Why was this research needed?

This insurance company regularly conducts moderated and unmoderated prototype feedback sessions, surveys, interviews, and AB tests. Even though several projects had foundational questions requiring first-hand observation, most team members (both UX and business) had observed employees working at an insurance agency .

How did we gather data?

Seventeen UX and business team members observed insurance agents, agency staff members, and call center representatives throughout their work day. This effort is on-going; so far we have observed 54 insurance representatives.

Ethnographic sessions resulted in fundamental understanding of insurance agency work and answered key research questions. We also created a repository of observation notes so that they can be easily recalled and used for future projects.

How did we prepare?

To prepare for this effort I trained my business and UX team members on ethnography best practices, key activities they should watch for, and introduced them to software they might observe being used.