Empathize
Observation
Why Use this tool ?
See what people really do, not just what they say.
Observation gives you access to unspoken behaviors, hidden needs, and clever workarounds. By grounding your insights in real-life actions and contexts, you discover opportunities that interviews or surveys alone could never reveal.
what you should know
Start With: A clear research focus or guiding question
End With: Rich insights into behaviors, routines, and context.
Time Needed: Several hours to a few days.
Difficulty: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ☆☆ (3 out of 5 – inmmersive, requires patience)
A quickguide to start
1. Pick your focus. Decide the environment, process, or people you’ll observe.
2. Plan the setup. Get access or permission, decide how you’ll capture details (notes, photos, audio, or video).
3. Observe & record. Blend in, stay quiet, and write down not just what happens, but how it happens.
4. Share with your team. Turn your notes into stories, patterns, or journey maps.
helpful tips
- Be a fly on the wall, avoid interfering or changing behavior.
- Look from different angles (e.g., customer vs. employee view).
- Match the method to your phase: lightweight surveys for early exploration, creative games for prioritization or refinement.
Lenses to sharpen your Observation
Observation gets stronger when you look at it through different lenses. These sub-techniques give you simple frames to notice more, from quick cues to full system scans. Choose the one that fits your project, time, and depth of exploration.
What, How, Why
When to use it?
Use when you want to make sense of behaviors quickly and dig beneath the surface of actions. Ideal for short observations where you need a simple, structured lens.
💡 What It Is
This is a simple frame for capturing observations in three layers: what the person is doing (the visible action), how they are doing it (their effort, mood, or ease), and why they might be doing it that way (their motives or assumptions). It encourages you to look past the surface of activity and pay attention to subtle cues.
✨ Why Use This Tool?
It helps you notice more than just actions, revealing the energy, struggles, and intentions behind them.
📌 What You Should Know
- Start With: Any observation session
- End With: Notes grouped into “what, how, why” sections
- Time Needed: During the observation + 15 min to reflect
- Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆ (1 out of 5 – very simple)
🛠️ Quick Guide to Get Started
- Write down what the person does.
- Add notes on how they do it (ease, stress, attitude).
- Suggest possible reasons (why) and check later in interviews.
- Review for repeating patterns.
💡 Helpful Tips
- Treat “why” as a guess, not a fact.
- Use quick notes so you don’t miss anything.
- Compare with a teammate to uncover blind spots.
5 Factors (Physical, Cognitive, Social, Cultural, Emotional)
When to use it?
Use when you want a richer view of what shapes behavior. Best when you have time for deeper observation or when context feels complex.
💡 What It Is
This method guides you to notice five different lenses: the physical environment, the cognitive effort people invest, the social interactions shaping behavior, the cultural norms influencing choices, and the emotional states people display. It’s about broadening your field of vision during observation.
✨ Why Use This Tool?
It prevents you from focusing too narrowly, reminding you that behavior is shaped by many overlapping factors.
📌 What You Should Know
- Start With: Observations in natural settings
- End With: Notes tagged under the five factors
- Time Needed: A few hours of observation + reflection
- Difficulty: ★★★☆☆ (3 out of 5 – takes focus to juggle lenses)
🛠️ Quick Guide to Get Started
- Observe and write down quick notes under each of the five categories.
- Compare which factors seem strongest in the situation.
- Use them later to explain why people act as they do.
💡 Helpful Tips
- Don’t force every note into a category, some overlap is natural.
- Emotional and cultural cues are often subtle, so watch carefully.
- Review with your team to balance interpretations.
POEMS (People, Objects, Environments, Messages, Services)
When to use it?
Use when you want to capture the bigger system around users. Ideal for mapping everything happening in a space, not just individual actions.
💡 What It Is
POEMS is a framework for scanning a situation broadly. It directs you to note who is present (People), what tools or artifacts they use (Objects), the setting or context (Environments), the communications or signals around them (Messages), and the services or help people use in that setting (Services). It’s about seeing the ecosystem at play.
✨ Why Use This Tool?
It ensures you don’t miss elements outside the immediate task, giving you a holistic view of the system.
📌 What You Should Know
- Start With: Any observation field visit
- End With: A map of POEMS elements
- Time Needed: 1–2 hours + synthesis time
- Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆ (2 out of 5 – structured, straightforward)
🛠️ Quick Guide to Get Started
- Walk through the environment and note observations in each POEMS category.
- Look for how the elements interact, e.g., how objects affect behavior.
- Summarize the system in a diagram or table.
💡 Helpful Tips
- Sketch quick visuals of objects and spaces.
- Messages aren’t always words. Look for signs, signals, and body language.
- Services may be invisible (like background support), but they matter.
AEIOU (Activities, Environments, Interactions, Objects, Users)
When to use it?
Use when you want a flexible, easy-to-remember framework for field notes. Great for beginners or when time is short.
💡 What It Is
AEIOU is a shorthand for structuring what you see in the field. It prompts you to capture the activities people are doing, the environments where they happen, the interactions between people, the objects or tools they use, and the different types of users present. It keeps observation broad but organized.
✨ Why Use This Tool?
It’s simple and versatile, helping you cover the essentials without overthinking.
📌 What You Should Know
- Start With: Observation in almost any setting
- End With: Notes tagged under AEIOU categories
- Time Needed: 1–2 hours + light synthesis
- Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆ (2 out of 5 – intuitive and flexible)
🛠️ Quick Guide to Get Started
- Take notes under each AEIOU category as you observe.
- Highlight interactions or mismatches between categories.
- Use the structure later for debriefing and clustering.
💡 Helpful Tips
- Don’t overfill every category, focus on what stands out.
- Combine AEIOU with sticky notes for fast synthesis.
- Use color-coding to spot patterns across categories.
RACU meets AI
Observation
How Can AI Make RACU Easier ?
AI can be your creative partner and research assistant, ready to help you move faster and think deeper at every step of the RACU process.
For each RACU tool, we’ll share a ready-to-use AI prompt. Just copy the prompt into your favorite AI tool (like ChatGPT or Copilot) and it will guide you through the method step by step.
No need to fill out a blank form, the prompt starts the conversation and adapts to your answers in real time.
PROMPT – COPILOT, CHAT GPT
You are my research partner helping me design an Observation activity for a design thinking challenge.
Your role is to suggest creative WHO and HOW options, keep things practical, and push me to think outside the box.
Separate fieldwork methods (how to observe) from analysis lenses (how to make sense of it).
🔰 Step 1 – Define the Focus
Ask me:
👉 “What project, product, or challenge are we focusing this observation on?”
If I don’t answer, suggest defaults like:
- A customer journey (discovery → purchase → first use).
- A service encounter (checkout, support call, delivery).
- A work task (onboarding a tool, handoff between roles).
👥 Step 2 – Suggest WHO to Observe
Proactively list options:
Core groups (likely):
- Current customers using the product/service.
- First-time or onboarding users.
- Employees directly delivering the service/task.
- Business partners in the chain.
Outside-the-box (stretch):
- Lapsed users (tried then stopped).
- Extreme users (power users or rare edge cases).
- Non-users solving the need differently (DIY, hacks).
- Frontline gatekeepers (cashiers, delivery drivers, support staff).
- Ecosystem influencers (reviewers, moderators, community leaders).
- Analog industries (similar constraints in a different sector).
Then ask me:
👉 “Which of these groups feel most relevant to observe? Would you like to include some of the additional perspectives, or stick with just one?”
👀 Step 3 – Suggest HOW to Observe (Fieldwork)
For each chosen group, propose 5–6 approaches:
Standard approaches:
- Shadowing someone through their process.
- Fly-on-the-wall watching in context.
- Observing first-use or onboarding moments.
- Watching service interactions (checkout, support, delivery).
Creative twists:
- Edge-time observation (rush hour, breakdowns, off-hours).
- Contrast settings (budget vs. premium, urban vs. rural).
- Analogy safari (observe a different industry with similar challenges).
- Proxy vantage points (repair techs, delivery drivers, family helpers).
- Digital fieldwork (TikTok/YouTube demos, online reviews, forums).
Then ask me:
👉 “Would you like to keep it simple with 1–2 methods, or try a mix of standard + creative?”
🛠️ Step 4 – Plan the Setup
Once I choose, help me think through:
- Where & when (context, timing, duration).
- What to capture (notes, sketches, photos, video/audio with consent).
- Who’s involved (solo observer, observer + note-taker).
- Ethics & permissions (consent, privacy, cultural sensitivity).
🔎 Step 5 – Make Sense of What You Saw (Analysis Lenses)
After fieldwork, guide me to structure observations. Suggest:
- What / How / Why → What they did, How they did it, Why they might be doing it.
- POEMS → People · Objects · Environments · Messages · Services.
- 5 Factors → Physical · Cognitive · Social · Cultural · Emotional.
Ask me:
👉 “Would you like to apply one of these lenses, or just cluster raw notes into themes first?”
📌 Final Deliverables
At the end, provide me with:
- A prioritized Observation Plan (who • how • context).
- A simple field guide (checklist + note template).
- Optional debrief tips (how to turn notes into insights).
⚡ Important for You (the AI):
- Stay proactive — always suggest WHO and HOW options first.
- Keep groups and methods practical but also surprising (push outside the box).
- Do not mix fieldwork methods with analysis — they are separate phases.
- Always tie suggestions back to the project defined in Step 1.
Copilot
