THE CRUX OF INSPIRATION: CONDUCTING THE INTERVIEW
I feel like it’s finally time to reveal the big mystery question: What the heck are all of these blog posts for? Well, I wish I could say they are a result of my own curiosity about human centered design and research, but unfortunately these have all been class mandated writings. While I do have a curious nature, I can’t say this was an initiative I undertook alone. I have been learning and exploring the role research plays in design, particularly empathy design, as a part of my Human Centered Design course. From these readings and reflections, I have been able to apply what I learn to my own research endeavors.
Two other classmates and I have been formulating a “How Might We” question to address what needs to change around sex education, access to birth control, and hook up culture within the college environment. Our current question looks something like this:
How might we give freshmen a space that promotes and supports safe sex practices within hookup culture?
After several weeks of affinity mapping and secondary research, we set out to engage with individuals who matched our targets: college students (who have already completed their freshman year) who have actively participated in hook up culture. As the IDEO Field Guide says, “There’s no better way to understand the hopes, desires, and aspirations of those you’re designing for than by talking to them directly.” The interview process is crucial to creating a solution that will be successful for the users. With everything virtual, access to those we interviewed will be actually easier. We will be able to meet with them in their “space” (while we remain in our own), as the field guide recommends. Acknowledging that what we are discussing is sensitive, we will provide context and keep our interviewees anonymous. After brainstorming an extensive list of questions around our topic and HMW question, we came up with four crucial questions to begin the interview.
1. What would your ideal “safe space” look like to talk about sex? Would that include a doctor, a parent, friends, like-minded strangers, etc.? Is it in person, anonymous chat room, personal research, etc.?
2. In your opinion, what is the most negative aspect of random hookups? Most positive?
3. Who do you talk to about sex? How do you talk about your past sexual experiences with others?
4. Do you feel like you have a support system to talk about sex and safety with? Who might that include?
When generating our list of who we might interview, we kept in mind the need for diversity. As we’ve seen in our other readings, diversity throughout the entire HCD process is crucial. We never want our solution to feel exclusive, although at the same time it needs to be specific enough to help our primary target. The people we are interviewing includes a white female student involved in greek life, a black female student and an Indian female student with no greek affiliation, a white male with no greek affiliation, and a white LGBTQ+ male student. We chose people we had existing relationships with in hopes that there would be an already established level of trust that promotes honesty and vulnerability when answering these questions.
Throughout the interview process it is key that we remember that “designing a solution that will work for everyone means… [acknowledging, understanding, and utilizing] the strengths and the nature of the expertise each stakeholder brings, but [not confining] their roles and input to these areas.” (ECCD, page 15).
SEPTEMBER 15TH, 2020