Jan Chipchase on exploratory research Jan Chipchase, meanwhile of Nokia Design (and no longer Nokia Research Center) recently presented at the S.E.T. studio in Tokyo.

The two slideshows used during his presentation are available for download.

Exploratory field user research (PowerPoint, 3 mb, 64 slides) describes exactly that: how a company like Nokia uses exploratory field user research techniques to design better products. Techniques covered include street interviews and observations, diaries, shadowing, home visits, contextual interviews, lead users, mystery shoppers, data logging, asking smarter questions, and how all of this is communication in the end. Make sure to read the notes too.

The second presentation, Repair Cultures (PowerPoint, 3.4 mb, 37 slides), is an elaboration of earlier presentations by Chipchase and illustrates how mobile phone repair practices, observed in Ji Lin, Chengdu, Xiamen, Lhasa, Ho Chi Minh City, Delhi, Ulan Bataar and Soweto, ought to be seen as a culture of innovation.