovations to specific
local markets. As in the other steps, insights about cultural differences can be noted and viewed
in the text field.

Case study: The Hong Kong interactive home

Using these activity-focused methods, the
Institute of Design, supported by three major
Hong Kong companies, conducted research into
the interactive home. The purpose of the project
was to see if activity-focused research could help
Figures 6 and 7. Recognize activity-based patterns.
companies develop value-added offerings rather
During the previously described steps, a rich set of insights emerges about people’s activities in cul-
than the usual offerings from Hong Kong, which turally diverse situations. Going through these insights, innovators can also extract overall patterns
tend to emphasize low cost and quick develop- that interest them. These patterns will be important for companies to consider when they innovate
ment. This research yielded rich and varied for local markets. Two examples of extracted patterns are shown here, based on our observations
concepts for practicable products and services. on the use of products at homes in Shanghai (China) and Chicago (US). The pattern here shows
Hong Kong has more fiber running through the frequency with which digital products are used together, as a group, to support people’s
it than any other city in the world. As such, it’s activities. The dots represent occurrences of observations in the database; by clicking on a dot, a
an ideal place to launch products and services researcher can activate the related observation and study it further.
for wired homes. The three companies support-
ing ID’s research work—Gold Peak Industries, supplies and other items, keeping up the apart-
Hong Kong Telecom, and Motorola Consumer ment, balancing the budget, staying in touch
Systems Group—were certain there were great with family, helping children learn, and buying
business opportunities in the interactive home fresh food—providing a base for significant new
in three specific arenas: home entertainment, business. Equally important, we uncovered some
home security, and home control. deeply held values, which we established as gov-
Our work began by observing several families erning criteria for any innovation in Hong Kong
over six weeks while they were at home, homes. These were identified as continuous con-
shopping, and in other places related to home tact, saving time, family values, the new Chinese
activities. Our research confirmed that the three identity, and higher thinking abilities. The first
arenas predicted by the executives did indeed two criteria probably exist in all modern cul-
exist. We surprised our sponsors, however, by tures, but the last three are likely to be more par-
identifying six new arenas of daily life—storing ticular to Hong Kong culture, and they were very

Design Management Journal Spring 2003 55

Fusing Design, Strategy, and Technology

strong. To win the approval of Hong Kong con- monitors.

sumers, we believed, every innovation should WatchIt is the reverse concept. Imagine a
support at least one of these criteria, and equally child wearing a small videocamera that is always
important, no innovation should be in conflict on. When he feels he is experiencing something
with any of them. We used our new criteria as he wants to share with his family, he presses a
guides in three of the new arenas we had identi- button that saves the previous 10 minutes and
fied: families staying in touch; helping children continues to record until it is turned off. The
learn; and buying fresh food. child controls what he shares, and does not have
to know in advance that he will be participating
Families staying in touch in something of interest to his family.
Not long ago, women stayed at home in Hong
Kong; now, 50 percent of them work full-time. Helping children learn
In Chinese society, where caring for elderly par- In Hong Kong, the majority of the population
ents, as well as young children, is a traditional has reached the middle class, making learning
family obligation, the and succeeding in school exceptionally impor-
strain on dual-income tant to everyone. Yet, given Hong Kong’s poor
The challenge for families is tremen-
dous—so much so
educational system, parents commonly feel com-
pelled to instruct their children for hours each
companies that want to that, for the first time, evening—a practice known as “stuffing the
grandparents are mov- duck.” In one home, for instance, we observed a
grow into unfamiliar ing into their own boy whose mother prepared daily lessons, which
apartments. she posted on the family’s apartment walls so
markets is not only We observed people that they were always present for her son.
understanding the new trying to cope with Meaning well, but lacking guidance, parents try
these circumstances by hard and spend lots of money on supplemental
cultures, but also doing carrying a second education materials, but to little effect.
mobile telephone just Thinktank proposes a set of products to
so quickly for family communica- connect schools, parents, and teachers. Using
tion. Photographs and Thinktank, parents and children would get
notes displayed at access to information supporting work the child
home were reminders of important relation- is doing in school. TeacherLink connects parents
ships. We found message boards used to post with teachers so that parents can get advice.
schedules for the care of grandparents living on LogBook links parents and child so that while
their own. the parent is at the office, he or she can drop in
We proposed a system called Homebase, to help while their child is doing homework.
which gives families a continuous connection Thinktank includes a foldaway table, with a flat
that is more informal and effective than the screen, dedicated to a child’s at-home learning.
mobile telephones most Hong-Kong families (This too is an accommodation to a Hong Kong
use. One Homebase product and service, condition. Real estate prices have grown even
PictureU, has a small, flat screen resembling a faster than family incomes, and small apart-
picture frame. PictureU features a data link that ments often do not have space for a table
can be tuned to another person’s home. It is very dedicated to a computer.)
much like the links used in some daycare centers
that allow parents to “look in” on their children, Buying fresh food
but PictureU can be targeted toward the market Fresh food in Hong Kong, as in much of Asia,
for family-based elder care. Glancing at the means the fish is still swimming and the chicken
image, whose scenes can be updated every two still has feathers on it. Regardless of income
minutes and can even be captured and displayed level, half the families in Hong Kong shop for
as photographs, is like looking into another food at a wet market every day. Traditionally,
room of the house to check on a family member. mothers would shop both in the late morning
The device can also be used to track changes in and the late afternoon, but this is a time-con-
critical health conditions reported by wearable suming process, and the pattern is now to go

56 Design Management Journal Spring 2003

 Faster, cheaper, deeper user research

once, toward the end of the day. Supermarkets Chinese to run their own small businesses. A
have become an alternative for late-afternoon major reason that KFC has become one of the
shopping, even though the quality is not as good top restaurant chains in China is that it quickly
as a wet market’s. Shopping at the end of the day modified its menu to include rice, soup, and
means the stores and roads are more congested Chinese breakfast porridge.
and the experience is likely to be unpleasant. The challenge for companies that want to
Foodchain would help people in Hong Kong grow into unfamiliar markets is not only under-
shop at any time of day, using the vendor and standing the new cultures, but also doing so
wet market they like. Food is delivered at the quickly. Activity-based research is a key method
time it is to be prepared. Foodchain would work for gaining deep insights about the details of
in the following way. At the market, the cus- local culture. There are so many companies try-
tomer gets a basket and a scanner; she selects ing to expand in this way, and their markets are
produce and other items, debiting the price of growing and changing so quickly, that businesses
the food as it goes in the basket. Live fish and will need to be much faster and more efficient in
chickens are tagged, recording both the purchase mining useful insights if they are to succeed.
and the time the vendor should butcher them. Observation tools and databases like those dis-
All the purchases are left at the market and cussed here offer a set of technologies that can
delivered to the customer’s apartment at a time make it possible.
specified by the shopper.
Hong Kong executives were given innova- Acknowledgements
tions that had not existed in previous projects We would like to thank Design Innovation for
about interactive homes. These proposals deliv- organizing the Home-Grown in Hong Kong
ered the distinctive value needed to create great Interactive Home project and Gold Peak
brands. All the proposed innovations used exist- Industries, Hong Kong Telecom, and Motorola
ing technology—making them less expensive— for sponsoring it, as well as graduate students
and they were based on existing cultural norms Ted Booth, Martin Ebert, and Sheila Foley at the
and known patterns of daily life, making them Institute of Design, and Derek Lee and Wang
less risky to develop as business offerings. Ying at Hong Kong University of Science and
The methods we used in Hong Kong could Technology. (For more information, please click
be applied elsewhere. These innovations could on http://www.id.iit.edu/profile/gallery/
be extended to other parts of the world where hkhome_summer98/.) We would also like to
families feel disconnected, where helping chil- thank Professor Liu Jikun at Tsinghua University
dren learn is important, and where shopping for and Mr. Yao Yingjia and his staff at Legend
fresh food is important and difficult. For exam- Computer for their insights, and acknowledge
ple, with modifications based on local patterns, our debt to the in-progress dissertation work of
Foodchain could probably be used in France, Roberto Holguin and his advisor, John Grimes,
where there is a passion for fresh food compara- at the Institute of Design.
ble to that in Hong Kong. The company that The first phase of the Global Companies and
changes busy consumers’ expectations about Local Markets project is being supported by
selecting and receiving fresh food at home will Gold Peak Industries.
“own” the service in the same way Sony “owns” Reprint # 03142WHI50
the Walkman and the world of portable
electronics. Find related articles on www.dmi.org with
these keywords: consumer behavior, cultural
Cultural sensitivity and business success analysis, design strategy, globalization, research
There are many examples of companies that methods
have worked hard to modify their offerings to fit
large markets that were initially unfamiliar. In
China, Kodak’s market share has grown to 63
percent while Fuji’s has shrunk to 25 percent, in
part because Kodak’s 8,000 micro-stores created
a system that responded to the desire of many

Design Management Journal Spring 2003 57