A talk on data analysis

A photo from last Thursday’s workshop “Introduction to Interview Data Analysis” which shows I still have bad posture.

After a brief recap of the previous weeks talk on customer interviews, this week focused on how to extract that data into affinity notes and create an affinity wall. Being able to analyze deliberate or serendipitous research is an essential part two.

Creating affinity walls are a great bottoms-up and data-driven methodology which captures explicit customer requests, and tacit and latent needs. And if design studios walls are any indication, it is one of the most popular artifacts created by design researchers. When you are not directly involved in creating the part of the end product that you can see or operate, having walls full of research artifacts becomes a means of proving activity.

I have my doubts anyone will use these methods in the short-term, but I appreciate the opportunity to start introducing these concepts, and their terms, into the minds of these business owners. I know they work, and are being used elsewhere to great success, so perhaps if people hear the terms and concepts enough they will start investigating on their own.