Exploratory research about home maintenance

Why we started

In the project Bo Bæredygtigt, we wanted to help Danes maintain their homes more often instead of buying new materials. To do this, we needed a deeper understanding of users’ current behaviour and experiences in order to target our efforts effectively.

The task

Conduct qualitative research that would enable us to understand users’ experiences of their current behaviour, barriers, and motivations for maintaining their homes. Communicate the results to the entire organization.

My approach

As the sole qualitative researcher, I was responsible for the entire research process, which consisted of the following steps.

1. Scope and interview framework

I began by developing a research framework in collaboration with the project team. Together, we scoped the study to focus on outdoor home maintenance.

I then generated a large set of questions related to behaviour, barriers, and motivation. These were affinity mapped and used to develop a structured interview guide. The guide was then validated with the project manager and other relevant stakeholders.

2. Recruitment and interviews

In collaboration with the project team, I defined the criteria for the users we wanted to target with the future initiative and recruited them through a recruitment agency. I then conducted eight exploratory interviews digitally using video and audio.

3. Analysis and presentation

Through analysis of the data, I identified the insights that would be most relevant across the organization. I then collaborated with our quantitative data specialist to support the insights with data from other existing studies. The combined results were presented and later distributed as a presentation.

Result

The insights helped support a direction for the project’s efforts. They have since been used multiple times as a data foundation for other decisions — including Husets kalender.