It is true that “the customer’s ability to guide the
development of new products and services is limited by their experience and
their ability to imagine and describe possible innovation”[1],
however, organizations would stand to lose relevancy if they marginalize the
customer’s involvement in product development.[2].
Customer’s participation in development process doesn’t have
to be a all-or-none approach. A small
cross section of consumers, if given a prototype or a demo of the product can
provide as valuable a feedback to the designers as quantitative data from
researchers. This is not to suggest that
empathic observation and research should replace other research methods by the
organization. However, empathic research
findings are usually reflective of specific users and limited use
scenarios. Adam Silver, a strategist at
Frog Design thinks ethnography is, on its own, unable to provide the kind of
information needed to validate product and service ideas across wide audiences.[3] In
other words, by itself, empathic research lacks breadth.
It’s therefore prudent for quantitative and qualitative
interpretations not to limit the design development, but to craft a meaningful
experience for the user from the tension between the two.
[1] Leonard,
Dorothy, and Jeffrey F. Rayport. 1997. "Spark innovation through empathic
design." Harvard Business Review 75, 102. OmniFile Full Text Mega (H.W.
Wilson), EBSCOhost (accessed May 27, 2012).
[2]
Gary Oster, Divining the Need, Compensatory Behavior of Customers, Regent
Global Business Review, August 2008
[3]
Larry Irons, Empathic Research Methods and Design Strategy, Getting Beyond the
Quantitative/Qualitative Debate, VatorNews, July 22, 2008, found online at http://vator.tv/news/2008-07-21-empathic-research-methods-and-design-strategy
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