We have already run you through the need for agile research in a previous blog, but here a few more nuggets of knowledge that can help you understand the much touted trend in market research.

1: It was birthed from the software boom in Silicon Valley

It was during the 1990s that several agile software development methods first appeared. Since then our friends in Silicon Valley have developed their own manifesto around agile, that espouses 4 key values:

• Individuals and interactions are more important than processes and tools
• Working software is more important than comprehensive documentation
• Customer collaboration is more important than contract negotiation
• Responding to change is more important than following a plan

If you substitute in working methodologies/coverage for working software, all of these can be applied to research. Despite this, it is important to consider that agile has been adapted to research, not born from it, and is still in the process of working out the kinks and bumps that come with retrofitting. Prepare to be flexible and adaptable.

2: It is a quick consumer read for when initiatives don’t follow the happy path

In its software roots, the happy path is a form of quality assurance where users use products in the exact way the designer thought they would. This happy path is sometimes a mythical beast in the research world, and is where agile market research comes in.

Cue the quick consumer read, for when a new initiative is launched, and things go awry. It is essential for this to be done within a select time frame, not slowing down the initiative. It must speak to the right consumer, YOUR consumer. And it requires flexible design, executed correctly for directional information needed to move things forward.

Get in contact with us to speak more about Ruby’s Quick Qual Method: https://rubychacha.com.au/get-in-touch/

3: While the name is new, the processes are not… necessarily

For years researchers have been getting quick consumer reads from omnibuses or two-week turnaround surveys, or changing the stimuli or questions in traditional qualitative projects, so why is agile seen as a new thing? Since being adapted from the software industry, it has been packaged nicely, succinct and cleverly branded. Researchers have been capable of doing it for years, so why do they choose not to?

• Methodological rigour and larger and more representative samples were of greater importance
• Clients generally want as much bang for buck as possible.
• And there was no real demand for it, which has changed

There are two perspectives to understand about the process now that demand has increased. The first is to accept that you will get less than traditional research. There is a trade-off: Small sample sizes and quicker turnarounds but no sub-group analysis (but maintains a reliable level of rigour). The second is to understand how to improve your traditional research through agile, and how to use it as part of your research toolbox.

4: It doesn’t like to work to deadlines, but it can when things need to be timely

In its purest form, agile research is unbounded by restrictions of phases and stages that a traditional long-form research project might be. At a project’s genesis, an agile researcher doesn’t know how many phases they will conduct, or how many is needed, or what the final cost will be. It’s open ended. This is why many marketers rightfully approach the concept with trepidation, so how can we get around this?

Selling the usual method of research but allowing it to be chopped and screwed on the fly. For example, you get n=1000 survey completes total but only send out a questionnaire to 100 or 200 at a time, reviewing and reiterating as you go. All leading to a final deadline. Hone in on the best questions and keep some consistent for an overall read across the entire sample and be better placed for future research.

Get in contact with us to speak more about Ruby’s Quick Qual Method: https://rubychacha.com.au/get-in-touch/