Research

Context Mapping

Within the field of usability, user-centred design and service design, ethnography & context is used to support a designer’s deeper understanding of the design problem – including the relevant domain, audience(s), processes, goals and reasons of use. The aim is to get ‘under the skin’ of a design problem.

Methodology

A qualitative method where researchers observe and/or interact with a study’s participants in their real-life environment. It could involve customer interviews or interactive methodologies such as Customer Arenas or Customer Safaris with the use of the Contextmapp software.

Result

It is hoped that by achieving this, a designer will be able to truly understand the problem and therefore design a far better solution for the real users.

Empathy maps

The empathy map was created as a tool to help you gain understanding for a targeted persona. You can use it when you want to deliver a better user experience of your product/service. In the process, the exercise can also help you identify the things you don’t know about your users yet, so you can carry out new research to fill in those gaps.

Methodology

• What do they see? Describe what your customer sees in their environment.
• What does it look like? Who surrounds them? In this case, images speak louder than post-its! Take advantage of your empathy map and use images that convey meaning.
• What do they hear? Describe how the environment influences your customer. What do friends say? Which media channels are influential? You can add links to websites they might frequently visit.
• What do they really think and feel? Imagine their emotions, what moves them? What might keep them up at night? Describe their dreams and aspirations.

Result

It is hoped that by achieving this, a designer will be able to truly understand the problem and therefore design a far better solution for the real users.

Customer Arena

Feel the experience.

What do customers really feel when they visit your company? What emotions does the contact with your customer service cause? Why does the customer come to you (or not)?

Methodology

The Customer Arena is an event where customers can say what is in their hearts. Together with Conexperience you invite a number of clients to your head office and place them in a central position in, for example, a meeting room. Management and employees take place around the customers mainly to listen. The customers are interviewed by someone from (or trained by) Conexperience about, for example, ‘moments of magic’ and ‘moments of pain’.

Result

All departments of the company are represented while listening in the Customer Arena. Together with customers they come to (sometimes surprising) conclusions. In addition, they naturally hear what customers really think about their company. The Customer Arena confronts but above all brings out the truth on behalf of the customers of your company. It creates a sense of urgency and a sense of excitation.

Customer Safari

Experience it yourself.

Employees (or management) literally go ‘on safari’ within your company. They step into the shoes of the customer and go through customer processes such as ‘becoming a customer’ or ‘submitting a complaint’. In this way they experience first-hand how it feels to be a customer of your company.

Methodology

The participants keep a diary through the online app Contextmapp in which they write down what they see, how they feel, what they hear and what they experience during the safari. They register information in the form of notes and pictures. In addition, they receive a specific assignment. This could for example be ‘end the contract’ or ‘visit a store and ask for information’.

Result

By walking through the company in the shoes of the customer you can see, hear and feel what your customer experiences when he comes into contact with your company. This way you can spot mistakes in processes, take any obstacles and encounter irritation points.