Design Methods

Stage 1

Imagine you are designing a bag (a rucksack type) for commuters who travel:

            first from their homes to a railway station by bike,

            then by train (they take the bike on the train with them),

            and then again by bike from a railway station to their place of work.

In the evening this journey is reversed.

 

You want to find out what the needs of these commuters are.

How might you do that?

Note that at this stage we are not thinking about the properties of the rucksack. The question to consider is how to find out what potential users of the rucksack want.

 

Would you conduct interviews to find out? If so, how many people would you interview? Note down your answer.

Now arrange yourselves into groups of 3 or 4 and

1) note down the kinds of people you would interview, and

2) where/when you would carry out the interviews.

 

The text below has 6 paragraphs, but they are not in the correct sequence.

(1) Put the different parts of the text in order, and

(2) Write a sentence of no more than 20 words summarising the advice in the text.

 

1 For example, if you were designing a bike for commuters you might want to study people who commuted by different means (train, car, bus), and in geographical areas with different weather, as well as people of different size and strength.

2 For example, if you were designing a bike for commuters you might want to include a cycle courier in your sample. And don't make the mistake of only talking to people who use your products or services - speak to those who don't use them too. Don't only talk to people who love commuting by bike, but include those who have tried it and hated it, as well as those who love commuting by car. Always be mindful of who you haven't met. The sample you choose will depend on what you are trying to get from your users. If you are researching to identify opportunities, a diverse sample including extreme users can often yield the best results. If you are researching to validate a resolved design (for example in a focus group) then a more representative and less diverse sample may be more appropriate.

3 Remember, your sample doesn't have to be representative. In fact, talking to non-representative or extreme users will often yield the most insight and inspiration for your project.

4 Start by brainstorming the user attributes that you think influence behaviours in relation to your project. Then choose the most important attributes to determine a useful range of people to study.

5 Be wary of speaking to more people than you have time to analyse. There is a trade-off between the number of people you speak to and the number of insights you will get. Often a sample of six to nine people will be enough.

6 Other common attributes to consider might be age, life stage, ethnicity and socio-economic background, as well as emotional characteristics or attitudes.

To check your answer, go to the link by clicking on the button called "Choosing a sample". Did you get it right?

 

Now, in the same groups of 3 or 4 as previously:

1) note down again the kinds of people you would interview, bearing in mind the sample doesn't have to be representative.

2) note down where/when you would carry out the interviews.

3) note down the questions you would ask.

Now compare your answers with the other groups.

 

Stage 2

Now watch the 2 videos in the links provided (Video 1 & Video 2). The first one is about "Types of Survey Sampling Techniques" and the second one is about "Sampling Methods".

After watching them, imagine you are forming a focus group (a representative sample) to validate the design of the rucksack type bag for commuters. Choose a sampling method for your class and identify the specific individuals you will ask.