At IDEO, over 20 years ago, we realised that there was a danger of following the same ‘magic’ user research method every time – observing users in context. So a small group (led my Maura Shea and Jane Fulton-Suri) constructed a deck of 51 cards in four suits (Learn, Look, Ask and Try). There were 51 cards because there is always space for a new method, with the intention that the cards might help you imagine ever more ways of finding out about your customers and users.
Although initially intended purely as an internal tool, there was quickly demand from outside. In October 2003 Dan Pink wrote about the cards and how we used them in Fast Company.
