{"id":184761,"date":"2016-12-06T12:56:06","date_gmt":"2016-12-06T12:56:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.rm.gfolkdev.net\/?p=184761"},"modified":"2023-07-13T16:32:15","modified_gmt":"2023-07-13T16:32:15","slug":"whats-new-doorbells-danger-and-dead-batteries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rosenfeldmedia.com\/whats-new-doorbells-danger-and-dead-batteries\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s New: Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries"},"content":{"rendered":"

The other day I hopped the subway to the Soho Apple Store\u2019s Genius Bar to get my dead iPhone fixed. Being\u00a0suddenly phoneless\u00a0is quite disorienting. Rather than folding myself over my little master as I normally would, I looked up and suddenly noticed\u2026 people! The\u00a0sea of diversity you\u2019d expect to see on a New York City subway. And as an old UXer, I was drawn to observe them, exercising\u00a0dormant field research muscles.<\/span><\/p>\n

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photo by Susan Sermoneta: http:\/\/bit.ly\/2g2hWJL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That\u2019s when I realized that I had a book with me: an advance copy of Steve Portigal\u2019s new book, <\/span>Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries<\/span><\/i><\/a>: User Research War Stories<\/span><\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n

I couldn’t have had a better companion for the rest of that ride. I dipped into about a dozen of the 60+ field research war stories that make up the bulk of the book. The stories do what stories are supposed to do: <\/span>engage. <\/span><\/i>And the contributors have been through some experiences that will make you laugh, sweat with fear and discomfort, and\u2014let\u2019s face it\u2014enjoy a bit of schadenfreude. <\/span><\/p>\n

But it\u2019s wrong to see Steve\u2019s new book simply as a compilation of user research war stories. Let me explain why with a bit of my own publishing war story.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Steve came to me with the idea for his new book a year or so\u00a0ago, he was concerned that I wouldn\u2019t want to publish it. After he explained the idea, <\/span>I <\/span>wasn\u2019t sure either. I generally hate compilations, as they tend to drown out the main author or editor\u2019s voice. And how useful could a book of user research war stories really be?<\/span><\/p>\n

Then I thought some more. And I realized that some people have a knack for combing through ideas to arrive at a greater truth. Steve is one of those master synthesizers. I began to believe that if he dedicated the time to really digging into these stories, his sum would be greater than the parts.<\/span><\/p>\n

In\u00a0Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries<\/a>,\u00a0<\/i>Steve comes through: he delivers a broader framework that’s useful for making sense of user research\u2014or, actually, <\/span>situations with people. <\/span><\/i>Eleven<\/span>\u00a0chapters\u00a0deliver eleven principles that you must know if you\u2019re doing any<\/em> kind of research:<\/span><\/p>\n