The approach which we use helps project teams to participate and observe everyday life of real people, capturing the experiences of people as and when they occur, which leads to the creation of new insights and understanding. Here’s a typical approach which we have used in the past.

We have a ‘toolkit’ from which we can select a combination of ‘tools’ which enable project teams to gather data rapidly to help find solutions and identify new opportunities. Generally, research is based upon bringing together four elements:

• Contextual interview based research identifies what people say they do
   
  Ethnography / observational research identifies what people do
   
  Participatory research identifies what people make
   
  Evaluative prototyping used to refine product and service concepts

Our approach is collaborative and we share our knowledge and processes of carrying out research with the client. Our approach is also scalable and allows us to carry out modules of ‘rapid’ user research. Results can be delivered within a 4 – 8 week timeframe.

Where do we carry out research?
Our research is carried out in the social context of participants’ lives, for example, in their homes, places of work, where they shop and places where they socialise.