What you need: Pen and paper
This will usually be a technical or a subjective term that the participant used in a previous session of observation, card sorts, or think-aloud.
Tip: If they start giving a long explanation, ask them to slow down, and make it clear you’ll write down their exact words.
The picture below shows how this is recorded.
•The term used as a starting point is better job.
•The downward-pointing arrow beneath it is the laddering notation for “How can you tell that something is a better job?”
•The two items below the arrow are the participant’s response, with each item on a separate line, ending in a semi-colon to show where each item ends (some items might need several lines).
In this example, you would begin by asking how they could tell that a job was less challenging, and after that, you would ask how they could tell that a job had more predictable hours.
Ideally, you would unpack everything in turn. In reality, this could take hours, so you’ll have to make judgment calls about what to unpack.
Tip: Never assume that the answer is obvious; a key strength of this method is that it finds unexpected results, as in the example below.
•A number, a named colour, or named shape.
•The participant shows you an example and says It looks like this.
•They say that they can’t put it into words.
Tip: Don’t stop before this point; usually the most powerful insights come at this stage, when you discover that the person is using a term in a totally unexpected way.
•You get close to the participant’s core personal values or fears.
•The participant can’t think of any more upward goals.
When you reach the top of a particular chain, you can start again with another two items as your starting point.
Tip: Always start each chain as a new fresh diagram; if you try to fit more than one chain into a diagram, it quickly becomes unmanageable.
Where next?
•You can analyse the results in various ways, including:
•Content analysis on the terms that different people use.
•Content analysis on how many people use the same terms in the same ways.
Looking at the depths and breadths of explanation trees, to identify areas of knowledge and areas for improvement.
Other methods that fit well with downward laddering
•Think aloud, to see tangible examples of what the person means.
•Design rationale, to show systematically what the person means.
•Graph theory and facet theory, to give more powerful insights into the results.
Copyleft Hyde & Rugg 2021