In Module 4, we will research the problem domain in depth by putting ourselves in the shoes of the affected persons and experience the problem first-hand; shadow people through the day and come up with a day-in-the-life scenario to understand their challenges better; compare existing solutions used by people; and create an Empathy map to highlight what the affected people think & feel, hear & see, say & do, pain they experience, and the gain they look forward to.

Overview:  Even though our observation (in step #1) may have given us some insights into a situation and the people involved in it, we may not really know the problems and challenges the person or persons involved in it go through in a typical day.  Different people experience different problems at different places and at different times in a typical day.  We need to uncover these details in order to gain greater insights into the users' needs and problems better.  Only then can we come up with a solution that truly addresses their need.

Exercise: Check out the below videos to understand the day in the life of: (a) Blind person, (b) Covid care nurse in a hospital, (c) School teacher during the pandemic.  Know how they live their lives during a typical day, and what kind of challenges, problems & stresses they go through.  You will then be be able to empathize with them better.  

Do the above exercise before proceeding further.

Tool: A Day-in-the-Life is a type of study where the researcher follows and observes a user through a typical day.  The objective of this activity is for the researcher to understand the routine and typical activities a user performs by mere habit and what the user performs subconsciously.  A Day-in-the-Life also helps the researcher gain insight into the needs, behaviors and goals of the user in greater depth.

Example: In the chalk dust example, we follow a student as he goes about his daily life and observe him in action.  Below, we can find the Day-in-the-life scenario illustrated for the student Pete.  Similarly, we need to come up with Day-in-the-Life scenario for a few teachers, parents and cleaning-staff as well to gain greater insights into the challenges faced by them in a typical day.

As you can see, Pete faces additional challenges during a typical day.  The pill he takes to avoid sneezing & allergy makes him sleepy during the class.  He also cannot complete his homework in the evening and gets scoldings from the teacher the next day.  These are additional problems that Pete has to face due to the chalk-dust allergy.   We have gained new insights and discovered new problems faced by Pete by following him through a typical day in his life!

Exercise: Come up with the Day-in-the-life scenario to identify how the problem affects different people at different times during a typical day. 

Overview: The best way to understand a problem is to experience the problem ourselves - first hand.  We can then understand the pain that the other person going through.  This gives us deeper insights into the problem, and helps us come up with a better solution.

Tool: Put yourself in the shoes of the affected persons and experience the problem as they would experience it.  Then, document your experiences using Experience Log tool.

Example: In the chalk-dust example, we go into a classroom and write on the blackboard with a chalk, and also erase the chalk-writing on the blackboard with a duster (just like how a teacher would do).  Similarly, we sit in the classroom as a student would do and experience / inhale chalk-dust spreading in the air.  Finally, we record our experiences using Experience Log tool.

Exercise: Put yourself in the shoe of the person(s) facing the problem, and experience things from their perspective.  Record your observations in Experience Log.

Overview:  People will always find ways and means of dealing with the problem they are facing.  These solutions may or may not be effective in dealing with the problem. However, we need to find out what solutions are being used by the affected people along with the advantages and disadvantages of these solutions. Unless we understand this, we may "re-invent the wheel" (i.e., come up with the same solution they are currently using) instead of coming up with a better solution.

Tool:  Comparison Chart is a tool that helps us compare one or more options with each other.  Comparison between one or more existing solutions may be made on the basis of pros and cons, advantages or disadvantages, solution features, or some other criteria.  Comparison Chart helps us list down the various solutions currently being used by the affected people and compare their pros and cons, or advantages and disadvantages.

Example: In the chalk-dust example, we use a Comparison Chart to identify pros and cons of various solutions currently being used by teachers, students and cleaning-staff to deal with chalk-dust problem.  Knowing the pros and cons of these solutions will help us come up with a better solution in subsequent steps.  

Exercise: Identify the various solutions that people are currently using to deal with their problems.  Then, use the Comparison Chart to identify the pros and cons of solutions currently being employed by the same people.

Overview: Empathy is the ability to put ourselves in the place of another and understand someone else's feelings by identifying with them.  With empathy, we put ourselves in another's shoes and view the situation through their eyes to get a real sense of what their experience is like.  It is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

Exercise: Watch the below videos to understand what empathy is, and how empathizing can help us take positive action to mitigate the pain faced by another person or persons.  When something touches you deeply, you feel empathy.  Let us know if these videos touched you in a deep way!  

Do the above exercise before proceeding further.

Through observing situations, interviewing people, trailing people in their daily lives, experiencing what people experience, we can not only understand the problem better, but also empathize with people affected by the problem better.  In this step, we articulate what we know about the affected people - including what they think & feel, what they hear, what they say & do, what they see, what pain they face, and how they stand to gain from an improvement in the situation.

Tool: An empathy map is a visualization tool that can be used to articulate what we know about specific users better.  It enables us to organize information we have gathered about people under the following heads:

Example: In the chalk-dust example, we create an empathy map for a teacher, a student, a parent and a cleaning staff as shown in the images below:

Exercise: Create an Empathy Map to gain deeper understanding of the people affected by the problem, their pain-points, their feelings, needs, expectations, and more.

1. Understand how the problem affects the user personas (identified in Activity #2) in different ways at different times in a typical day and construct a Day-in-the-Life scenario diagram.

2. Put yourself in the shoes of the user personas (identified in Activity #2) and experience what the affected person is experiencing.  Capture your experiences in an Experience Log.

3. Identify & compare existing solutions being used by the user personas (identified in Activity #2) and put together a Comparison Chart.

4. Empathize with user personas  (identified in Activity #2) affected by the problem and construct an Empathy map.

Please complete ANY ONE of the following two challenges: