Understanding Contexts & Behaviors in Physical Spaces
Why Context Matters
Many organizations think they understand how people behave in real environments—but assumptions often miss the mark.
Experiences are designed in isolation, decisions are made without seeing real behavior, and opportunities are overlooked.
That gap can lead to investments that don't improve experiences or outcomes.
What I Do
I help teams uncover how people actually behave in context so they can make better decisions about services, experiences, and environments.
The work is hands-on: observing, prototyping, and co-creating with people in real settings to reveal patterns, friction, and opportunities that aren't visible from data alone.
Outcomes
Across environments, the work produces:
- Clear understanding of what people actually do
- Insights that shape priorities and experiments
- Organizational alignment and focus on high-impact actions
- Operational improvements and better access to offerings
These shifts signal real value: fewer wasted efforts, more effective services, and decisions that actually work in context.
Examples
MLB Stadium Fan Experience
The Problem
Major League Baseball's in‑venue product team needed to understand why people spend money the way they do at ballparks. The prevailing assumption was that food & beverage (F&B) issues — especially line speed — were the main constraint on spending and satisfaction. But the team didn't know if that assumption was true, or what to do if it wasn't.
My Approach
After surveying fans across North America, I spent three months in ballparks and other venues.
I observed fans on the concourse during games, stood in lines with them, used the guides, talked to people mid‑decision, and watched patterns of movement, attention, and choice unfold in real time.
I asked people what they had planned, compared their responses to what they actually did, and discussed what influenced their decisions.
Methodologies
- Design Thinking
- Ethnographic Field Research
- Direct & Indirect Observation
- Opportunity Gap Surveys
- Anchored Max-Dif Surveys
- Intercept Interviews
- In-Depth Interviews
- Jobs to Be Done
- Journey Mapping
- Behavioral Segmentation
- Co-Creation Workshops
- Insights Development
- Research Synthesis
Key Insights
Fans weren't buying more because they feared missing key moments in the game.
Spending was suppressed not by line speed, but by cognitive load, social flow, and attention limits.
What we uncovered
Far from being about speed alone, fan behavior in the concourse was driven by cognitive load, attention dynamics, and the emotional cost of missing moments. Fans moved between modes: Focused (has a clear plan or decision in mind), and Exploring (open to options but uncertain of value or timing).
These modes shifted depending on context (e.g., who they were with, where they were in the game, and what they feared losing by leaving action. The big insight was that the fear of missing a moment in the game (or interrupting social flow) suppressed purchasing behavior far more than the mere length of a line.
Why this matters for decisions
This reframes the design challenge. Instead of optimizing lines for speed, teams need to give fans confidence, autonomy, and clarity in how they find and choose food and services. That means adjusting signage, information, service formats, and group dynamics — and it creates a very different investment and technology strategy.
Strategic outcomes
- 22 actionable insights were incorporated into long‑range planning that now drives 2026+ experience strategy for the league.
- Three strategic recommendations were adopted as foundational initiatives for opening day planning.
- Ethnographic research was formalized as governance‑level input across all 30 MLB teams' planning processes.
What changed in thinking
Before the work, leaders believed that faster flow = more sales. After seeing behavior in context, they understood that information gaps, timing concerns, group dynamics, and social fear of missing out influence choices far more than line speed alone. That insight directly shaped what gets prioritized — and how teams think about designing service experiences in physical environments.
Hospital Surgical Instrument Reprocessing
Before: High turnover and errors in the surgical instrument sterilization department traced back to the environment and workflows: hot, humid rooms; slow, hazardous inventory checks; unclear accountability; and inefficient shelving.
After: Lorem
Interventions:
- Replaced shelves with racks that used precise scales to flag discrepancies
- Introduced instrument trays that indicate if they've been opened
- Deployed computer vision to preliminarily inventory trays as they left the operating room
- Adjusted nurse-staff interactions and protocols to reduce stress and errors
Impact:
- Staff could track and manage instruments safely and efficiently
- Operational waste decreased, and inventory accuracy improved
- Teams were aligned around practical, behavior-informed changes
Family Planning Service in India
Before: Women lacked agency to access prenatal care because household power dynamics restricted their autonomy.
Approach
- Conducted field research with local facilitators while the research team dialed in from NYC.
- Interviewed 20 women (first-time and experienced mothers) about family dynamics, frustrations, knowledge gaps, and care practices.
- Observed how household sharing of childcare supplies influenced opportunities for intervention.
Key Insights
- Household power dynamics shape access to healthcare more than individual awareness.
- Decision control matters: The mother-in-law held primary influence over household health decisions, limiting the woman's autonomy.
- Interventions must account for decision-makers beyond the direct user.
- Women lacked direct access to timely health information and services.
- Common supply-sharing practices reveal potential points to introduce supportive products or services.
- Interventions succeed when they respect household hierarchies while empowering the end-user.
Experiments
Insights informed experimental service concepts, framing, and potential product touch points (exploratory work, not final results).
- Tested low-tech interventions via SMS to women's phones to deliver health guidance while respecting household norms.
- Ran in-person counseling sessions involving the woman, her husband, and mother-in-law to explore how framing information differently influences household decisions.
Strategies & Experiences for Human Problems
Designing services and environments that respond to real human needs
Rapid Prototyping to Learn & Prove Value
Designing services and environments that respond to real human needs
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