Interviewwithcustomergoes overtimeA participantshows upwithout a shirtor sayssomethingstrangeNo showto asessionAt leastonedeadlineis missedJoins sessionby phone(you need toshare yourscreen!)Can't payanyonefor theirtimeResearch ismentioned toan audience(but no actualresearcher'sname is said)Researchis cut tomeet adeadlineRequirementschange mid-project"I think weshould doX instead""This isgreat" (butnothinggets done)Product teammisunderstandswhat researchis / can do forthemSomeonechanges theprototypebetweensessions"Well Icouldhave toldyou that"Researchis plannedbut notexecuted"I knewthat, butglad to getit validated"Someone tries tosign up byresponding to yourrec email insteadof using the signup form you sentSomeoneinterruptsthesessionNot enoughparticipantssign upResearchweek getspostponedParticipantgets off-topicTechnicaldifficultieswithprototypePrototypelink showshintsParticipantbring wholeteam to theirsessionTechnicaldifficultiessharingscreenProductteam doesn'trespond tomessages"Oh, weneverresearchedthat" (but wedid)No onereviewed thefindingsreport /presentationThe participantturns out to nothave relevantexperience tothe researchtopicInterviewwithcustomergoes overtimeA participantshows upwithout a shirtor sayssomethingstrangeNo showto asessionAt leastonedeadlineis missedJoins sessionby phone(you need toshare yourscreen!)Can't payanyonefor theirtimeResearch ismentioned toan audience(but no actualresearcher'sname is said)Researchis cut tomeet adeadlineRequirementschange mid-project"I think weshould doX instead""This isgreat" (butnothinggets done)Product teammisunderstandswhat researchis / can do forthemSomeonechanges theprototypebetweensessions"Well Icouldhave toldyou that"Researchis plannedbut notexecuted"I knewthat, butglad to getit validated"Someone tries tosign up byresponding to yourrec email insteadof using the signup form you sentSomeoneinterruptsthesessionNot enoughparticipantssign upResearchweek getspostponedParticipantgets off-topicTechnicaldifficultieswithprototypePrototypelink showshintsParticipantbring wholeteam to theirsessionTechnicaldifficultiessharingscreenProductteam doesn'trespond tomessages"Oh, weneverresearchedthat" (but wedid)No onereviewed thefindingsreport /presentationThe participantturns out to nothave relevantexperience tothe researchtopic

If I had a dollar for every time my research went sideways, I’d be a millionaire by now... - Call List

(Print) Use this randomly generated list as your call list when playing the game. Place some kind of mark (like an X, a checkmark, a dot, tally mark, etc) on each cell as you announce it, to keep track. You can also cut out each item, place them in a bag and pull words from the bag.


1
B
2
N
3
N
4
O
5
G
6
I
7
N
8
I
9
B
10
O
11
N
12
G
13
I
14
G
15
I
16
I
17
G
18
B
19
B
20
G
21
G
22
I
23
O
24
N
25
O
26
O
27
O
28
B
29
B
  1. B-Interview with customer goes over time
  2. N-A participant shows up without a shirt or says something strange
  3. N-No show to a session
  4. O-At least one deadline is missed
  5. G-Joins session by phone (you need to share your screen!)
  6. I-Can't pay anyone for their time
  7. N-Research is mentioned to an audience (but no actual researcher's name is said)
  8. I-Research is cut to meet a deadline
  9. B-Requirements change mid-project
  10. O-"I think we should do X instead"
  11. N-"This is great" (but nothing gets done)
  12. G-Product team misunderstands what research is / can do for them
  13. I-Someone changes the prototype between sessions
  14. G-"Well I could have told you that"
  15. I-Research is planned but not executed
  16. I-"I knew that, but glad to get it validated"
  17. G-Someone tries to sign up by responding to your rec email instead of using the sign up form you sent
  18. B-Someone interrupts the session
  19. B-Not enough participants sign up
  20. G-Research week gets postponed
  21. G-Participant gets off-topic
  22. I-Technical difficulties with prototype
  23. O-Prototype link shows hints
  24. N-Participant bring whole team to their session
  25. O-Technical difficulties sharing screen
  26. O-Product team doesn't respond to messages
  27. O-"Oh, we never researched that" (but we did)
  28. B-No one reviewed the findings report / presentation
  29. B-The participant turns out to not have relevant experience to the research topic