We then formulate what we’ve learned into a problem definition, which we issue to our communities as a provocation, rather than specification. Depending on the specifics of the process we’re employing, we make the underlying research available to them as well, and bring the stakeholders in for user testing of the work as it’s being developed. This was key in both our GapApp Challenge and School Choice Design Charette. In the first, the target users were middle school math teachers and curriculum coaches. In the second, the audience was 8th-grade students and parents.
Clearly, this process helps put the ‘V’ in our MVP. But perhaps more important, it forces us (and by extension the solution providers) into an empathetic posture. It’s anecdotal in the best sense—small data that’s very rich—and because we took the time to ask and listen, increases the likelihood that they’ll invest more depth and persistence in trying what we offer, and provide more valuable feedback for the next iteration.
