“Nearly everything is really interesting if you dive deep enough.”
— A Senior Associate, pi STRATEGY
6:30AM
After an all-nighter trip, bus arrived at Khulna bus stop.
7:00AM
Check in a hotel, get freshened up after a power nap.
8:00AM
Meet with the Khulna area manager of the survey firm for breakfast, go over the plan for the rest of the day. The plan has 2 agenda: a. monitor the survey team performance, b. conduct HCD research for whole day.
9:00AM
Meet with other team members of the survey, brief them on their support role for the HCD work.
10:00AM
Head out to Bagerhat for conducting research and pilot-testing the process.
11:30AM
Conduct HCD process testing in 2 shops and observe how they perform. Check back with the HQ over phone for the status report so far. The communication is also essential to flag potential issues that may arise.
12:00PM
Head out to find my first HCD research subject (A grocery shop owner in a quiet neighborhood) for the day.
12:30PM
I case a few potential subjects based on a few factors: seating arrangements, average footfall in the shop and most importantly, whether the subject exhibits a positive or cooperative attitude. I select one person, introduce myself to him. He seems friendly enough, we start talking and I start taking notes diligently. I also have the recorder on the go to consult my notes for later tonight.
2:30PM
After 2 hours of observing and taking notes, I excuse myself for the lunch break. Meanwhile, I also make a detour to check the progress of other team members. I find a good restaurant in the neighborhood and have my lunch. On my way back to the subject, I pick up a gift for him.
3:30PM
It’s pretty quiet in the neighborhood now, so I start talking with the person more frequently; the conversation spanning from business status to his personal goals and family affairs. Meanwhile, his son comes from school and takes over the shop. The shopkeeper goes to the back of his shop, turns on the TV and he’s fast asleep. I start chatting with his son; he also seems pretty cooperative.
5:00PM
The shopkeeper is awake, and I’m almost done with the work. He invites me for a tea, I oblige. On my way back, I hand him the gift, take a few photos and take my leave.
5:30PM
I meet with the team members to get the status report for the day. I check back with the HQ.
6:00PM
Stop at Khan Jahan Ali mazar on my way back. The place is pretty soothing, washes away the fatigue.
8:00PM
Get back to hotel, shower, consult my notes and recording to prepare the detailed journal for the day. Lots of new ideas start popping up with regards to solutions, constraints we need to overcome, and how we might position the value prop. I sketch out some quick and dirty drawings to capture my thoughts. With that covered, I head out to dinner.
10:30PM
Head to bed early, watch some TV. Another day in the field lies tomorrow.
pi STRATEGY