When starting any project with design thinking, the first step is always going to be empathy. User centered design means the designers need to understand who their users are and what they really need. The best way to do this is through empathic research. There are many ways to conduct empathic research, but all the information these different methods gather can be fitted into an empathy map.
An empathy map is a collaborative visualization used to articulate what we know about a particular type of user. It examines knowledge about users in order to:
Create a shared understanding of a user’s wants and needs
Aid the decision making in steps later down the line.
In the same vein as storyboarding, empathy maps aim to present a user’s experience and feelings in an easy to understand and memorable way. They can be incredibly detailed, but the four main pillars are: Says, Thinks, Does, and Feels. Empathy mapping captures who a user or persona is in a way regular demographics cannot. They allow designers to make sense of their research, discover places that may need more research, and help communicate who a user is in a quick, digestible way.
To empathize with a user, a designer needs to truly know them. A good way to understand a user’s story and experience is to see something from their point of view and walk a mile in their shoes. A good example of empathizing with a user’s experience is the reality TV show Undercover Boss.
Undercover Boss is a reality show, first airing in 2010, that takes a person in an upper-management position at a major business and has them go undercover as an entry level employee. The main goal is to discover how things actually run and how employees feel about the job and the company itself. CEOs and franchise owners go into the experience with an idea of how their businesses are run and how they think they should be run and usually come away with an entirely new perspective. The corporate executives usually take their employees suggestions and criticism to heart and act on their recommendations in some way that benefits the employee as well as the business.
Steven Foster undercover as “Aaron”
In episode 8 of season 2, CEO and co-founder of Lucky Strike bowling lanes Steven Foster goes undercover as “Aaron” to train for different positions around the company. Foster shares that he opened Lucky Strike after his parents offered to let him use their house as collateral. His goal was to create an environment for people to release stress and forget about their daily worries. He opened 18 locations across the U.S. and Canada. After the recent passing of his mother, he felt motivated to guarantee the experience that he intended for the company was being delivered. He travels to four different locations to train as a bartender, a server, a mechanic, and a control desk manager.
In Hollywood, Lucky Strike’s first location, Steven meets the head bartender Dylan. Dylan trains Steven at the bar, has him dress up in the “Mr. Pin” costume to hand out flyers, and shares that his father is a Christian musician that travels a lot. When Steven asks if they’re close, Dylan shares that he used to travel with him when he was younger and sell his merch at shows. Dylan says that he’s happiest when he’s interacting with customers.
In Manhattan, Steven meets to train as a server with Briana. The Manhattan location is one of Lucky Strike’s most successful franchises and Steven says he wants to see what goes into making “the magic” happen. Briana is competent and kind, providing excellent service in the face of a 200-person party. Steven is horrified to find that the location doesn’t even have a breakroom and Briana sometimes feels so overwhelmed she feels she’s on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
In Nyack, NY, Steven meets with Angel and learns all the intricacies of the mechanic’s position. Steven observes that the location is practically empty, something other franchises don’t experience, and Angel shares his frustrations at the franchises lack of accommodations for bowling leagues. Steven learns that Angel grew up with his parents working at a bowling alley and has extensive knowledge of what it takes to run one. Angel also has a daughter and a granddaughter that he supports.
At the final location in Houston, Steven meets with control desk manager Jermaine. Steven immediately becomes overwhelmed by the desk’s POS system and learns that the job becomes twice as hard due to outdated interfaces that run separately. Jermaine and Steven bond over recently losing a loved one to cancer and Jermaine shares how he feels he belongs at Lucky Strike and hopes to one day have the opportunity to help improve the company on a larger scale.
I created an empathy map comparing the wants and needs of Steven and Jermaine, the control desk manager. I felt they were good personas to compare because even though they have clear differences, they find common ground in family and passion for the company.
Steven Foster – CEO and Co-Owner of Lucky Strike
After successfully running a roller disco for almost ten years with his business partner and wife Gillian, Steven pitched the idea of opening a bowling alley to his parents. Surprisingly supportive, his parents offered to use their house as collateral. Because of this, family is very important to Foster. His goal was to create entertainment environments for people to release their stress and forget about their daily problems. He goes undercover to make sure that the company is delivering on the experience it was intended to give.
Jermaine – Control Desk Manager
Even though Jermaine has only been working there for six weeks, he is in complete control of his position. He shares with Steven that he had been previously working as a graphic designer for an investment company and had gone back to school to pursue a degree in computer programming, but he had to give up both because he wasn’t making enough money.
Jermaine feels that he fits well at Lucky Strike because he can use his skills to help improve the company. He has a four-year-old son who was born blind, so he feels he can’t afford to make any mistakes in his career and life. He also shares with Steven that he recently lost his aunt to Leukemia and has been raising money for charity by selling bracelets that donate the proceeds to cancer research.
By the end of the episode, Steven finds he has made personal connections with every employee he met. He’s touched by how much pride they put into their work and uses the observations he made during his experience to improve their working conditions. He concludes that from then on, his goal and the company’s goal is about helping their employees.
The rest of my empathy map and analysis can be found here.
コメント