Curious if you check all of these boxes?
- Start with questions, not answers. Determine what you need to know before looking at the existing data. Don’t be satisfied with only the available information.
- Ask generative and divergent questions. In addition to who, what, where, and when, ask stakeholders, end users, and current and prospective audiences open-ended questions like what if and why not?
- Be nonjudgmental and seek context. Don’t think in terms of right or wrong behaviors. Instead, consider circumstances, actions, and opinions from the POV of other personas.
- Maximize feedback. Ask for feedback from those who don’t typically share your opinions. Weigh the comment, keep your ego out of it, and don’t react immediately. Follow-up with open-ended questions.
- Look for patterns and connections. Use scatter charts and other data visualizations to reveal relationships between variables.
- Take risks. Venture outside your comfort zone, which should keep expanding over time.
Check out the full whitepaper from AdWeek and Survey Monkey—it’s a cool read.
