Christina Wasson

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User-Driven Innovation as Competitive Advantage
The Value of Ethnography

• Christina Wasson

Insight i Brugerdreven Innovation, Copenhagen, 6
June 2006
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Globalization

• Innovation as a key competitive advantage for
  Denmark
• User-driven approaches as the cutting edge
• Denmarks global leadership in developing planned
  research institution

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My Background

• 16 years of experience as practitioner and
  academic in business anthropology

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Outline of Presentation

• Anthropology put to use
• Exposing unmet needs
• The future of applied anthropology in Denmark

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Anthropology Put to Use

• John van Willigens definition
  of applied anthropology
• Lessons learned by the applied anthropology
  program at the University of North Texas (UNT)

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Anthropology Put to Use

• UNT programs specialty areas
• Business anthropology
• Medical anthropology
• Anthropology of education
• Migration and border studies
• Addressing social and practical problems
• Joint focus on human and business etc. issues

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Examples of UNT Projects

• Travelers Experiences with Concessions at the
  Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
• Making Mobile Experiences Meaningful, for
  Microsoft
• Environmentally Friendly Design Ethnographic
  Research for EcoMoto

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Many Partnerships
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Lessons Learned by Program

• Interdisciplinary partnerships are challenging
• But client projects are key to an applied program
  and to student development

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Exposing Unmet Needs

• Doing ethnography
• Going out into communities
• Spending long periods observing people
• Talking to people
• Participating in their activities
• Fieldwork is often videotaped

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Exposing Unmet Needs

• Environmentally Friendly Design Ethnographic
  Research for EcoMoto
• Project for design anthropology class, fall 2005
• Client Motorola
• Bill Olson, Director, International and
  Environmental Research and Development, Motorola
  Labs
• Crysta Metcalf, Senior Staff Research
  Scientist/Anthropologist, Motorola Labs

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Environmentally Friendly Design

• Thirteen study participants
  in Dallas/Fort Worth
  metroplex
• Camera study
• In-depth interviews
• Collaborative analysis by class members

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Sensory Aspects

• Strong emphasis on the sensory reactions to
  products
• Scent most powerfully represented
• Textures also valued, in both visual and touch
  aspects

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Design Implications

• Warm, home-made, natural-textured phone
  housings
• Aromatic phones
• Natural sound ringtones

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Teaching and Learning

• In this community, emphasis on education and
  carefully researching products
• Some members of community act as experts and
  evangelizers

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Design Implications

• Provide in-depth information on environmental
  issues
• Packaging
• Website

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The Future of Anthropology

• The need to engage multiple stakeholders
• The work trajectory collaborating with designers
  and others
• Bringing clients along for the journey

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Insights from E-Lab

• Design consulting firm, 1994-1999
• All design recommendations based on ethnographic
  research
• Half researchers, half designers

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E-Lab The Bowtie Model
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What Does Ethnography Mean?

• A designer with a video camera?
• Encourage informed understanding of client
  community
• This event shows that Danish government is global
  leader in supporting user-driven innovation

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Thank You!

• Christina Wasson
• Assistant Professor and Director,
• Online Masters Program
• Department of Anthropology
• University of North Texas
• cwasson_at_unt.edu
• US 940 565 2752