Design Research: How to frame the right questions for your design process

How to frame the right questions 
for your design process
Santiago Bustelo
February 9, 2017 
Lamar University, Houston, Texas
DESIGN
RESEARCH
This presentation is released under a Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license

SANTIAGO BUSTELO
Santiago is UX Director at Kambrica, a User
Experience consultancy based in Buenos Aires.
He chairs the local chapter of the Interaction
Design Association (IxDA BA) and served as the
ﬁrst IxDA Regional Coordinator for Latin America.
Santiago had his ﬁrst contact with interaction
design in 1996 – designing business
simulations. Since then, he has participated in
design and development projects for Argentina,
Chile, Spain, the United States and England.
Santiago holds a degree in Graphic Design from
the University of Buenos Aires, where he also
started his design teaching career. Since 2001,
he has given presentations and workshops on
UX, Usability, Interaction Design and Design
Professionalism in three continents.

User Experience
Design
Interaction
Design
Industrial
Design
Human
Computer
Interaction
Usability
Engineering
Ubiquitous
Computing
Interactive
Controls
Mechanical
Engineering
Electrical
Engineering
Psychology
Cognitive
Science
Sociolo
Philosophy
Human Factors
& Ergonomics
Architecture
Information
Architecture
Communication
Design
Motion
Design
Spatial
Experience
Contextual
Requirements
Data & Info
Visualization
Functional
Requirements
Generative
Design
Marketing
Audio
Engineering
Sound
Design
Writing
Computer
Science
Interactive
Environments
User Interface
DesignApplication
Design
Software
Development
Navigation
Design
Guidance
Systems
User Interface
Scenography
Scenario
Design
Digital
Signage
Media
Installations
USER EXPERIENCE
(ISO 9241-210:2010)
• Person’s perceptions and responses resulting from the
use and/or anticipated use of a product, system or
service.
• User experience includes all the users' emotions,
beliefs, preferences, perceptions, physical and
psychological responses, behaviours and
accomplishments that occur before, during and after
use.
• User experience is a consequence of brand image,
presentation, functionality, system performance,
interactive behaviour and assistive capabilities of the
interactive system, the user's internal and physical
state resulting from prior experiences, attitudes, skills
and personality, and the context of use.
• Usability, when interpreted from the perspective of the
users' personal goals, can include the kind of perceptual
and emotional aspects typically associated with user
experience. Usability criteria can be used to assess
aspects of user experience.
Dan Saffer: The Disciplines of User Experience

kambrica.com •
DESIGN RESEARCH
IS NOT ABOUT
ASKING OTHERS
WHAT TO DO
4

kambrica.com •
DESIGN RESEARCH
IS NOT ABOUT
REQUIREMENTS
GATHERING
5

kambrica.com •
DESIGN
IS NOT ABOUT
REQUIREMENTS  
6

kambrica.com •
DESIGN
IS ABOUT 
OBJECTIVES 
7

kambrica.com •
OBJECTIVES  REQUIREMENTS
• Why are we doing this
project?
• Focus on problems to
solve, not functionalities or
solutions.
• Frame design decisions.
• What are we going to do? 
• Describe visible features or
attributes of a proposed
solution.
• Frame design execution.
8

IF WE ASK CLIENTS FOR DESIGN REQUIREMENTS…
Maurizio Pesce, Elon Musk, Tesla Factory in Fremont - CC BY 2.0
I’m starting a luxury car
company… I’d like a classic
logo… Something like
Mercedes…

kambrica.com •
…THEY MAY GET JUST WHAT THEY ASKED FOR
10
Musk Motors
Re: Logo
Hi Elon,
Here is the logo based
in your speciﬁcations.
I’ll send you the
invoice in a separate
email.
xoxo

DESIGN REQUIREMENTS: OUTCOME OF A DESIGN PROCESS
Reid Parham, Giraffe Project Standards Manual - CC BY-SA 3.0

kambrica.com •
OBJECTIVES
FRAME DESIGN
DECISIONS
12

kambrica.com •
DESIGN RESEARCH
INFORMS DESIGN
DECISIONS
13

kambrica.com •
ITERATIVE DESIGN PROCESS BECAUSE DESIGN
DECISIONS ALWAYS OPEN NEW QUESTIONS
14
Ideas
ProductData
EXECUTE
RESEARCH
IDEATE, 
DECIDE

kambrica.com •
DIMENSIONS OF DESIGN RESEARCH METHODS
15
Behavioral
What people do
Attitudinal
What people say
Qualitative
What, why &
How to ﬁx
Quantitative
How many & 
How much
Not using the
product or service
Natural use
Context of Product Use
Scripted use
Christian Rohrer: 
When to Use Which User-Experience
Research Methods

kambrica.com •
RESEARCH TOPICS: 
WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW?
Known
knowns
validate 
Known
unknowns
investigate 
Unknown
unknowns
explore
16

kambrica.com •
RESEARCH SUBJECTS: 
WHO CAN WE GET INFORMATION FROM?
Client & stakeholders (interested in the project’s
outcome)
• Client: project objectives, brand values &
aspirations (always needed!)
• High level positions: brand/org values &
aspirations
• Personnel: experiences with users /
customers, actual enacted values
• Stakeholders’s needs
Competition
• Offerings
• Established design language 
Target audiences & users (segments*)
• Those who don’t know the brand
• Those aware of the brand
• Aware & interested
• First-time users
• Regular users
• Passionate users
• Extreme users
• Domain experts (may not be users)
(*) You may or not be able to segment your
sample before interviewing. 
Some times you would end knowing which
group people belongs to, after interviewing
them.
17

kambrica.com •
INFORMED DECISIONS ON EACH ITERATION 
VS. GROWLING GUT-FEELING
1. Manage expectations (your client’s, and yours)
• Downgrade every “known” from certainty/requirement, to assumptions/hypothesis.
• Assume that the results will challenge established beliefs. In the end, that’s why we are doing
research: because we know we don’t have the ultimate truth!
2. Plan and document (write down): what are the objectives, known knowns & known unknowns? What
do we want to achieve? How will we know if we succeeded? What do we want to learn or validate?
3. If applicable, create the prototype(s) needed to get feedback on.
4. Get information as objective and unbiased as possible.
5. Evaluate if the information is valid, or if you should go one or more steps back.
• It is OK to rationally decide not to take some gathered information into account.  
E.g. attending a discovered issue may fall out of the project’s scope or the client’s allocated
budget.
• Remember that it’s always difﬁcult to move away from beliefs challenged by research results.
• Something may not “sound right” at the time, regardless of if it’s valid or not. If your gut
feeling (or the client’s) growls before evidence, it’s better to take some time to digest the
information.
• You or your client may be tempted to invalidate the research (contest the sample,
methodology, etc), in an attempt to hold on to challenged beliefs. Reﬁne the sample or
methodology, and try again.
6. Decide how to act upon the insights (what the information tells you).
• Turn insights into design decisions.
18

CASE: TRAFFIC SAFETY
IN ALBERTA, CANADA
Problem: trafﬁc-related injuries and fatalities
Objective: behavioral change
Questions:
• Who needs to change a risky behavior?
• Which behavior is that?
• How can we make this target population consider
this behavioral change?
Design research:
• Qualitative research
• Quantitative research
Design decisions:
• Focus the communication on the harm people can do
others, while feeling omnipotent behind the wheel.
Jorge Frascara (Buenos Aires, Argentina,
1939). Professor Emeritus at the University of
Alberta, advisor to the ISO (International
Standards Organization).
Frascara, Jorge, Finn, Adam, Jenzen, Henri L., Paterson, John G.
and Strickler-Wilson, Zoe (1992) Trafﬁc Safety in Alberta/
Casualty Collision and the 18-24 Year Old Male Driver: Criteria for
a Targeted Communication Campaign, Edmonton: Alberta Motor
Association/Alberta Solicitor General.

NORTHERN IRELAND'S
DOE ROAD SAFETY
• Those most at risk of causing speed-
related deaths and serious injuries are
17-24 year old males, followed by males
25-34 years old.
• Research found that drivers tend to blame
unexpected events rather than their own
behaviour in the aftermath of road
accidents.
• The fear of killing a child was one of the
few factors that could influence drivers to
cut their speed.
Daily Mail: The road safety advert so
shocking it's been banned from screens
until after 9pm

TECHNIQUE #1:
GATHERING 
AVAILABLE DATA

kambrica.com •
SOURCES
• Public data (e.g. available to Google)
• Design language
• Competitors
• History, symbols…
• Comments on customer’s website
• Blogs, Social Media (e.g. search for brand’s name)
• Private data
• Emails, Call Center (recordings / attending)
• Analytics
22

Design Research: How to frame the right questions for your design process

kambrica.com •
FROM GATHERING DATA TO 
PRODUCING INSIGHTS
25
Data
Connectedness
Understanding
Information
Knowledge
Wisdom
Understanding 
relations
Understanding 
patterns
Understanding 
principles
Gene Bellinger, Durval Castro, Anthony Mills: Data, Information, Knowledge, and Wisdom

kambrica.com •
ORGANIZE, MAP, LOOK FOR PATTERNS
26
National flag National identity Other / Abstract
Flying

kambrica.com •
DESIGN RESEARCH
DELIVERABLES
INVOLVE THE CLIENT IN
DESIGN DECISIONS
27

kambrica.com •
DESIGN RESEARCH
DELIVERABLES
INVOLVE THE CLIENT IN
THE DESIGN PROCESS
28

USERS ARE NOT LAB RATS
X
Photo: National Chiao Tung University

kambrica.com •
INTERVIEWING RULE #1
DON’T MAKE
INTERVIEWEES THINK
OF AN ELEPHANT
31

kambrica.com •
STEPS
1. Planning. What do we want to validate/investigate/explore (topics)? 
Sample questions.
2. Dress up & attitude.
3. Recruit or approach. Break ice, ask for permission to record or take notes.
4. Conduct interview. Open questions, active listening, don’t judge the subjects,
make everything add up. Record or take notes unobtrusively (with permission).
5. After the interview, dump & check notes before the memories of the
conversation evaporates. Take notes of any emerging “hot” conclusions,
patterns, insights and new hypothesis.
6. Rinse and repeat. Adjust the sample, questions, etc if necessary.
7. Organize, look for patterns, produce insights.
32

kambrica.com •
START PRACTICING WITH…
First steps
• Friends & family
• Other students (not your friends – yet?)
Getting serious
• Client’s staff (you will have good excuses / openers)
• People used to be approached on a daily basis, e.g. clerks and waiters
• Random strangers (intercept interviews)
33

Jake is a
market-
ing man-
ager for a
medium
sized
univer-
sity. He’s
been at his job for 3 years now and
has been tasked with a complete
overhaul of the university’s student-
facing web sites.
He’s got a general idea of his budget
and a pretty good idea of what serv-
ices he needs as well as what re-
sources he has in house.
His project has been pretty well
scoped, however, he still has ques-
tions and is looking for a full service
vendor who can help direct the proc-
ess as well as do the work.
Web Savvy - 7 out of 10
Jake is our primary“Looking for Serv-
ices”user. He’s typical of the folks
that turn to the RFP process when
looking for services. However, he is
also educated and web savvy enough
to look for a smarter, less time con-
suming alternative.
Goals:
- Find the right vendor for his project
in as easy a way as possible.
- Get his process questions answered.
Mike is a
project
manager
and ac-
count
rep. for a
12 person
interac-
tion design firm. He’s responsibili
include managing projects, dealin
with existing clients, leading mark
ing efforts, sales and much more.
He often doesn’t have time to exp
new work and the traditional RFP
process is simply too much work.
company is doing fairly well, so of
a“difficult”sale will be tossed asid
regardless of how great the job
would be--if the process to land th
job is to cumbersome.
Web Savvy - 8 out of 10
Mike represents the primary vend
persona. His goals would be cutti
down on time spent doing biz de
and bringing in clients who are a
ter“fit”for he and his team.
Goals:
- Cut down on time spent on biz d
- Connect with the right clients an
projects.
- Educate potential clients about h
services.
- Never look at an RFP again.
Jake Mike
Deliverable
PERSONAS
Synthesis of research to illustrate the
“face” of a user / target audience. 
The true value in personas is the
research that helps build empathy.
• Relatively easy to read and understand by
just about anyone.
• Focus on relevant information to the
project as user’s goals, activities and
expectations – not personal details.
• Cons / risks: Good data is often watered
down by useless detail. Can be distracting
as they tend to be haggled over. Don’t
usually leave room for edge cases.
D. Keith Robinson: Making The Translation,
Critical Web App Design Deliverables

kambrica.com •
SOME MUSEUM USERS…
37
Photo: 12 Steps: UX Design
for a Museum Exhibition

MAPPING
• Visual arrangement: dump & organize
data.
• Two or more dimensions: X/Y,
columns, areas (e.g. venn diagrams),
colors, stacks (e.g. group synonyms).
• Allows both individual & group
activities – without falling into
groupthink.
• Example: KJ-Technique (afﬁnity
diagram workshop)
IxDA Local Leaders Workshop,
Interaction 14

CASE
DESIGN RESEARCH ALONG THE DESIGN
PROCESS: DESIGN FOR DECISIONS

kambrica.com •
CASE
OSPIC (Film Industry Union Healthcare)
43

kambrica.com •
OBJECTIVES WE HELPED THE CLIENT DEFINE
(INTERVIEWS, MAPPING)
Objectives
• Convey professionalism.
• Attract new afﬁliates, either from or outside the Union.
44
Before redesign

kambrica.com •
FIRST RESEARCH: INTERVIEWS
• Client (President of the Organization)
• Middle management in direct contact with afﬁliates & prospects.
• Afﬁliates: mental model, perceived brand (experience). 
What’s good, what’s bad, what’s ugly?
• Prospects: mental model, perceived brand (expectations). 
Why are they moving away from their current provider? Why are they
considering offerings? What brought them to consider this particular offering?
• Prospects: validation information and insights obtained with Client & Middle
Management.
45

kambrica.com •
REFINED OBJECTIVES AGREED WITH THE
CLIENT AFTER FIRST RESEARCH INSIGHTS
Objectives
• Convey professionalism.
• Make the Union & affiliates proud of belonging.
• Attract new affiliates, either from or outside the Union.
Strategy / Refined objectives:
• Movie Industry as identity & selling point.
• Move away from old union-centric communication style, mindset & identity.
• Focus on health care quality: new deals with top-level health centers.
• Focus on reducing bureaucracy: service redesign, communication centered in user’s
needs.
• Position OSPIC as a serious while affordable healthcare for middle class workers, on par
with private offerings.
46

kambrica.com •
RESEARCH: DESIGN LANGUAGE
• Containment: Circles, circular
arrangement of elements, or elements
containing or supporting another.
• Reliability: “solid” typography. The brand
is big & legible.
• Health: use of symbols such as cross,
heart…
Key insight for design direction (agreed
with the Client): OSPIC logo should have a
clear reference to Health, to avoid
competing with the identity of the Union.
47

kambrica.com •
FIRST DESIGN PROTOTYPES
• High level execution (“rough around the edges”).
• Execution in this phase is aimed to explore concepts, and pros & cons from each one.
• Ensure the execution will be better & more detailed on time.
• Design for decisions.
• Be fair with each concept. Don’t fall in love with any option.
• “May be interpreted as…” are signals, not definitions: further research would show if that
concern is actually valid.
• Show, don’t tell.
• Let each concept stand on its own.
• Show the client’s ideas first.
• If we believe something is not going to work, show it to support the case.
• Execution should be sufficient to avoid blaming concept limitations on the execution level.
48

kambrica.com •
PROPOSAL 1: FILMING
• Pros:
• Reference to Movie industry.
• Compact.
• Cons:
• No reference to health care.
• Could be interpreted as a
person ﬁlming in solitary,
instead of coordinated workers.
• Too complex for small sizes,
too many elements (person,
camera).
49
OBRA SOCIAL DEL PERSONAL DE
LA INDUSTRIA CINEMATOGRÁFICA
OSPIC
OSPIC
OSPIC

kambrica.com •
PROPOSAL 2: BOOM MICROPHONE ON SET
• Pros:
• Boom could refer to a ﬁlming
situation.
• Cons:
• Boom could be interpreted not as
“universal” as a camera for the
industry. Could be interpreted as
referring only to sound operators?
• The boom ﬁgure, needed both big and
small elements (mic vs. pole) to be
recognized, may be troubling for
reductions.
50
OSPICOBRA SOCIAL DEL PERSONAL DE

kambrica.com •
PROPOSAL 3: CLAPBOARD
• Pros:
• Clear reference to Movie
industry.
• Contras:
• Trite, which doesn’t help to a
professional image.
• Further synthesis to avoid
dullness, also makes the
symbol difﬁcult to recognize.
51

kambrica.com •
PROPOSAL 4: MOVIE REEL
• Pros:
• Reference to health care, in a
very far second place.
• Can be seen as an evolution
from current isologo.
• Cons:
• It could be difﬁcult to see either
the cross or the reel.
• Adding elements to highlight the
cross or connote “union”, makes
the reel impossible to recognize.
52
OSPIC
OSPIC
OSPIC
OSPIC

kambrica.com •
PROPOSAL 5. LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!
• Pros:
• Reference to health care.
• Cons:
• It could be difﬁcult to see the
Lighting Equipment.
• Chosen symbol could be
interpreted not as “universal” as
a camera for the industry. 
Could be interpreted as referring
only to lighting operators?
53
OSPIC
OSPIC
OSPIC OSPIC

kambrica.com •
RESEARCH: VALIDATE ASSUMPTIONS, TEST
PERCEIVED RISKS
• Client (President of the Organization)
• Middle management in direct contact with afﬁliates & prospects.
• Afﬁliates.
After this research, a winner was chosen for the next design phase.
54

kambrica.com •
DESIGN EXPLORATION: SHAPE
55
< Más parecido a una cruz Más parecido a un farol >
1 2 543 6

kambrica.com •
DESIGN EXPLORATION: COMPLEXITY
56
1-B 1-C 1-D 1-E 1-F
1-A

kambrica.com •
DESIGN EXPLORATION: TYPOGRAPHY
57
kambrica.com •
Opción 1
16
OSPIC
kambrica.com •
Opción 2
17
OSPIC
kambrica.com •
Opción 6
21
kambrica.com •
Opción 7
22

kambrica.com •
RESEARCH: COLOR PALETTE
58

kambrica.com •
59

kambrica.com •
60

kambrica.com • 61
A
B
C
D
E
F
1 2 3 4

kambrica.com • 62
1 2 3 4

kambrica.com •
FINAL VERSION
63
LOGO OSPIC / Paleta de color
PANTONE 7461 C
C: 95 M: 41 Y: 6 K: 0
R: 0 G: 124 B: 186
Web: #007CBA
PANTONE 541 C
C: 100 M: 78 Y: 32 K: 21
R: 0 G: 59 B: 113
Web: #003B70
PALETA DE COLOR

kambrica.com •
APPLICATIONS
64
320077 88
APELLIDO Y NOMBRE
00/00/0000PLAN VTO.000
URGENCIAS:
4000 8888 / 4556 4556 / 0810 333 8888
Esta credencial es personal e intranferible para uso exclusivo del titular y deberá presentarse con
el documento de identidad. En caso de extravío se solicita remitirla a nuestra oﬁcina más próxima.
Superintendencia de Salud Órgano de Control 0 800 222 SALUD (72583) - www.sssalud.gov.ar
Juncal 2029 - Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires
Tel: 4808-0106 / 0800 555 0899 / 0800 888 7060
Las Obras Sociales no son una
empresa de medicina prepaga
ni son un “beneficio” otorgado
por la patronal.
Las Obras Sociales son una
conquista de los trabajadores
organizados.
Bienvenidos
a OSPIC
O S P I C • O B R A S O C I A L D E L P E R S O N A L D E L A I N D U S T R I A C I N E M AT O G R Á F I C A
¿Cómo funciona
OSPIC?
¿Qué es una Obra
Social Solidaria?
¿Qué porcentaje de mi
salario aporto a OSPIC?
Cartilla Médica 2016
Ciudad y Gran Buenos Aires
RNOS 10450-4

kambrica.com •
Objectives
✔ Convey professionalism.
✔ Make the Union & afﬁliates proud.
✔ Attract new afﬁliates, either from or outside the Union.
LOGO OSPIC / Paleta de color
PALETA
RESULTS
65
Before After

kambrica.com •
RECOMMENDED READINGS
66
RECOMMENDED READINGS

THANKS!
Design Research: How to frame the
right questions for your design process
Santiago Bustelo
February 9, 2017 • Lamar University, Houston, Texas

Design Research: How to frame the right questions for your design process

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