Gaining traction with real problems . . . and discovering opportunities for technology innovation through ethnographic and user-centered research

Today's technology marketplace is brimming with a diversity of products, many of which fail because a competitor is quickly discovered in today's ultra-networked information environment. An increasingly valuable way to achieve market differentiation is to have an outstanding user experience. Creating such an experience requires a deep understanding of customers' needs and concerns — many of which are invisible even to them — and the creativity to design solutions that are effective, usable, and even enjoyable.

PARC's approach

PARC excels in a variety of techniques used early in the innovation process to uncover prospective user needs and problems and to design and obtain feedback on solution ideas. "Ethnography" and "low-fidelity prototyping" are two of the most frequently used.

Ethnography provides a detailed, valid, and nuanced picture of what people do — their practices, habits, tacit knowledge, and the contexts in which they interact with various products, services, or processes. PARC pioneered the use of ethnography in technology companies, and continues to apply and adapt these methods in diverse settings to discover new technology-centered business opportunities for clients around the world.

Low-fidelity prototyping means building physical manifestations of a future technology concept that can be used to solicit reactions and suggestions from prospective users through a variety of evaluation techniques. Physical artifacts are easier for users to comprehend and critique than abstract descriptions, and they can be rapidly and economically revised to address usability problems that emerge through repeated interactions with real users.

case study

Read the case study to learn how Japan-based Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd., identified a new market and developed new media technology.