When it comes to design thinking and all things user research, the goal is to extract as much insight and by extension data out of your interactions with your users. You are seeking to find the deeper meaning behind their thoughts and actions and somehow harness lightning in a bottle that will help you distill their words and actions into bite size golden nuggets for your company or client. Often times that comes at a cost to personal privacy and can lead to bad data and inequality.
In recent years as AI and other large language models have gained traction and exploded onto the scene, several large companies like Open AI and Google find themselves embroiled in lawsuits for trying to extract tons of data without compensating creators or plainly exploiting user data. These instances and events call into question digital marketing and data collection practice, which at their heart are an extension of the goal of ethnographic research. It’s all about walking a mile in someone else's shoes.
At it’s core, ethnography seeks to fundamentally level the playing field and give insight and expose opportunities within certain groups of users or populations, but there is and will always intrinsically exists a level of bias. Bias in and of itself is not the enemy, it is arguably the human condition. We all grow up, are exposed to, and get comfortable with the lives and connections we build because we are human. Ethnography should help us see outside of ourselves to learn a different perspective, but oftentimes the products and services we use are more clearly targeted and built for users a designer may be more familiar or comfortable with or they completely exploit the subjects of the studies.
So how can we use ethnography and design to make things more equitable and accessible to different user groups we all study? I’d argue that universal design principles are probably a good place to start, but in a more tactical sense here are a few tips we think will work.
Pretend you are learning something for the first time
A big predictor of learning something new is how open and responsive you are to the subject. Ask yourself:
- How often am I around users from this group?
- Do I understand what their view of the world is?
- What motivates them?
- Am I afraid to be wrong?
- Am I trying to learn or teach?
With these questions you can begin to really understand and set yourself up for success in dealing with a group of people you may not be comfortable with. Often our discomfort leads us to bias which makes us more comfortable. Being more open can really help you get more authentic results and outcomes.
It’s not about the product or solution
The focus on your research and interactions should be more focused on the group you’re observing. You could develop a new feature that drives more revenue, but providing more value to a user will drive results. The motivation of what the user or group is seeking is more important than the what or how they are solving it. What does this make them feel like? What happens if they can’t do this? How does this impact them? Understanding the motivation of why someone is doing something is key to making sure that you can provide equity to them and by extension truly make sure the users or group is getting a fair deal.
Make sure it benefits the group
How do you want to be treated? A recent video by Mrwhosetheboss, huge tech YouTuber, was very enlightening. Companies at their core are about profit and outcomes, but that often flies in the face of what ethnography and design thinking is all about. The goal of design research is to deliver better outcomes to the user and not just increase profits. There was a time many popular products and solutions were wildly popular because they prioritized their users and made sure they delivered great value, but not that’s not the case. Whether it’s service fragmentation as more and more content streaming services appear, or corporate profits which drive up costs, or mergers and acquisitions that see one company seeking to streamline profits while alienating an existing company’s loyal customer base, it’s become all too common. The golden rule should govern our lives. And if you keep this in mind you’ll always deliver value to the users or group. Why would someone want a worse deal while you make more money? Does that even make sense? If the answer is no, make sure you seek out ways to benefit the users or group. They are the customer and you should be bringing them more value than you are extracting, otherwise prepare for the churn.
Digital ethnography has changed the way we can collect and gain insight into everyone’s life, from the apps we use to the cookies and sophisticated software we develop on a regular basis. The core of ethnography is to understand how and why users or groups are doing what they are doing and add value. You have to make a conscious effort to be equitable and add more than you take. We all have bias and that’s ok, but if you’re doing this treat others how you would want to be treated. If we all walked a mile in someone else’s shoes we could change the world. Be the change you want to see.
