Experience a service firsthand as a customer to identify friction points, emotional highs, and improvement opportunities.
The Safari Method immerses researchers in a service as real customers to document touchpoint strengths, friction, and emotional responses.
The Safari Method, also known as a Service Safari, involves researchers going out to experience a service firsthand as if they were real customers, walking through every touchpoint from start to finish while documenting what works and what does not. This first-person immersion reveals friction, inconsistencies, and emotional highs or lows that are difficult to uncover through interviews or surveys alone. Service designers, UX researchers, and product teams typically run a safari early in a project to build empathy quickly and identify concrete problem areas across channels. The method draws on ethnographic principles but is lighter-weight and faster to execute, making it accessible even to teams without formal research training. By experiencing the service through the customer's eyes, teams develop a shared understanding of pain points that transcends departmental silos. Safari findings often feed directly into journey maps, service blueprints, and prioritized improvement backlogs, making the method a powerful catalyst for service innovation and cross-functional alignment.
Gather a diverse team of 3-5 individuals including designers, developers, product managers or other professionals who work on the product, to participate in the Safari Method together.
Clearly specify the user segment, product or service, and the overall goal of the UX research. Create a clear, concise research question that the team will seek to address using the Safari Method.
Determine the context where the users will interact with the product or service. The team will observe users within these different contexts, including both digital and physical environments.
Design a plan that outlines logistics such as dates, times, location(s) for observations, and tools or equipment needed. Establish the roles of team members during the observation, such as note-taking, photography, or interviews.
Develop an observation guide, specific to the research question and contexts, detailing what to look for in user behavior, interactions, and potential pain points. Additionally, prepare consent forms and ensure any necessary permissions are obtained before observing users.
Go out into the field as a team to observe users interacting with the product or service within the determined contexts. Take detailed notes, photos, or videos while being as unobtrusive as possible to avoid influencing user behavior. Team members may also conduct short, informal interviews with users if appropriate.
After each observation session, the team should meet to discuss their findings, identify key insights, behavioral patterns, and common themes. Use the observations to validate or contradict assumptions, and make note of any potential design improvements or opportunities.
Compile and organize the insights, patterns, and themes derived from the observation sessions. Prepare a report or presentation that communicates the findings in a clear and actionable manner, including quotes, photos, and anecdotes as evidence. Share the findings with relevant stakeholders and incorporate the insights into product development or improvement processes.
After running the Safari Method successfully, the team will have a vivid, firsthand understanding of the service experience from the customer's perspective. The process produces detailed field notes, photographs, and emotional journey documentation that highlight specific friction points, broken touchpoints, and moments of delight. Teams gain shared empathy that breaks down departmental silos and creates alignment around customer pain points. The findings translate directly into journey maps, service blueprints, and prioritized improvement backlogs. Stakeholders receive evidence-based recommendations grounded in real experience rather than assumptions. The safari also surfaces quick wins that can be addressed immediately alongside larger strategic improvement opportunities.
Go through the service multiple times using the Safari method, focusing on different aspects each time.
Document your emotional responses at each touchpoint, not just functional observations about what works or fails.
Bring a diverse team including designers, developers, and product managers to capture different perspectives.
Use photography and voice memos to capture details you might forget when writing up findings later.
Compare your safari findings with existing analytics data to validate whether observed issues match quantitative signals.
Try the service as different user types (new customer, returning customer, accessibility needs) for broader coverage.
Consider running safaris on competitor services to identify differentiation opportunities and industry benchmarks.
Create a structured observation guide before the safari but remain open to unexpected findings during the experience.
Going on a safari without a clear focus or observation guide leads to scattered notes and unfocused findings. Prepare specific questions and observation criteria before heading into the field.
One pass through a service rarely captures the full picture. Run multiple safaris at different times, through different paths, and with team members playing different customer types.
Focusing only on functional problems misses the emotional experience. Document how you feel at each touchpoint -- frustration, delight, confusion -- as these emotions drive customer satisfaction.
Individual notes lose value without shared synthesis. Schedule a team debrief immediately after the safari while observations are fresh to identify patterns and prioritize findings.
Detailed plan outlining goals, target users, locations, and schedule.
Screening and recruiting representative target users for the study.
Documents covering study purpose, confidentiality, and data handling.
Comprehensive notes capturing behavior, context, and interactions.
Visual and audio materials supplementing field notes with context.
Transcriptions of on-site interviews capturing user thoughts and insights.
Patterns, themes, and key insights derived from collected data.
Visual representation of relationships among collected data points.
Visual maps of user experiences highlighting touchpoints and pain points.
Comprehensive report with findings, insights, and recommendations.
Stakeholder presentation communicating results and actionable insights.