Empathy in Research: Empathize Methods

Empathy is our ability to see the world through other people’s eyes — to see what they see, feel what they feel and experience things as they do. This innate capacity for understanding others plays a vital role in user-centered design, especially within user experience design. In fact, design thinking is a prime example of user empathy being utilized in the design process. As you might remember, this methodology consists of five stages — empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test — where the users are at the center of the creative process. Essentially, design thinking is deeply rooted in understanding and connecting with the end users in order to ideate and test solutions. To achieve this connection, various empathy research methods can be employed. Let’s delve into four key research methods used to empathize with the users of a product or service.

Service Safari

A service safari is an empathy research method that allows researchers to step into the user’s shoes. Instead of merely observing, they become immersed in the user’s experience. By assuming the user’s role, they can truly understand the user’s journey by encountering similar pain points, high points, desires, and needs. In the end, this hands-on approach can uncover insights missed in traditional observational methods.

For instance, imagine a researcher looking to enhance the usability of a travel app. To simulate a user’s journey, they could immerse themselves in a service safari by trying to book a hotel room using the app. This hands-on experience enables them to navigate the interface, make choices based on the available information, and interact with any integrated features, just like a typical user would. As they proceed, they might encounter unexpected challenges like confusing menu options, lack of essential details, or even delightful surprises such as personalized recommendations or seamless check out processes. By directly experiencing these pain points and high points, the researcher gains invaluable insights that might not emerge from mere observation. Ultimately, this helps drive informed design improvements.

Shadowing

Shadowing is another empathy research method that takes a more passive approach by allowing researchers to be silent observers. By discreetly following users in their natural environment, they can witness their genuine, unaltered interactions and behaviors. This method provides a raw, candid view of user experiences which gives researchers a chance to observe behaviors that users might not even be consciously aware of themselves. Unlike more interactive methods, shadowing allows for observations without interference like direct questioning or prompting.

For example, a researcher looking to enhance the shopping experience in a mall might employ the shadowing method by discreetly observing shoppers. In doing so, they can spot patterns such as how shoppers navigate the mall, which sections they naturally gravitate towards, how they react to signage, or even subtle behaviors like hesitation in front of certain stores or displays. The researcher might also note the influence of external factors like peak shopping times or ongoing sales events. These insights can not only inform better mall layouts but also lead to more effective promotional strategies tailored to observed behaviors.

What/How/Why Method

This empathetic method is an observational research technique used to gather information and form assumptions. It breaks down observation into structured layers and helps to understand user or customer behaviors in their natural environment. Observers are trying to understand what the user is doing, how they are doing it, and why they are exhibiting certain behaviors. To break it down even more:

  • What: The first step involves simply observing what the user or customer is doing in a given context or setting. This provides a descriptive overview of the user’s actions.
  • How: This step delves deeper by focusing on the manner in which the observed actions are carried out. It examines the physical methods and processes employed by the user.
  • Why: This layer of observation aims to discern the motivations or reasons behind the exhibited behaviors. It seeks to understand the underlying causes or influences that drive the actions and methods observed in the first two steps. Influences could range from environmental factors to the design of the product or service, personal preferences, or other external or internal motivators.

Consider observing a user using a digital platform like an ecommerce website. The user might be frequently checking their cart (what). They do this by navigating away from their current page and clicking the cart icon (how). The underlying reason might be the absence of a mini cart feature that provides a quick snapshot of their selected items without navigating away (why). This observation indicates a potential area of improvement.

Empathic Interviews: The Five Whys

Traditional personal interviews remain powerful tools in research as they can uncover both user motivations and frustrations. The Five Whys technique enhances this method by prompting the user to delve deeper into their responses. By iteratively asking “why,” researchers can progressively uncover a user’s feelings and actions, and eventually the underlying issues. It’s worth noting that the process isn’t confined to only asking “why” five times. The number five comes from the observation that, on average, five rounds of “why” are typically enough to identify the root cause. However, depending on the depth of the issue, it might take more or fewer questions to reach the core reason.

For instance, when users of a mobile application express dissatisfaction with its features, a researcher might ask, “Why?” Their response might highlight the app’s slowness. By asking “why” again, the researcher might learn that the slowness comes from prolonged load times of certain features. Continuing this questioning using “why” might reveal that the real issue is a specific feature, like the image loading, that’s causing the delay. By the end of the interview, the researcher can pinpoint a clear problem to address, improving the image loading time.

Empathy in Action

The journey to designing user-centric solutions requires deep exploration into the user’s emotions, needs, desires, and challenges. Each empathy research method, with its unique approach and insights, serves as an invaluable tool in the search for solutions that are not only feasible and viable but also desirable. By employing these tools, designers don’t just solve problems, they center their solutions around the user’s experience. This approach not only enhances user satisfaction but also drives business success. When designers gain and act upon essential insights about their users, they can boost their relevance in the market. In the vast landscape of design and innovation, these methods offer us clear direction in the design process by guiding us toward a product or service that truly resonates with users.