Part 2.docx

Identifying drivers The research stage aims to identify the drivers that stimulate the target group to act on a design and the barriers that could impede the success of a design. Drivers Drivers are the knowledge and conditions that initiate and support activities for which the design was create...

Identifying drivers The research stage aims to identify the drivers that stimulate the target group to act on a design and the barriers that could impede the success of a design. Drivers Drivers are the knowledge and conditions that initiate and support activities for which the design was created. Knowledge and conditions can include such terms of reference as market forces, fashions and musical trends of the day. By identifying these drivers, the design team will have an appreciation of the stimuli that people are receptive to. For example, market forces in the newspaper sector are moving towards online publication and away from print publication. Someone intending to launch a new communication product would need to be aware of such a driver. Barriers Barriers need to be identified during the research stage in order to prevent work from being undertaken in a direction that has little chance of being implemented for technical, legal or market reasons. Barriers can be rules and laws about what product packaging can and cannot show, for example. Technical barriers might include systems of standards that exist in different countries. The size of envelopes that postal companies prefer to use, for example, might affect the format of mass mailers. Market barriers include the purchasing and distribution power of key competitors, is something that might restrict access to outlets. Drivers can also act as barriers. By not following the driver, for example, the designer could be creating an obstacle that reduces the chance of success for a design. For example, launching a new newspaper at a time when consumers are moving to online content sources appears to be counter-intuitive. Stimulation The action of agents (stimuli) on our physical or emotional condition. The presence of stimuli produces a response; for example, participation in adventure sports may produce the response of a feeling of exhilaration or elation. Information gathering Information gathering When conducting research, information can be classified into two categories: quantitative and qualitative. These help define the size of a target market and its characteristics. Quantitative Quantitative information is numerical or statistical information that enables a design team to put physical dimensions to a target market. Total market sales value, annual sales volume and the number of consumers in the 25--30-year-old age group are all examples of quantitative information. Qualitative Qualitative information allows the design team to understand why things are as they are; the reasons that people respond to certain stimuli or not. Qualitative information is typically obtained via face-to-face interviews where participants talk about their experience and preferences for a given topic. This is usually undertaken via a group discussion or focus group, or an in-depth interview with carefully selected individuals. Types of survey Qualitative and quantitative information can be obtained fromreference libraries, but if the information required is not available, different surveys can be commissioned to obtain it. These might include: Statistical surveys -- these collect quantitative information from numerical data Sampling -- this collects information from a population sample in order to represent the whole Opinion polls -- these assess public opinion using sampling Quantitative market research -- this collects data for marketing purposes Paid statistical surveys -- these reward participants for providing information about consumption habits Questionnaires -- these contain a set of questions Omnibus surveys -- these ask questions in a regular shared monthly survey Design Thinking Research Information gathering Diagram techniques Diagrams can provide an excellent means of organising the relationships between different pieces of information and ideas. By creating diagrams, a design team can quickly obtain an understanding of how a target group is structured and what some of the key relationships within that group may be. Diagrams also provide a means to help communicate the results of the research stage. They might be used, for example, to present the design team's understanding of the composition of the market to the client. Various diagrammatic methods can be used to express the different kinds of relationships that will inform the ideate stage. These include sample scatter plots (opposite above) andVenn diagrams (opposite below). Venn diagrams are a common diagrammatic technique for presenting information about a group. Venn diagrams were created by John Venn in 1880 to show the logical relations between a defined group of sets. The entire population of each set is represented by a circle and the relationship between sets, and the populations they contain, is shown by how the circles interact or overlap witheach other. These interactions show all the possible logical relations between the sets and allow the viewer to visualise the relationships between them. For example, the entire population of men is a subset of the entire population of humans. Pictured here are basic two-set Venn diagrams, showing various relationships between two finite groups. Using diagrams Diagrams are used to show the results of quantitative or qualitative information in a readily accessible, visual way to aid comprehension and understanding. A range of different diagrams with increasing levels of complexity have been developed to be able to present detailed information in such a way that key trends or elements of interest can be identified. The diagrammatic methods used need to be appropriate for the data set under investigation and several methods that present other related data are often used in order to construct a model of the subject being analysed.