Blog Future Perfect on design mind
By Jan Chipchase - April 11, 2011
In Cairo for a week of client research, workshops and keynotes. It's good to be back in this great country for my fourth visit here. I'm working out of a downtown hotel, with a team of six, plus three local guides, who we’ll sync with over breakfast, before hitting the streets. It’s good to have time to calibrate to the city – especially one that has gone through so much disruptive change. There’s freedom in the air and most people that I’ve spoken to recognise that the hard work in building what's next is yet to come. Tahrir Square is alive with the sounds of debate, face painted kids, and the detritus of protest.
Blog Future Perfect on design mind
By Jan Chipchase - March 1, 2011
In the summer of 2010, I conducted field research in Afghanistan with generous support from the Institute for Money, Technology, and Financial Inclusion at the University of California at Irvine. My research partner Panthea Lee and I led a nimble local team to investigate how people use cell phones to do their banking—known in the industry as mobile money. The findings from the field study are now available for download, along with a number of images captured on the trip.
Blog Future Perfect on design mind
By Jan Chipchase - August 30, 2010
frog's Executive Creative Director for Global Insights Jan Chipchase is currently in Afghanistan doing a research study with generous support from the Institute for Money, Technology and Financial Inclusion. He is working with a nimble local team to explore topics around mobile banking, known in the industry as mobile money — a presentation he recently gave to the US State Department on the subject can be found here. This is the fourth in a series of dispatches from his field studies.
Given the situation in Afghanistan how smart is it to conduct street/ad-hoc research on the ground? To answer this it’s worth reflecting on the working models for 3 different foreigner roles in Afghanistan: the military, NGO staff, and journalists.
Blog Future Perfect on design mind
By Jan Chipchase - August 24, 2010
frog's Executive Creative Director for Global Insights Jan Chipchase is currently in Afghanistan doing a research study with generous support from the Institute for Money, Technology and Financial Inclusion. He is working with a nimble local team to explore topics around mobile banking, known in the industry as mobile money — a presentation he recently gave to the US State Department on the subject can be found here. This is the third in a series of dispatches from his field studies.
A 5:30am start to the day to a drive down to Jalalabad for a number of interviews in the city and surrounds. There are a few spots on the mountainous route that trigger nervous smiles — where the scars of convoy attacks by the Taliban are visible on the road — but mostly it's a fantastic ride into Afghanistan’s outdoors, with the occasional wait behind the beautifully ornate Pakistani trucks.
Blog Future Perfect on design mind
By Jan Chipchase - August 23, 2010
frog's Executive Creative Director for Global Insights Jan Chipchase is currently in Afghanistan doing a research study with generous support from the Institute for Money, Technology and Financial Inclusion. He is working with a nimble local team to explore topics around mobile banking, known in the industry as mobile money — a presentation he recently gave to the US State Department on the subject can be found here. This is the second in a series of dispatches from his field studies.
How does Ramadan — the Islamic month of fasting, during which time the devout avoid eating and drinking between dawn and dusk — impact your ability to conduct field research in a country with a large Muslim population? In the past few years I’ve run a couple of such studies — in Iran, Egypt, Malaysia and now here in Afghanistan. What does the non-devout researcher need to know in order to function effectively and appropriately during this time?
The impact of Ramadan on field research falls into a few distinct categories: social dynamics, participant dynamics, and team tactics, each of which is covered below.
Blog Future Perfect on design mind
By Jan Chipchase - August 20, 2010
frog's Executive Creative Director for Global Insights Jan Chipchase is currently in Afghanistan doing a research study with generous support from the Institute for Money, Technology and Financial Inclusion. He is working with a nimble local team to explore topics around mobile banking, known in the industry as mobile money — a presentation he recently gave to the US State Department can be found here. This is the first in a series of dispatches from his field studies.
The security protocols for working in Afghanistan dictate that the driver doesn’t hold up the name of the person they are picking up, but instead one that advertises the company he works for. It’s an invitation to start a conversation and under the midday heat of an airport parking lot we both want to rely on more nuanced cues to understand that we are in fact who we say we are. In every context there is a cost to getting it wrong. In Afghanistan the cost is higher than most.
Blog Future Perfect on design mind
By Jan Chipchase - August 16, 2010
Every time a client asks us to conduct design research we’re faced with two significant and often conflicting challenges: limited time to run the study; and finding the right balance between breadth and depth of data collected.
Now, thanks to the efforts Jon Snydal, Celine Pering, and Catherine Sun of our San Francisco design studio we now have a new, useful addition to the data collector’s toolbox that goes some way to addressing both of these issues and, along the way, channels everyone’s inner design researcher.
