How to run a pop-up lab: Innovation through rapid R&D (Emerce Retail, Holland)

How to run a pop-up lab(Innovation through rapid R&D)

EMERCE 2015 | Fergus Roche | 19 Mar 2015

Fergus Roche

User Experience Director, JOYLAB

Getting in contact

Tweet me at @ferg4ddc

or email me [email protected]

A B

Iteration Perfection

VS

A B C

Assume

nothing

Believe

nothing

Check

everything

Source: British Police investigation Handbook

UX

Retailer

Putting innovation at the heart of your organisation

UX

Retailer

How to innovate…

Seven step approach

Customer expectation has now outstripped most retailers setup.

Why is this relevant now?

Image source

Image: author’s own

Lets take an example…

Lets take an example…

Image: author’s ownImage: author’s own

So how do you make this?

You change and adapt

You learn through prototyping

with real users

Our seven step approach

In reality…

Getting startedSTEP 1

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Getting started

Focus your research, agree a research aim.

Define your research questions.

Build your team.

Empower them: get skeleton key to your company.

Get your team some space.

Prioritise your research questions.

STEP 1

Creating research questions e.g. for returns

•What is the current experience like for customers?

•What are the typical valid and invalid reasons for

returns?

•What is the breakdown of these reasons? And

rate?

•Which channels? Rank them.

Getting started exerciseSTEP 1

Data accessSTEP 2

Image: author’s own

Data accessSTEP 2

Find the data (locate and buddy up with BI).

Assess the data.

Organise and (rapidly) analyse the data.

Got answer, skip to next step.

If no answers, follow the money or invade IT.

Two mindsets…

Collection - just show me the numbers e.g.

• Total sales for a particular store versus another store

• Using Facebook Analytics to gather the geographical

source of fans

Patterns – making shapes in the data e.g.

• Reviewing customer services call logs

• Sales data versus CRM data versus audience survey

data – compare and contrast alternate sources

Data access analysisSTEP 2

Stakeholder powerSTEP 3

Image: author’s own

Stakeholder powerSTEP 3

Gather the stakeholders and experts.

Run brainstorming workshops.

Assess channel projects.

Capture requirements and prioritise.

Add detail and re-prioritise.

Running stakeholder workshopsSTEP 3

Learn about stakeholder remits and how these will

impact on your plans.

Shared any findings you have gathered.

Discovered their project plans and understood their

priorities.

Assessed channel projects.

Captured requirements and prioritised them. Do this

with the group. Score against your project aim[s].

Start to win hearts and minds for your project.

Typical activities…

•Talk to your key stakeholders about your project and ask

them who the knowledge experts are

•Started to engage the knowledge experts

•Found those projects in-flight or coming up that will either

be blockers or you can lever for your project

•Gathered together your requirements. And prioritised them

Stakeholder power exercisesSTEP 3

Real customersSTEP 4

Kirk vs. Spock A.K.A. Qual vs. Quant

Image source

Real customersSTEP 4

Recruit real customers – use your CRM / social

channels.

Survey them. Ask specific research questions.

Run qualitative tests e.g. phone interviews, co-

design workshops and usability testing.

Try to be structured in your research – it is important

to develop some robustness in your approach.

Some example activities…

•List the questions you would like to ask customers when

you survey them

•Turn your questions into a survey using an online survey

tool. Review and run it.

•Think of ways to run a co-design session with real

customers and which stakeholders should you also bring

along. Plan it out and list out unknowns or things you are

unsure about

Real customers exercisesSTEP 4

Operations – checking stuffSTEP 5

ADD IMAGE

Image: author’s own

Operations – checking stuffSTEP 5

Engage operational staff.

Fill in the blanks in your findings with the staff.

Run brainstorming sessions with operational

staff.

Where possible, co-design with operational staff

(and customers).

STOP! Gear-shift...

Don’t just find holes. Share solutions too

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Design & test. RepeatSTEP 6

Image: author’s own

Why build prototypes?

To be pragmatic: not to waste money building

something that won’t work.

Your omnichannel environment isn’t like anyone

else’s.

Rapid prototyping can light the way, tailored to you.

It will provide consensus and limit your risk.

Prototypes…

Fidelity

Complexity

Images: author’s own

Design & test. RepeatSTEP 6

Created a working prototype of the key

requirement(s).

Design the solution in collaboration with

stakeholders and/or users.

Test your prototype to see if it works.

Demonstrate your solution to the key stakeholders.

Going Agile across the design phaseSTEP 6

Testing your designsSTEP 6

IN-

STOR

E

TEST

ONLIN

E

TEST

LAB

TEST

Prototyping for omni-channelSTEP 6

IN-

STOR

E

TEST

LAB

TEST

ONLIN

E

TEST

Win hearts & mindsSTEP 7

Image: author’s own

STEP 7

Share learnings – take the time to write up and

share your findings.

Get into dialogue and gain further insight.

Win hearts and minds – R&D works best in a

permissive culture where its value is understood.

Take the time to explain your findings and develop

converts.

Win hearts & minds

Our seven step approach

Important considerations

Budgeting (not included)

Resourcing (not included)

The method

Opportunities

Method: more important than the seven steps

Be skeptical. The truth is always slightly to the left.

Do just enough. And build momentum.

Making mistakes means you’re making decisions.

Stay small, go guerrilla.

There are known knowns, known unknowns and

unknown unknowns – keep this in mind.

Don’t lead users, bloody listen!

I wrote a paper all about it

Image source

Opportunities – get organised

Top 10 R&D spenders, in $B across 2011-2013

2. Using this method to learn

1. Take control of the learning experience

Final take-away today…

Thanks!

Fergus Roche

UX lead, JOYLAB

Getting in contact

Tweet me at @ferg4ddc

or email me [email protected]