Shadowing

by Gregor Gimmy

Shadowing is a product & service innovation
technique to research people needs in depth
regarding an experience. It benefits innovation in
that it significantly increases the quality of solution generation, enhancing the probability of new product & service success. This technique originates primarily from the field of ethnography.
Based on a ‘shadowing guide’, the project team
observes and interacts with a number of people
in their real environment. After the observation,
the data is analyzed for needs, which are then
leveraged for solution generation. A key success
factor is that Shadowing is conducted by the core
innovation team, and not delegated to a separate
user research team.

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Shadowing is an innovation technique to research people needs regarding an experience. Resulting need data is used for solution generation during main stages of the innovation process. Needs identified may be of any kind, like for example current or future, conscious or sub-conscious ones, depending on the innovation objective. It is derived principally from the field of ethnography. Other fields include psychology, cinematography and marketing research. Needs refer to desires that improve experiences. Experiences refer to the performance of a series of activities (i.e., to drive, to print, etc.) by people.
People attempt to satisfy needs through new or existing products and services. People refer to the different types of stakeholders of an innovation (i.e., a new car, a new printer). These have distinctive needs that require satisfaction for true new product success. There are four main groups of people - product doers (i.e. the manufacturing company), product sellers (i.e., a distribution channel), product users (i.e., a consumer) and product disposers (i.e., a recycling company). Depending on project specific variables like the innovation objective or the industry sector, the needs of stakeholder groups vary in importance. For example, in consumer goods, user needs are normally top priority. In industrial products, like chemicals, the needs of disposers may prevail.
The final output of Shadowing is a multi-media document, containing both textual-graphic and audio-video descriptions of needs. In said document, different needs are categorized through association to a specific experience step. Intermediate results include a project specific shadowing guide and primary data in form of video, audio and annotations. Shadowing is used for ambitious innovation projects, i.e., those seeking a next generation product instead of a line extension. Shadowing should be applied coherently for the generation of solution to needs during all main stages the overall NPD process.
1) new product opportunity identification & strategy setting
2) core design & development
3) market launch & communication.

Objective and benefits
Even though Shadowing aims to discover all kinds of needs, its strengths lies in anticipating people's sub-conscious and future needs. Shadowing hence benefits innovation in that it boosts the quality of new solution generation activities, like for example brainstorming. This enhances the probability of accomplishing products or services with a high degree of newness (i.e., revolutionary innovation). In addition, it positively impacts time-to-market and market adoption and, ultimately, the innovation success rate. This is because the deep understanding why a new product is needed fosters motivation, commitment and resource assignment towards the innovation project.

Process
To conduct Shadowing properly is complex. It is hence very important to apply a wellstructured process with consistency throughout a company's innovation projects. Based on a 'shadowing guide', innovators observe and interact with a number of people in the real environment of the experience, which is subject of the innovation project. People data is first captured in video, audio and annotations. The resulting data is then analyzed for needs, which are leveraged for solution generation in subsequent innovation stages.

There are five main stages to conduct shadowing:

01 Prepare shadowing
Preparation of the project team through review of the innovation brief, specification of activities following a generic, company specific, shadowing guide and recruitment of people to be shadowed following project specific screening criteria.

02 Observe people in context
This stage focuses on data capture. It consists of video taping people while they perform activities pertaining to the innovation area. In addition, the project team asks questions to clarify certain actions. Ideally, two project team members conduct the observation - one films and takes notes, the second leads the interaction with the person shadowed. People know they are being shadowed but don't know the innovation objective. Example: employees (from the innovation stakeholder group users) of a company are observed in their real office environment while performing normal, day-today work.

03 Define experience process
This stage presents the start of the analysis. Here, the team studies the captured audiovisual data to define and structure what people do, i.e., the experience process. Example: one experience step could be "sitting down".

04 Identify issues
This stage presents further data analysis to identify issues that happen - conscious or subconsciously - during the experience process. Issues refer to elements that impact, positively or negatively, the quality of the experience. Example: an issue could be "stress" as the video indicates gestures like profound exhalations while the person sits down.

05 Identify needs
The final step is to translate issues into needs as well as to describe and categorize them. Example: the issue "stress" could be translated into the need "relaxation". Consequently, the need for "relaxation" could become, depending on the innovation objective, the focus of a brainstorm to discover new solutions for office environment.

Success factor
The following recommendations will help harnessing the benefits of shadowing and conducting it efficiently.

Conduct Shadowing in-project The overall shadowing process should be conducted by the core project team itself and not be out-sourced or delegated to a separate research team. This is to avoid loss of tacit data, improve the data interpretation, and to boost inspiration for solution generation.

Conduct Shadowing in-context It is key to conduct Shadowing in the real context where needs happen. This is to capture real elements that influence needs, for example the home decoration. The researched person may not be aware how these elements impact her needs.

Shadowing the right people Observing the right people is a basic condition for success. The objective is to find people who are advanced in their needs compared to the general market, like for example lead or extreme users. It is recommended not to apply the same screener used for other research techniques, e.g. focus group.

Complement shadowing with other techniques Even though shadowing provides important data, it will hardly suffice to fully inform all key activities for solution generation. Shadowing should hence always be part of a mix of techniques, depending on the project objective. Complimentary techniques could be of all kind, like for example experience diaries, structured surveys and so forth.

Make Shadowing a key element of innovation strategy, process & culture Shadowing generates crucial data for new product decisions, which in turn drive multimillion dollar investments in new product development, manufacturing and communication. Shadowing should therefore be well intergrated into the overall innovation strategy, process and culture as well as highly regarded by executives to be able to generate the results required for critical decision-making.

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For further information about this topic please contact Gregor Gimmy