Quick Tips - September 19, 2007

Tips from the practice masters...

(Part II of III)

How should a technology company carry out ethnographic research, particularly field observation, to develop and refine its products? Julie Gulick and Ned Uber from MEDRAD, the leading maker of medical devices used in imaging procedures of the human body, regularly study the way their clients and yet-to-be clients carry out their assignments in catheterization labs and other hospital facilities. In a recent Product Strategy Network Roundtable, Gulick and Uber shared their insights and practical tips for benefiting from observational research. 

• Don’t ask

Videotaping produces a valuable asset that can be reviewed again and again. But, if you ask the institution’s management for permission most of the time, the answer will usually be no. Work instead with the most influential staff members on the customer site. Say to the people you want to observe: “would you mind if we watched you set up our product? Would you mind if we taped you taking it down? Yes or no.” If they say no, fine. But most sites will let you. Ask the people you are observing for less interview time than you’d really like; ask for ten minutes. Once you prove yourself, you’ll often get an hour or more. Avoid non-disclosure agreements.

• Keep observation teams small 

Travel in teams of two. You can’t observe with just one person. Somebody needs to take notes, draw the room, and write things down. Somebody has to operate the camera. You can’t have one person doing all of those chores. Overseas, you might have a sales rep join you as a third person, but that can start to get crowded. 

• Use local staff

Particularly when you’re overseas, have your sales people help set up site visits in their territory. Ask them to join you in the morning for observation, even to provide some translation help, although the observation phase is primarily about behavior. Never tell them that they can’t be there, but let them know you’re aware that they don’t make money when they’re observing with you. Once they realize you’re not going to upset their customers, they leave. But make sure they remain silent while observing. They’re not there to solve someone’s problem; they’re there to watch. Never allow selling on the observation visit. 

• Hire an interpretor

In culturally sensitive countries, using your own sales people to translate can put them into an uncomfortable situation because they don’t want to embarrass or offend the customer in any way. So take an independent interpreter with you. It costs money, but it can be a very good investment. And as a foreign visitor yourself, you have a certain degree of freedom to ask questions that a local might consider taboo.

This is part II of III in a series focusing on observational research. 

Part I: Making observational research work

Part III: Conducting the observation

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