Conifer Research drew in a crowded house on July 21st for the year’s fourth Small Talk event. The staff at Conifer, whose backgrounds range from design to psychology to anthropology, is wholly dedicated to the research aspect of design innovation. “What we bring is an approach and a process,” said Anne Schorr, one of the company’s two partners. “See your customers” is their tagline.

Conifer’s method is rooted in ethnographic research, a technique based on the observation of users in their natural settings. The observation part is a crucial step in revealing new opportunities for Conifer’s clients. There are often patterns to be drawn by observing a group of individuals and there are differences in what people say they do and what they actually do. Therefore, ethnographic research leads to generative insights, rather than solely evaluative results.

After a 15-minute introduction, the crowd split into groups. Then, there was a round-robin tour of the office and a brief presentation on each step of Conifer’s process.

In a breakout session on research planning, Holly Roeske shared that Conifer develops protocols and determines the appropriate methods for research based on each client’s specific need. In this phase, there is also a screening of participants, a dry-run of the study and sometimes client training (if they are to accompany Conifer in the field).

A session about data collection highlighted different ethnographic methods, from filming a user in their home to self-documentation, in which participants keep a blog or a written journal. In this talk, Carolyn Stuenkel stressed the importance of building trust with study participants so that they are comfortable offering personal information. Good rapport was especially critical to the success of one particular study in which participants were asked if they could be observed while shaving their legs. “We don’t want them to think we’re weird,” said Carolyn with a pause, “Well, we are weird. But we’re weird for a reason!”

Adisorn Supawatanakul discussed how proprietary software helps Conifer to properly catalog the data collected during field research. This step assists them in making an objective analysis of their findings. Here, they identify behavioral patterns, themes and frameworks.

Lastly, Megan Fath and Anne Schorr presented the synthesis stage of Conifer’s process. At this point, the findings are distilled into a more conclusive and compelling story. Models are built to show the client new possibilities. Sometimes the client is engaged in a collaborative brainstorming event. “A client doesn’t always want to believe what you have to tell them,” said Anne. So Conifer incorporates a variety of engaging presentation styles, such as a technique called graphic facilitation in which artists draw ideas on the spot. The final result of Conifer’s work are insights that point to new avenues where clients can take their business. Conifer leaves their clients excited about their future and more informed about their customers.

Sponsors: Artisan, Dupli-Graphic, Forget Computers