Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
QuantQual Book Club: Small Data
Summary
Key Insights
-
•
Small data builds emotional connections through sensory experiences and culture-specific clues, as shown by Martin's supermarket example involving somatic markers.
-
•
Recycling insights involves reusing previous small data observations across different projects or contexts, sometimes over years, to uncover new patterns.
-
•
Triangulation and recycling are distinct: triangulation reinforces findings across data sources, while recycling adapts insights outside their original context.
-
•
Insight expiration depends heavily on context shifts such as market changes or external events like the pandemic, requiring regular data freshness checks.
-
•
Qualitative data can deteriorate in value but may regain relevance as innovation adoption and market readiness evolve.
-
•
Large organizations benefit from designated roles acting as 'dot connectors' to help researchers reuse and contextualize prior insights effectively.
-
•
Big data metrics like NPS or CSAT can be misleading (the 'watermelon problem'), masking qualitative dissatisfaction captured by small data.
-
•
Combining big data (the what) with small data (the why) enables richer understanding and more actionable insights.
-
•
Effective research repositories require contextual metadata; without this, insights risk misinterpretation or premature expiry.
-
•
Maintaining high-level generic journey maps or personas can prolong the usability and lateral transferability of small data outputs.
Notable Quotes
"Small data is about creating personalized connections by piecing together tiny clues from customers’ micro experiences."
"Recycling insights is like taking a plastic bottle and turning it into something new in a different context."
"When we look at group means, sometimes the intervention looks ineffective, but individuals benefited in ways big data averages can hide."
"Vanity metrics paint a nice picture, but they don’t give you the full story or context behind the numbers."
"We need to be mindful and sniff out whether the small data we’re using is still fresh or already expired."
"Having a subject matter expert act as a dot connector across research studies greatly improves insight reuse."
"Big data tells you what is happening; small data explains why it’s happening."
"Recycling is not always intentional; often insights emerge accidentally when revisiting old data with new perspectives."
"The cultural context can dramatically change how long data remains relevant or when it expires."
"Sometimes leadership clings to single metrics that later prove inadequate because a research function is too small to offer broader insights."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Onboarding feels like somebody's holding your hand, even though you're remote, which makes a huge difference."
Kim Holt Emma Wylds Pearl Koppenhaver Maisee XiongA Salesforce Panel Discussion on Values-Driven DesignOps
September 8, 2022
"If you feel uncomfortable or unsafe engaging in this community, we want to know about it."
Bria AlexanderOpening Remarks
March 29, 2023
"Forget about the tools 100% at the beginning of the conversation and perhaps all the way to the end."
Sofia QuinteroBeyond Tools: The Messy Business of Implementing Research Repositories
March 10, 2022
"If the design team is on board with the product strategy, they own the design part of it, which should deliver a win for the product and business strategy."
Christian Crumlish Aditi Ruiz Johanna Kollmann Catt SmallMorning Insights Panel
December 6, 2022
"Slack has over 650 people actively talking and sharing experiences right now."
Bria AlexanderOpening Remarks
November 18, 2022
"The journey we are on is to change and advance not just practices but the entire research field."
Jemma AhmedTheme 2 Intro
March 10, 2022
"People were encouraging each other to score themselves higher and see their own potential."
Saara Kamppari-Miller"Prototype" vs "Prototype"--Breaking Down and Rebuilding Our Understanding of What We Do
October 24, 2019
"Start small by delivering the minimum amount of useful information, like a UX glossary or a single community of practice."
Maria TaylorKnowledge is Power: Managing the Lifeblood of the Design Org
October 3, 2023
"Qualitative research really poses questions; quantitative methods let you investigate those questions rigorously."
Joshua NobleCasual Inference
October 6, 2023
