Operational Pain Point Research
Operational pain point research begins by mapping out the workflow of the key stakeholders in the business process of interest.
Identifying what specifically happens, and in what sequence, for each business process phase and step can be exacting work, particularly in complex areas.
For this reason, our approach involves a few study phases.
A first phase involves have the respondent complete pre-interview work to delineate their activities, including their desired / ideal outcomes (needs) and common challenges (pain points) at each phase of their workflow.
A second phase of interviews—often a mix of traditional qualitative and ethnographic (on-site) interviews—allows the moderator / ethnographer to probe for clarification and depth on these same topics.
On some projects, between phase 1 and phase 2, we work with the client team to write concepts for new products or resources designed to satisfy the identified needs and solve / alleviate existing pain points in the supply chain workflow.
We then test these concepts in the phase 2 interviews—providing focused insights to the team about the most promising areas for strategic development.
Frequent Questions
What does operational pain point research typically examine?
Examples include supply chain pain points and unmet needs research, and studies mapping workflow across the key stakeholders in a given operational process to identify where friction occurs.
Who is typically interviewed in these studies?
The relevant stakeholders across the operational or supply chain workflow being studied — the specific mix depends on the process in question, since these studies are scoped around each client’s particular strategic objective.
Why use ethnographic methods for operational or supply chain research rather than standard process audits?
Ethnographic and qualitative methods surface the informal workarounds, unspoken frustrations, and implicit reasoning behind how people actually navigate a process — patterns a structured audit or survey is likely to miss.