Bombay, Basti, Traffic, and some research: Life as a field researcher

Observing what people don’t tell us in research lab setup

With the onset of a digital age, smartphone boom, and a networked economy, it has become essential for companies to understand the environmental, emotional and contextual aspects in which user interact with their product.

At MakeMyTrip, the design research team exploits various research methods, techniques and tools to uncover the pain-points, hiccups, and even delights our users face; in order to uncover the experience they go through.
Among many other research projects, where the user sessions happened in our curated lab setup and calling the user for testing, the most recent research that our team handled proved out to be quite contrasting to what we were used to.

We recently got an opportunity to conduct a field research for one of our user product. Bustling streets of Bombay, walking through the narrow lanes of the unknown, hour long cab rides between each user sessions, gathering notes in traffic, conducting sessions in people’s home or even outside, and enjoying vada at chowpati; this research had all the flavors as user researcher we drool for.

So, here is my attempt, reflecting back on the unfolding of this research, the key takeaways and the challenges we had to face which I believe will only help us be better at what we do. And, I hope this help you understand and get a telescopic insight into field research experience.

‘City of dreams’ user research: Take 1 ACTION

1. Plans do not always work out
“Bade bade shehron mein aisi chhoti chhoti baatein hoti rehti hain” — DDLJ

No matter how well you plan things, keep a track of all the players, there will always be some hiccups that you will be faced with. User cancelling at the last moment, getting stuck in the traffic for more than what you anticipated, laptops giving up during the session, these were just few of the many challenges we had to face. My advice? Just improvise and don’t lose your calm. There is always a way out.

2. Utilising time on the run
“Kya pata, Kal ho na ho…” — Kal Ho Na Ho

In an ideal world, all the users would be living in the same locality. But, hate to break it to you -it’s not an ideal world and like all the field researcher we had to move from one location to another in limited time. Utilise this time to gather the notes with your team members, discuss the key points they might have observed and start prepping for your next session.

3. Take breaks
“Abey, bachche ki jaan lega kya?” — Mr. & Mrs. Khiladi

Your love for the job doesn’t mean you give up on your other mistresses, like love for food. So, while doing the sessions on time and delivering your best, make sure you take out time to enjoy the local cuisine and culture as well.
And one of the lesson learnt (the hard way) that it is essential to take your meals on time as the research work is both, mentally and physically draining.

4. Don’t overdo sessions
“Ek baar jo maine commitment kar di, uske baad toh mai apne aap ki bhi nahi sunta” — Wanted

Please do not go in the field with this mindset that there is no tomorrow and we need to conduct all the sessions in one day. One thing that field research is, among many other, is that it is mentally draining. Conducting hour long sessions, commuting in the traffic, gathering notes, recollecting user’s detail before each session, mentally preparing yourself. IT IS ALL JUST TOO MUCH. Ideally, 3–4 user sessions in a day is all you could intake with better deliverable rate.

To summarise it all, life in the field as a researcher is challenging as it demands continuous learning and an openness to course correction and improvement, but the satisfaction of conducting a session where a user make you feel welcomed in their home and share their experience of using your product, that is worth all the hassle.

I was accompanied by our research team manager Yatin, who not only helped me grow by telling me what I could improve for next session, but also guided me to explore the best of places in the Bombay to eat and visit.

Here is a glimpse of us, at a game zone after our 9P.M. user session, the unfolding of which is a story in itself for some other time.

This research led to a lot of learnings and growth in terms of a researcher and connecting with our users. Hoping to keep getting a hands on various such research methods and learning on the way with some fun.