Insight sorting
Insights sorting is a tool that will help you manually sort insights from research.
- Steps
- 4
- Last edited
- Mar 2, 2021
- Created by
- Nova
About this process
Insights sorting is a tool that will help you manually sort insights gathered from an interview, survey, collage, or a co-creative research session. The objective is to find clusters and hierarchies. When should you use this tool: A post-primary research tool that will help you and your team structure your findings, find new patterns, evaluate existing knowledge, develop customer segments, and reveal relationships and hierarchies. Benefits: Reveals patterns and relationships. Structure existing knowledge. Facilitate discussion.
The process in detail
4 steps- 1
Gather insight statements.
- 2
Clustering logic: Start sorting them.
- 3
Define the clusters.
- 4
Highlights and future steps.
Read the full text
1. Gather insight statements.
Write each insight statement on a sticky note. Make sure your statements aren't too long but provide enough information for everyone in your team (1 or 2 sentences).
2. Clustering logic: Start sorting them.
Start sorting your sticky notes to find a clustering logic. You and your team should be able to agree on the clustering logic, so here are a few tips to guide your process: Start by defining each cluster or group (also known as Sort A, Sort B, etc.) Each cluster or group has a "common logic pattern": A common logic usually demonstrates how two or more insights are similar in terms of the meaning they share. Evaluate if the clusters or groups will make sense keeping in mind all the insights you currently have. Would that be the best way to sort all those insights? Is this the best way to help you visualize your hypothesis? Discuss with your team until everyone is satisfied.
3. Define the clusters.
Discuss and evaluate why all the insights in a cluster are grouped together and if there is any reason why you and your team should consider reclustering (regrouping) those insights. Change your clusters or create new ones until you reach a stable clustering pattern. Define the clusters: Discuss all the clusters and recognize why they are grouped that way. Answer the following questions: Why are those insights grouped that way? What are the overall characteristics of each cluster? What should be the name of each cluster? Give each cluster a title or a name.
4. Highlights and future steps.
Gathering insights can shape the future of a project or a product, but these insights could remain insignificant if you are unable to use them or make decisions based on them. Before you move to the next session, evaluate what you now know compared to what you knew before. Highlight all of your findings add additional notes with key thoughts and ideas. Evaluate if these insight clusters are comprehensive enough to holistically address the project or your hypothesis. Evaluate if these clusters are defined well enough, and are comprehensive enough to generate design principles. Can these clusters be used to evaluate and refine concepts, products, ideas, or even segments?
- This is a sticky note.