Octopus Clustering

Octopus Clustering is an organisational method that is well suited to team projects and allows for involvement of the entire team as well as prospective users or research participants. Much like the Hot Air Balloon method, Octopus Clustering expands on the relatively commonplace design practices of concept sorting and decision matrices with the added element of active group participation in the decision-making process, which enables a shared sense of ownership for ideas to emerge through the clustering process. This method was first developed for the field of service design by Marc Stickdorn et al.^1,2, which evidences the method’s versatility and adaptability. We have contextualised the method to interaction design but encourage you to consider how it might be applied in a variety of contexts, whether they’re design-specific or not.

Octopus Clustering requires your ideas to be organised into individual, moveable elements – sticky notes tend to work best. It is best to ensure that when transferring your initial ideas to their moveable format that they are recorded in the same amount of detail, using the same pen or marker and onto paper or material of the same colour. The reasoning here is to ensure that each idea is given equal opportunity, as difference in detail, colour of pen and paper are all added variables – we want to focus on the ideas only and avoid all other potential biases and distractions.

Be clear about the aim of your clustering session – if working with a design team, what are you trying to achieve? While clustering is a great way to make sense of initial ideas, it is important that each member of the team is well informed about the project goal. A short discussion before commencing clustering, where the project aims are restated is worthwhile and a simple way to avoid potential issues around clarity. Clustering might also be used by a design team to address a specific problem, such as a usability issue or even to make sense of participant data. We encourage you to experiment with the method and adapt it to suit your projects on an as-needs basis.

If you’re clustering with users or participants as a way to involve them in the design process, ensure your notes are suitable to their demographics. For example, not using design or project-specific jargon if your participants are considered ‘lay persons’. Again, the rationale here is that this method can only be effective if your notes are clear, simple, legible and can be quickly interpreted by the people involved in the clustering activity.

Activity

Before you start

Firstly, you’ll need access to a space with both a large wall (around 2-3 metres wide) and plenty of room for your group to move around in. Randomly arrange your sticky notes into a ‘cloud’ across the wall and mark off the boundaries where the cloud finishes using tape, string or sticky notes of a different colour. Organise your group into 3-5 rows (at least 3 people per row) and brief them on the following:

• Row 1 are actively creating clusters and grouping the sticky notes.
• Row 2 are giving helpful suggestions to row 1.
• Row 3 are observing row 1, the emerging clusters, looking for any outlying or orphaned notes and shouting any useful suggestions about these to row 1.
• After 30 seconds has elapsed, row 1 will stop clustering, hand any notes they’re holding to the person behind them in row 2, and then step to the back of the row. In this process, row 1 becomes row 3, row 2 becomes row 1, row 3 becomes row 2 and so on. This cycling of people only happens in the form of entire rows – the rows do not mix between individuals.
• If your group is large enough to have 4-5 rows, rows 4 and 5 can discuss the emerging clusters with each other and prepare to offer advice when moving into row 3 and then row 2.

As a facilitator you have 3 verbal cues that will signal to your group what to do:

• “Empty hands!” – row 1 must stop clustering and hand their notes to the person behind in row 2.
• “Come out.” – row 1 will turn to the left and head to the back.
• “Step forward!” – row 2 step forward, becoming the new row 1 and begin clustering straight away.

Use a timer or stopwatch to keep track of time – aim for 30 second intervals of clustering with a few seconds of handover time.

Activity steps

1. Start clustering!
2. People might need to be reminded about what role is associated with their row, so don’t hesitate to remind them if you notice people are becoming lost or confused.
3. As clusters start to form over the cycles and you notice they’re remaining relatively unchanged there might be outlier or orphaned notes – point these out to the last row if they’re not noticing them.
4. Aim for around 5-8 clustering cycles – you may need more or less to arrive on solid clusters. This is up to you, the facilitator to determine based on your observation.
5. Give the final row a warning that they are last and once their 30 seconds has elapsed, cheer and applaud the group for their work.
6. As a group, encourage everyone to step back and get an overview of the final clusters – do any need to be merged or is everyone happy with the outcome? Each cluster should be labelled with a heading and a short phrase or sentence to describe it.

References

1. Stickdorn, Marc. 2018a. This Is Service Design Doing. 1st edition. O’Reilly Media, Inc. QUT Library Permalink.
2. Stickdorn, Marc. 2018b. This Is Service Design Methods. 1st edition. O’Reilly Media, Inc. QUT Library Permalink.