Start with Generative Research ⭐️
In this post we explain what is generative research and present a concrete example where such a method is applied.
What is Generative Research ?
💡 Generative research helps us develop a deep understanding of our users - outside and beyond our product offering.
This deep understanding is achieved by carefully observing users’ behaviour, analysing their actions, and probing into their motivations and decision-making processes.
Generative research enables us to learn the following about our users:
who they are
what they do
why and how they do it
what matters to them
These findings in turn help us to create tailored solutions that meet and exceed our users' expectations in an impactful way.
Generative research is sometimes also referred to as foundational or strategic research.
UX Bytes is sponsored by EnVsion - the platform that helps UX Researchers save hours analysing user interview videos.
Why does Generative Research matter ?
💡 Because it is often conducted before a product is released, generative research helps UX Researchers and whole companies determine whether they are solving the right problem, or even whether what they thought was a problem is one at all!
Generative research helps uncover the answers to Why type of questions. Understanding the why is critical because it helps understand the inner goals and motivations of users.
Generative research can also help uncover more powerful and urgent problems that need solving ahead of the ones that were originally formulated.
Generative research forces UX Researchers and companies at large to adopt a first-principles approach - breaking down problems into their foundational components in order to develop a more compelling solution.
When and how conduct Generative Research ?
🎯 When starting a new project, you should aim to better understand the problem space, instead of jumping straight into the solution space.
Generative research is a very useful technique to help you navigate the problem space.
As part of generative research, you should employ some of the Research Methods we covered in our previous post.
Generative research can also be applied at different stages of the product development lifecycle, as discussed in this article by the Nielsen Norman Group .
Let’s go through a concrete example to understand how to apply generative research.
Generative Research through a milkshake story
This story is loosely taken from a case study in Competing Against Luck, by the late Clayton Christensen.
As the owner of a milkshake stand, you are determined to uncover the root cause behind the lack of growth in your milkshake sales.
You tried many things, from doing customer surveys to improving the flavours, but sales remain stagnant.
Frustrated and worried, you decide to hire a UX Researcher who will take a more in-depth approach to gain a deeper understanding of your customers' needs and motivations.
3️⃣ The UX Researcher embarks on a three-phase approach to conduct generative research - Planning, Research, and Analysis.
Planning Phase
In the Planning phase, the Researcher starts with desk research and brainstorming with your team.
After some investigation, they discover that most milkshake purchases happen in the morning and are made by solo commuters.
This discovery leads them to focus their research efforts on understanding the needs and challenges of these commuters as they purchase from your store ahead of their daily commute.
✅ At the end of the planning phase The Researcher develops research objectives and a problem statement, aiming to uncover insights that would help you create tailored solutions to meet the specific needs and goals of this target market.
Research Phase
🔎 In the research phase, the researcher employs generative research methods like contextual enquires and interviews to understand customers' habits, motivations, and pain points.
During these sessions, the researcher asks commuters about:
their typical breakfast routines
what motivates them to choose a particular breakfast item
what factors influence their decision to purchase a particular item while commuting
The researcher also explores the alternatives that customers typically consider when purchasing a breakfast item and how milkshakes fit into this landscape. For instance, they ask customers why they didn’t prefer a bagel, or a sandwich on the go.
The researcher also enquires and observes the pain points that customers experience during their journey, such as":
long wait times
poor packaging that makes it difficult to carry the milkshake
lack of customisation options
The researcher also observes customers' consumption contexts, such as how they consumed milkshakes in their cars or public transport.
💡 By taking this approach - which encompasses multiple research methods - the researcher gained valuable information about customers' behaviours, preferences, and challenges. This enables them to provide analyse this data and derive insights on how to improve the milkshake stand.
Analysis Phase
👩💻 In the analysis phase, the researcher analysed the data gathered from their research using various qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques to identify themes and patterns.
They found that milkshake sales were highest in the morning between 6:30 am and 8:00 am, and customers who bought them were alone.
These customers would buy the milkshake, and nothing else.
These customers all had something in common — a long, boring commute, and they wanted a meal that they could consume slowly during their commute.
Customers preferred thick-shakes rather than plain milkshakes. The thick-shakes gave them something to do while they waited in traffic. The thick liquid took as long as 20 minutes to sip through a thin straw.
The researcher also found out that customers had experimented with other foods for the job, but that the thick-shakes were the preferred option, because:
🍩 Donuts were greasy
🥯 Bagels were messy
🍌 Bananas weren’t filling enough
🍫 One customer who had tried a chocolate bar ended up feeling guilty
The thick-shake milkshake was the most convenient option for the job to be done. And the best part: it fit the car’s cup holder!
💡 The goals changed from make better milkshake to make a milkshake that is suitable for a boring motor commute.
The researcher realised that the store’s milkshake wasn’t competing against other restaurants’ milkshakes, but it was competing against other breakfast items.
Solution
🥤 Armed with these insights, the store owner made their shakes thicker, added chunks of fruit so that it took commuters even longer to finish, and tweaked the checkout process to let commuters get their milkshake faster.
💰 The thicker shakes and faster checkouts led to a 7-fold increase in sales of the milkshake.
Overall, by taking a thorough and comprehensive approach to understanding their customers' needs, habits, and motivations, the store owner was able to improve customers’ satisfaction and increase sales. The mystery of stagnant milkshake sales was finally solved!
Thank you for reading this issue of UX Bytes (sponsored by EnVsion)!
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