Shadowing
An observation method in which you accompany a person for a period, like their shadow, to see what they do, with whom, and why.
What it’s for
Understanding complete routines and what happens between one task and another, which is almost never told.
Key elements
With everyone’s consent
Including the people the person you shadow deals with, who should know what you are doing there.
Observe without intervening
Giving opinions or helping changes what the person does.
The whole routine
What happens between one task and the next matters too.
An example
Imagine you want to understand a nurse’s day.
Accompanying someone for hours reveals what the person does not remember or does not consider important to tell.
How it’s done
Agree with the person when and for how long to accompany them.
Observe and note what they do, with whom, and where.
Ask afterward about what was not clear.
Applications in design
When to use it
To see someone’s day-to-day, whether they use a service or provide it, especially when what they do is hard to describe.
Avoid
Intervening or giving opinions while you observe: it changes what the person does.
Don’t fall for it
One day is just one day: shadow at different times or several people before generalizing.
Connections
Builds on
Authors and works
- 2005
Seonaidh McDonald
Described shadowing as a qualitative method for studying actions in context.
- 2010
Marc Stickdorn and Jakob Schneider
Included it among the tools of service design.
Sources
Original sources
- McDonald, S. (2005). Studying actions in context: A qualitative shadowing method for organizational research. Qualitative Research, 5(4), 455–473. View source: McDonald, S. (2005)
Secondary sources
- Stickdorn, M., & Schneider, J. (Eds.) (2010). This is service design thinking: Basics, tools, cases. BIS Publishers.
Last reviewed: