Step 2: To...
Desk research, observe or talk to the potentials users you identified earlier to find out what makes them tick. Remember: products and services are being pulled into the lives of consumers, because they seek to satisfy certain motivations by using the product. They want to achieve some future state and that's why they decide to "hire" a solution to do that job. Make sure that you only input information that is validated. In other words, there is supporting evidence that what you wrote down is real and acknowledged by the user.
Describe the audience's motivation
To make the job synthesis (and team communication) easier and uniform, you can use these lists to create precise expressions of these motivations. To do this, combine a verb, a noun and a subject.
[obtain the motivation to achieve the goal of running 5 kilometers] [validated]
Action verbs
- achieve
- allow
- avoid
- change
- confirm
- coordinate
- convey
- correct
- create
- demonstrate
- detect
- determine
- develop
- discover
- ensure
- experience
- find
- fix
- get
- learn
- locate
- manage
- maintain
- make
- modify
- obtain
- plan
- prepare
- prevent
- protect
- provide
- relieve
- remember
- remove
- save
- share
- stay
- stop
- teach someone
- teach me
- transfer
- understand
- update
- verify
Type of value (noun)
Functional
- the risk of...
- the physical/mental effort spent on...
- time for...
- time spent on...
- some money on/for...
- information about...
- a connection with
- a way of organizing...
- an organisation of...
- a simplification of...
- simplicity in...
- the/an integration of ...into....
- my access to...
- the sensory appeal of
Emotional
- the attractiveness of...
- the fun of/in...
- the therapeutic value of...
- the mental wellness that comes from...
- the physical wellness that comes from...
- the therapeutic value of...
- the representation of my abilities/skills in...
- the representation of my aspirations in...
- the representation of my status
- the aesthetic appeal of
- the anxiety I get from...
- the reward I get from...
- the nostalgic feeling I get from...
Life changing
- the sense of belonging to a group of...
- the motivation to achieve the goal of...
- the sense of accomplishment in...
- the accomplishment of...
- the sense of improvement I get in...
- the improvement of...
Self transcending
- the contribution I can make towards...
- the help I can provide to...
Field tips
Tip #1
If this data isn’t available yet, you can still create these statements ad hoc. Use them in your interviews (employing different techniques such as card sorting) to provoke a conversation that allows you to validate the information.
Tip #2
You will likely have a lot of information, so you'll need to reduce the list to a manageable size. Have your consumers rate the importance of each statement to avoid focusing on things that aren't relevant to them. Organize voting sessions or conduct in-person interviews and sorting exercises. You can then use tags on cards to indicate the importance on a scale of 1-5. This will make it easier to filter out priorities.