From analysis to synthesis: tools and techniques for discovery work

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Tools and Techniques for Discovery WorkFrom Analysis to Synthesis

Kerry-Anne Gilowey Confab Intensive · Seattle WA · 20 September 2016

@kerry_anne

Workshop overview

Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/vegard

So many unknowns. Where do we even begin?

A toolbox, not a methodology.

Basic principles

1. DISCOVERY IS NOT A PHASE.

Uncomfortable with uncertainty? • Listen to Schrödinger’s IA: Learning to Love Ambiguity – tinyurl.com/ambiguity2013 • Slides: tinyurl.com/ambiguity-slides

RESOURCES

2. KNOW YOUR CONSTRAINTS.

3. BE CAREFUL WITH ASSUMPTIONS.

4. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE AND YOUR ORGANISATION.

5. ALWAYS BE TAKING NOTES.

Recording apps Android • Easy Voice Recorder • Smart Voice Recorder iOS • Voice Record Pro • Voice Recorder

RESOURCES

6. DON’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU’RE TOLD.

Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/audiolucistore

7. LOOK FOR PATTERNS.

Getting started

Our new project

Traditional publisher Creating a digital product Need our help with

content planning content organisation project steps

Discovery techniques

CHOOSEyour tools carefully

PRIORITISEyour discovery efforts

3 main activity types

Workshops

Fieldwork

Audit and analysis

1. WORKSHOPS

Workshops are great for…

Gathering a lot of info in a short period

of timePicking up on political issues

Checking that objectives and intentions are

shared Making sure you’re getting

the correct info

Core strategy

Business/ product

discovery

Governance

Terminology

Challenges and

opportunities

Audience identification

Customer insights

Persona creation

Task identification and

prioritisation

Mad Libs

Voice and messaging

Content Mad Libs

RESOURCES

Get more info at content-workshops.com/toolbox/2015/3/content-mad-libs

Image credit: Sara Wachter-Boettcher

Mad Libs

Voice and messaging

Messaging cardsort

Messaging card-sort

1. Sort all the cards into two groups 2. Note and discard cards in the “WE’RE NOT” pile 3. Loosely group the remaining attributes 4. Prioritise: choose your top 10

Messaging card sets • BrandSort cards brought to you by Margot Bloomstein, author of Content Strategy at Work – $29.99. Order at http://cards.appropriateinc.com/.

RESOURCES

Mad Libs

Voice and messaging

Messaging cardsort

Live content audit

Workshop

activitiesCore strategy workshop

Audience identification

Challenges and opportunities

activity

Persona workshop

Mad LibsTerminology workshop

Messaging cardsort

Live content audit

Governance workshop

Task identification

2. AUDIT AND ANALYSIS

Content inventory and audit

Some help from Content Insight • Audit tips: http://tinyurl.com/audit-tips • Content Audits and Inventories: A Handbook by Paula Ladenburg Land • Sign up at content-insight.com using the promo code TryCAT, and get a free 5000-page block

RESOURCES

Analytics and site search logs

About analytics and site search • Google’s free Analytics Academy – analyticsacademy.withgoogle.com/ • Search Analytics For Your Site by Louis Rosenfeld – tinyurl.com/search-analytics

RESOURCES

Competitor analysis

MESSA

GIN

G

AN

ALYSIS

INDUSTRY

RESEARCH

SITE AND APP COMPARISONS

Audit and

analysisContent inventory

Site and app comparisons

Analytics

Site search logs

Competitor messaging analysis

Content audit

Industry research

3. FIELDWORK

Audience surveys

Audience surveys • Survey software – surveymonkey.com. Sign up for a free account and receive their newsletter. • Coursera course on questionnaire design, by the University of Michigan – tinyurl.com/questionnaire-course

RESOURCES

Contextual discovery

CALL CEN

TRE

STUD

Y

CUSTOMER

OBSERVATION

SHADOWING

One-on-one interviews

STAKEHOLDERS

and yourCUSTOMERS

Interview both your

Interview customers to…

Find out what information they need

Gain insight into their worldview

Understand their context

Map their journey with your product

Interview stakeholders to…

Understand workflow and

processes

Identify challenges

Understand political and

cultural issues

Build relationships

and trust

Customer interviews

Customer observation

Surveys

Stakeholder interviews

Call centre study

Shadowing

Fieldwork

On to synthesis

ORG CHARTS

WORKFLOW DIAGRAMS

SIMPLE PERSONAS

OWNERSHIP AND

AUTHORSHIP TABLES MATRIX OF

CONTENT TYPES

TERM LISTS, GLOSSARIES,

SHARED DEFINITIONS

MESSAGING SPREADSHEET

CUSTOMER JOURNEYS

Discovery artifacts

There is no “one right

way”.

Shared definitions

Workflow diagrams

From documentation.magnolia-cms.com/display/DOCS45/Workflow

Content type matrix

Simple personas

Customer journeys

Image credit: http://engagingplaces.net/2013/10/15/hbr-the-truth-about-the-customer-experience/

Messaging spreadsheet

Analysing your notes

1. Highlight key issues and patterns 2. Group related issues 3. Make connections explicit 4. Consider priorities, choose artifacts

ORG CHARTS

WORKFLOW DIAGRAMS

SIMPLE PERSONAS

OWNERSHIP AND

AUTHORSHIP TABLES MATRIX OF

CONTENT TYPES

TERM LISTS, GLOSSARIES,

SHARED DEFINITIONS

MESSAGING SPREADSHEET

CUSTOMER JOURNEYS

Discovery artifacts

Analysing your notes

1. Highlight key issues and patterns 2. Group related issues 3. Make connections explicit 4. Consider priorities, choose artifacts 5. Write up a roadmap

Roadmap headings

• Stakeholders • Objectives • Current situation • Key challenges • Short-term strategy • Long-term strategy • Open questions

Analysing your notes

1. Highlight key issues and patterns 2. Group related issues 3. Make connections explicit 4. Consider priorities, choose artifacts 5. Write up a roadmap 6. Give your partner feedback

Thanks for taking part!

Kerry-Anne Gilowey kerryanne@augustsun.co.za http://augustsun.co.za @kerry_anne

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