session · discovery & direction

Observation session

Ninety minutes sitting next to a named person while they do the activity, in their environment, with their actual data, on their actual schedule. Time-stamped notes. No interview during. The session every later artefact in the chain stands on.

When

Before any Feature Brief is shaped for a moment in the named person's day.
When a brief feels thin — "have we actually watched this?" If no, the brief is description, not witness.
At least once per quarter for the most active initiatives — the world changes; the observation expires.

Who

The PO — primary observer. Holds the pen.
The Designer — secondary observer. Watches the surface (hesitations, glances, workarounds).
The named person — going about their work.
(Not in the room) the developer — they read the notes; their presence changes what the named person does.

Time-box

90 minutes. Less and the named person is still self-conscious. More and the observer fatigues. Schedule for when the activity actually happens — not when calendars are convenient. Gal grades on Fridays at 3pm; that is when the observation happens.

Inputs

The Initiative Brief's "What we have NOT yet witnessed" section.
The Feature Brief draft (if shaping has started).
A blank notebook or doc. Plain text. Time-stamps.

Agenda

Time	What
−10 min	Arrive. Make small talk. Set expectations: "I'm just going to watch and take notes. I'll ask questions afterwards."
0 min	Person begins the activity. Observer records time-stamps as they happen.
0–80 min	Pure observation. No interview. No coaching. Record what is done, what is paused on, what is opened in another tab, what gets sticky-noted.
80–90 min	Three anchored questions: "At 12 minutes you opened the spreadsheet — what were you checking?" The questions point at specific moments.

Outputs

The observation note — time-stamped, factual, no interpretation. Filed in the Initiative Brief's discovery folder.
3–5 specific moments worth following up on in an Anchored interview.
Workarounds the person has stopped noticing — these are the highest-value finds.

What good looks like

The note is readable by someone who wasn't there. "09:14 — Gal opened the spreadsheet, scanned column F, didn't enter anything, switched back to the grading window." That is observation. "Gal seemed unsure about the formula" is interpretation — file in a separate column or leave for the interview.

The observer does not narrate. They do not explain the activity to themselves out loud. They do not say "oh, that's interesting" — those reactions distort the next 10 minutes of what the person does.

Anti-pattern

The session becomes an interview. The observer asks "why?" during the activity; the person stops doing and starts explaining; the actual moment is lost.

Fix: Watch first. Ask after. The questions you have during the observation get written down for the interview — not voiced.

Observation session ​

When ​

Who ​

Time-box ​

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Agenda ​

Outputs ​

What good looks like ​

Anti-pattern ​

See also ​