Design research myths
Also published on the Idean Spain page on Medium in Spanish as “Mitos en la investigación de diseño”.
Based on my experience as a design researcher and that of fellow researchers with whom I have worked, the same thing that happened (or less and less) years ago with design in general continues to occur with research, tends to be underestimated. How many times have we professionals who are part of design teams heard about infamous “research cuts”?
Why is design research constantly questioned?
Like many of you, I’ve often wondered why the decision is made to cut or waive research if it is the primary means to establish the basis of any project. What are the reasons behind downplaying the importance of a phase without which it is almost impossible for a project to be successful?
I guess there are several reasons, but I’m sure one of them is the lack of recognition of the value that well carried out design research can contribute. Also, probably the belief that anyone within a design team can do high quality research.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean that design researchers have special characteristics or superpowers that no one else can achieve, what I mean is that we should value the experience of a professional within their specialty.
An investigation will never be objective if, for example, we allow the same designers who have created a prototype or product to design and carry out investigations with users to see if the product has to be rethought or iterated. Let’s recognize that when we as designers (or any other professional) have created a product and invested time and effort into it, it is very difficult to change our perspective.
It is necessary and enriching to change that point of view in order to face the challenge of questioning what has been created objectively. It is therefore essential that the researchers involved in the project provide this external vision, the vision of the people for which the product or service is being designed.
Myths and legends
Some time ago, along with fellow researchers, I started to detect, listen carefully, and reflect upon the reasons given by different levels of organizations for not doing research or for not carrying out research under the conditions or with the necessary means to add value to the project.
From this team reflection, we compiled a list of specious myths related to design research.
1.“Research is expensive and time consuming. We have no time to stop.”
Of course, high quality research requires some time and investment, what good work doesn’t? The truth is that the research phase does not have to involve more time than the rest of the phases of a design process, since it can be performed in parallel with others. So no, you don’t have to stop anything.
On the other hand, research in the early stages of a project is incredibly important to start designing with a logical approach, based on people and specific objectives, that it is clearly worth spending time on, since we will save on subsequent design and implementation phases.
Regarding the investment to conduct research, the return on this investment may not be automatic, but the benefits will be clearly seen during and at the end of the project. The most important thing is to have a good team of researchers capable of choosing the most appropriate methodologies and approach depending on the objectives and the available budget.
2. “Any investigation is better than none.”
Okay, let’s clarify. What does “any investigation” mean? As we have already mentioned, research is essential for the success of a project, but that does not mean that research carried out without minimum quality standards (experienced researchers, correct definition of the sample of participants and selection of methodologies, etc.) will add value to the project at hand.
Lately, it seems that the term “guerrilla” has opened Pandora’s box for some professionals. Guerrilla techniques may be suitable for certain projects and in certain prototyping phases in which the final idea is not overly defined, but it is not valid for all cases. Far from it.
Let’s stop to think about it: Carrying out a guerrilla investigation quickly also requires an investment of people and time, it may pay off to invest a little more to achieve much higher quality results. Again, let’s analyze the objectives and find the best way to carry out the research to obtain conclusions that help us design better products and services.
3. “It does not matter if you do the research in Madrid or in Panama.”
Here it is worth mentioning the importance of context and setting. Let us ask ourselves the following questions: How many socio-cultural differences can we find between two cities in the same country? And between different countries? What is the point of testing a specific product and service with a high level of definition or exploring a topic with people who are not familiar with it or who are not part of the target audience that may be interested in acquiring or using it?
To carry out high quality research, it is very important to select where it will be carried out, taking into account where the people for whom it is being designed have grown, lived, and interrelated, otherwise we will not be able to inquire about their needs, problems, wishes, etc.
4. “Any design professional can do research.”
We agree that we do not agree. Certainly, all the professionals on a design team should be involved in the investigations that are carried out since the different points of view will increase the quality of it. That does not mean, however, that it should not be the researchers who are in charge of their professional specialty.
Can a fashion designer design a building? Can a designer recommend a drug to a sick person? Well, yes, but let’s ask ourselves first what the result will be. One of the principles of research is to avoid preconceived ideas and habits, and if we leave that in the hands of researchers we will reduce the subjective character.
5. “Google does research in a week”
We all heard of the famous Google sprints. They are a good practice for companies that have very large design and research teams that prototype and iterate products (or rather very specific parts of products) constantly and in a dizzying way, but this is not the case for all organizations or all design projects.
Let’s consider all the factors before venturing to establish a minimum time to carry out an investigation, and next try to adapt the different variables to carry it out in the most effective way.
6. “With data there is no need to do research.”
The numbers obtained from Data analysis complement the analysis and the conclusions of the research with users, and vice versa. Quantitative research allows us to know that something is happening, it can even tell us who is doing it and where or when, but it will never tell us why, we will only achieve this through qualitative research.
Not delving into qualitative research in a project will only lead to hasty conclusions and hypotheses not validated with people, those same people for whom we are creating products and services.
7. “Business already knows what customers want.”
There continues to be a belief in some sectors that there are certain areas in organizations which can replace research with experience. Let’s admit it, no matter how much experience and baggage a professional has, we should never assume that because of this they can know everything that users of a certain product do, feel, imagine, desire or need.
It is clear that experience in a sector can help us make one decision or another, but never forgetting that knowledge will never give us an absolute truth and that in the end the user and his/her context is what must be observed and studied.
So we stress again, assumptions and preconceptions are precisely what we should avoid when designing both a product, a service or a business strategy.
In short, we must embrace the idea that design research professionals are there to do important work, help design teams, organizations, and clients do their jobs better and complement them. Let us advise them on research questions, let them take charge of their work, embrace the discoveries that they give us and take advantage of all that potential and knowledge for our benefit and for the people for whom we design.
If you want to know more about how to make design research, contact us!
By Gema Cánovas, Researcher and Service Designer at Idean Spain.
