Being an internal researcher - reporting results 2 : no surprise it does not work, or multifunctional field data

Last year was full of experimentations at the Business User Observatory on the ways we report our research. With some colleagues we tried various new forms to report the results of our field research. Remember that as an internal researcher, shipping is a feature and that shipment is usually expected through the delivery of a Powerpoint presentation (see my former blog entry called “from pres to workshops”). Our experimentations included for example photonovellas, Indesign reports, short “hot” reports on our field observations, and various kinds of movies, including Dogma 95 shaking journeys with a hand camera into the days of our users, or filming the researcher presenting her presentation. We recently got a chance to discuss their impact and relevance for different audiences. Here are my conclusions.

What is the aim of user research presentations ?
Firstly, what is the aim of user research presentations ? It is tightly correlated to the audience. Presentations can be designed for internal workshops. In that case, their aim will be to share field data to make sense of them / to build interpretations / to discuss one point of the study (for example, the methodology) / to derive conclusions. For these purposes we may share selected raw data. In that case, we may even be interested in discussing what really happened during the field, selecting real narratives. However, as soon as the presentation is addressed to internal or external partners, for example designers or managers, the purpose changes. The narrative must be carefully packaged. These audiences are mostly not interested in the details of field research but in its potential impact for their work, project or company. If we present field data, we must pilot them through them. In that context, we may help people dive into our data to make them feel - and not only understand - what is happening around, but we can not expect them to dive into them “randomly”, for free, or graciously. Selecting and organizing data, we highlight some interesting points. We help them see what is to be seen according to us and therefore direct what they look at.

Our data are collected for analysis purposes and then requested also for demonstration

Secondly, the purposes are very different, from analyzing to convincing, inspiring or triggering actions. However we re-use the same data in all these contexts. Our data collection is primarily designed to support our analysis of the topic at stake, to help us understand and maybe describe the observed behaviours and their meanings, and not with a demonstrative idea in mind. We collect a whole bunch of interviews, audio records, pictures, video sequences… to work on and when the analysis is done, we may appeal to some of them to help us illustrate the results we get. No surprise that more than often we do not get the right material to make our point clear. Is it possible then to keep in mind from the first data collection phase on the field that some data should be collected for demonstrative purposes ? Or should we even consider producing “fake”, efficient field films to specially illustrate our point, once we know our main messages ?

The impact of visual presentations

Thirdly, increasing the readibility of our presentations hugely increases its impact. The same content presented in a Word document or in a Indesign report will have a different effect. Corporate people do not read, we were told. So we tried to design reports they would wish to read. We chose to write thick reports full of field details, but balanced by careful lay out, navigation conventions, graphics and pictures. The aim was to produce a 60 pages scientific report that could be read in the train almost as a magazine. Check the difference :

simple word report, not read

final report

Temporary conclusions

1. Doing the work is just half of the effort, reporting it just takes as much time. However putting your work into form to present it contributes to the data analysis process by helping you to get a point of view on your data.
2. Reporting is always a dialogue, data presentation being tailored according to what you expect your audience to do after having listened to you.
3. Try to engage your audience as early as possible in your research process, so that they get accustomed and even curious about field data.
4. Attention is rare – increasing the visual quality of your presentation has a strong effect on its impact. Commented pictures or very short video sequences help direct convey your message. 
5. Direct attention : do not expect your audience to see spontaneously in your data what you see after hours of careful screaning and thinking.
6. Make them feel, and not only understand. Nobody acts according only to its rational representations of a problem. Motivational aspects are far more important and “raw” field data (seeing the people in context) helps to build this motivation. 
7. Field data for presentations are not standing alone : they are efficient in supporting intermediary (or mediationnal) conceptual tools, like a notion, a matrix, a set of profiles, a list of use cases or an opportunity map for example, which are other ways to report how you make sense of your data.