Government websites and online services are often built with limited input from the people they serve. This approach limits their ability to respond to ever changing needs and contexts. This case study describes...
Genre: Case Study
Anticipating the Unanticipated: Ethnography and Crisis Response in the Public Sector
This case study emphasizes the importance of ethnographic research in the public sector, specifically regarding emergency preparedness and crisis-response. In the summer of 2020, Surrey County Council in England commissioned a mixed-method Community Impact Assessment to better assist and serve...
Breaking the Wall of Engineering and Culture: Applied Qualitative Research in Software Companies of LATAM Industrial Sector
This case study demonstrates the value of ethnography and qualitative approaches in Latin American industry,...
Smartphones and the Future of Remembering: Frictions, Problems, and Pathways
This ethnographic case study discusses friction in everyday information-seeking on smartphones and proposes new...
Cybersecurity in the Icelandic Multiverse
“Security in cyber space should be one of the main cornerstones of economic prosperity in Iceland, resting on a foundation of sophisticated awareness of security issues and legislation.” —Icelandic National...
Collaborative Generation: Making Sense of Today’s Stories to Catalyze a Thriving Tomorrow for All
This article shares an innovative, community-centered method for research, sensemaking, and innovation in social...
Foundations of Practice: An Ethnographic Exploration of Software Documentation and its Cultural Implications for an Agile Startup
This case study offers an in-depth analysis of the foundational role of documentation for software quality,...
Friction into Traction: A Case Study of Friction in Strategic Ethnography
This case study highlights the transformative power of strategic ethnography in shaping frameworks that gain...
Navigating the Next with Resilience: Global Portfolio Strategy in a World of Uncertainty
Apparel & footwear (A&F) give us social identity, protection and a means of self-expression. But in a pandemic these ways of thinking about clothing are essentially pointless. When the world shuts down...
Designing for Dynamics of Agency in NYC Homeless Shelters
Public sector innovation (PSI) is an emerging multidisciplinary field that is attracting practitioners from a wide range of sectors and industries, with a correspondingly broad set of skills and experience. PSI aims to significantly improve the services that a government has the responsibility to...