If you’re developing a new product, here’s a term you may encounter sooner or later:
Ethnographic research.
It sounds expensive.
Maybe like something involving a team of researchers, a two-way mirror, clipboards, statistical analysis, and a research budget with more zeros than your entire product development budget.
Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be any of those things.
At its simplest, ethnographic research means observing people in the real environment where they experience a problem, perform a task, or use a product.
And for an inventor with limited resources, it can be one of the most valuable forms of product research you can do.
In fact, you may learn more from watching five people struggle with a problem than you will from asking 500 people what they think about your invention.
People Are Surprisingly Bad at Explaining What They Actually Do
Imagine you’ve invented something that makes loading groceries into a car easier.
You could ask someone:
“How do you normally load groceries into your car?”
They’ll probably give you a perfectly reasonable answer.
“I open the trunk and put the bags inside.”
Great.
You have learned almost nothing.
Now go grocery shopping with them and watch.
Suddenly you notice that they unlock the car while they’re still walking toward it. They’re carrying six bags because they don’t want to make two trips. They put two bags on the ground so they can open the hatch. One falls over. They move a stroller out of the way. They put the eggs somewhere different from everything else. Then they realize the shopping cart is rolling away.
That is ethnographic research.
The important information wasn’t necessarily something the customer could have told you.
You had to see it.
What Customers Say and What Customers Do Aren’t Always the Same Thing
This is one of the biggest traps for inventors.
You ask people about a problem.
Then you show them your idea.
Then you ask whether they would use it.
And they say:
“Absolutely!”
That feels wonderful.
Unfortunately, it isn’t particularly reliable product research.
People generally want to be helpful. They don’t want to insult your idea. They may also genuinely believe they would use your product.
But buying and using products involves dozens of little behaviors people rarely think about consciously.
Where do they store it?
Which hand do they use?
Are their hands wet?
Are they wearing gloves?
Are they holding something else?
How much time do they actually have?
Do they clean it afterward?
Do they forget to charge things?
Do they already have a workaround?
Does another person use the same product differently?
Those little details can determine whether your invention becomes indispensable—or gets tossed into a drawer after two weeks.
The Good News: You Don’t Need a Research Department
If you’re an independent inventor, you probably aren’t going to spend $25,000 on a formal observational research study.
That’s okay.
You can start with a notebook and a few willing participants.
The basic process is remarkably simple:
- Find people who genuinely experience the problem you’re trying to solve. Don’t limit yourself to friends and family who happen to like your idea. You want people who actually encounter the situation your product addresses.
- Observe them where the problem really occurs. If you’re developing a kitchen product, watch people cook. If it’s a workshop product, go into the workshop. If it’s something used while traveling, observe the travel process. Context matters.
- Ask them to do what they normally do. Don’t immediately hand them your prototype. First understand how they solve the problem today.
- Watch more than you talk. Resist the urge to explain what they’re doing wrong—or how much easier your invention would make everything.
- Ask questions afterward. “Why did you do that?” “Is that always how you do it?” “What happens when this doesn’t work?” “What part of that annoys you most?”
That’s ethnographic research.
No lab coat required.
Watch for Workarounds
As product developers, we love workarounds.
A workaround is something a person has figured out because the existing products don’t quite meet their needs.
Maybe someone holds something together with a rubber band.
Maybe they keep a screwdriver somewhere unusual because they’re constantly adjusting something.
Maybe they’ve put a piece of tape over a button they accidentally press.
Maybe they use a product designed for an entirely different purpose because nothing better exists.
When you see something like that, pay attention.
Workarounds are customers designing products without realizing they’re designing products.
They can point directly toward unmet needs.
Don’t Start by Showing Them Your Invention
This is particularly important for inventors.
You have spent months—or possibly years—thinking about your solution.
That makes it extremely difficult for you to stop thinking about the solution.
But that’s exactly what you need to do.
Before you ask:
“What do you think of my invention?”
ask:
“How do you deal with this today?”
Those are completely different questions.
Once someone sees your solution, you’ve changed the conversation. They’re now evaluating your idea instead of showing you their problem.
Observe the problem first.
Introduce your solution later.
Your Prototype Can Come Next
Once you understand the customer’s existing behavior, your prototype becomes much more useful.
Now you can watch someone interact with your proposed solution.
And once again, don’t immediately teach them how to use it.
Hand it to them.
Watch.
Where do their hands go?
What do they try first?
What confuses them?
What do they completely ignore?
Do they use it differently from how you imagined?
If someone uses your prototype “wrong,” resist the temptation to correct them.
That mistake may be some of the most valuable information you’ll receive.
If three people make the same mistake, they probably aren’t the problem. Your design is.
Five Customers Can Teach You a Lot
Inventors sometimes assume research isn’t worthwhile unless they can assemble a statistically meaningful sample.
That’s mixing up two different kinds of research.
If you’re trying to determine what percentage of Americans prefer blue widgets to green widgets, you need a meaningful sample size.
But observational research is often about discovering behaviors, problems and patterns you didn’t know existed.
You don’t necessarily need hundreds of people to discover that everyone has trouble finding the power button.
If you observe five people and four of them struggle with exactly the same thing, you’ve learned something worth investigating.
This is particularly useful early in product development, when changing a sketch or CAD model might cost almost nothing.
Discovering the same problem after you’ve ordered 10,000 units is considerably less charming.
Look for Patterns, Not Just Opinions
After several observations, spread out your notes.
You’re looking for repetition.
What problems occurred more than once?
What workarounds did multiple people use?
Where did people hesitate?
What did people complain about?
What did people not complain about but clearly struggle with?
That last category is especially interesting.
People become accustomed to poorly designed things.
Sometimes they’ll struggle with something every single day and never identify it as a “problem.”
They simply assume that’s how it works.
An inventor gets to ask:
Does it have to?
You May Discover That Your Brilliant Feature Isn’t Important
There is another reason ethnographic research is incredibly valuable.
Sometimes it tells you something you don’t want to hear.
You may have spent six months obsessing over a particular feature only to discover that customers barely care about it.
Meanwhile, something you considered a minor issue may turn out to be the thing that matters most.
That’s a win.
It may not feel like a win.
But learning that while you’re holding a foam prototype is vastly preferable to learning it while you’re sitting next to a warehouse full of finished products.
Good product development isn’t about proving that your original idea was correct.
It’s about progressively discovering what the product actually needs to be.
Your Lack of Resources Can Actually Be an Advantage
Large companies sometimes have to work surprisingly hard to get close to their customers.
Independent inventors don’t necessarily have that problem.
You can call someone.
Visit their shop.
Stand in their kitchen.
Ride along with them.
Watch them work.
Bring your prototype.
Change it.
Go back next week.
You don’t need a research department to become a careful observer.
You need curiosity—and the willingness to occasionally discover that something you believed about your invention was wrong.
Before You Spend More Money, Spend Some Time Watching
Inventors understandably worry about patents, prototypes, manufacturing costs, marketing, tooling and funding.
Those things matter.
But before investing heavily in a solution, make sure you deeply understand the behavior surrounding the problem.
Find a few people who experience it.
Go where they experience it.
Watch what they actually do.
Ask questions.
Take notes.
Look for patterns.
Then use what you learn to make the product better.
Call it ethnographic research if you want to sound sophisticated.
Or just call it watching your customer.
Either way, it might be some of the cheapest—and most valuable—product development work you ever do.
