BRINGING HUMAN EMPATHY TO TECHNOLOGY
the opportunity
Geek Girls Carrots, an organization that gathers women in tech and female entrepreneurs engaged us to design an inaugural workshop for its members in Geneva, Switzerland. As many of its members work on future technologies and the digital-sphere, it was an opportunity to use consumer and user research as a platform for driving empathy and putting humans front and center of tech development and digital futures.
The program designed was to provide instruction on the basics of qualitative and trends research to non-researchers and provide real learning that would allow them to have a deeper understanding and appreciation of putting users first.
the design
Employing Learning Experience Design techniques, the overall structure of the workshop involved a brief lecture on theory followed by hands-on learning and landed with a feedback session for each module. The Empathic Research Fundamentals workshops was divided into 3 modules covering each of the key User Research Methodologies: Semi-Structured Interviews, User Observations, Contextual Inquiry including Trendspotting.
The opening and introductions were designed to carry a more personal tone. The purpose of this was to drive the point of approaching the work with humanity in order to build empathy. We began with each person in their respective group introducing themselves with a personal story while the others practiced active listening and ability spotting in order to identify a positive trait in the person speaking.
For hands-on learning sample activities included: (1) a guided Semi-Structured Interview simulation with the goal of finding out ways to improve meet-up sessions, (2) User Observation through video tracking of a teenager’s shopping trip with the goal of understanding what appeals and how this can translate to an online experience for a shopping site, (3) Contextual Inquiry involving the use of Google Maps which led the participants on an expedition challenge.
The workshop closed with participants sharing their own insights and a gift of an “Empathy Journal” to encourage them to write down their observations and insights into human behavior and thinking in their day to day lives.
the impact
The post-workshop feedback was very positive driven by these key elements: experiential learning, the passion and enthusiasm displayed by the speaker, substantive and engaging presentations and the personal touches included throughout the workshop that emphasized the importance of empathy in business.
As the workshop designer, facilitator and speaker, this particular project was a joy to develop and implement. The participants found deep value in learning about user research fundamentals. The shared appreciation that in the absence of research investment within organizations, grassroots learning of tools and methodologies can greatly influence work processes and problem-solving. Many of the participants immediately felt that they could apply the research methods at work and felt less intimidated by the task of data gathering and trendscanning.
