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The Big Mother Honking Monster Survey of Time and Space
How much study would you do to understand a problem better in order to help solve it? Would you spend years gathering data? Is there any situation where a 3-year study of the problem would make sense?
After taking a look at my last survey about digital drugs, I'm doing a little spit-balling this afternoon on what a new survey would look like; one that would associate personality attributes and triggers with technology use.
Looks like using some kind of standard metric is called for -- not just a bunch of questions I pulled out of the air.
But taking a look at the list of potential questions, it looks like there'd be a zillion questions all together. It'd be like completing a tax return. Would that work?
Geesh! Let's take a look at the test types and the question count:
- Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale - 10 questions
- Goldberg Depression Questionnaire - 18 questions
- Alcoholism Test, adapted for tech use - 20 questions
- Internet Addiction Test - 20 questions
- OCD Test - 25 questions
- Adult ADHD - 24 questions
- Workaholic Test - 25 questions
- Mood Disorder - 18 questions
- Beck Depression Inventory - 20 questions
- Jung Typology - 72 questions
- Internet Content Perception - 30-40 questions
- Triggers - 30-40 questions
Looks like around 300 questions.
To create it or not? it would take several hours -- maybe a day or more -- to put all together. And initial responses, even with some social network link promotion, would probably be slim to none. Maybe a thousand people considering it for every one who completed it.
Perhaps this is not a question of "should" but a question of "How soon for results?" I could create it and hell, wait 3 years until I got the results together. If I got 5 responses a month, in a few years I'd still have hundreds of answers. It would still be possible to get data, it would just take forever.
And it'd be great data to have. Unlike last time, it wouldn't have any sort of identifying information in there at all (save for an optional email address for result notification) Plus it has the benefit of using standard tools, instead of just ad-hoc questions. So maybe people would be more likely to be comfortable with their answers.
But there's a balance involved when looking to solve any problem. How much data do you gather, and for how long? I know my startup friends would all say something like "get a general idea and run fast with it", but is that always true? Seems like in certain cases you are more interested in the problem than the market.
It's pretty clear this will never be a *product* --- not in the traditional sense. Your audience doesn't think they have a problem. Why would they buy a solution? You don't need the world to reward you monetarily for *every* problem you understand and solve --- and for a problem like this, getting it right seems more important than getting it fast.
Consider this research and line of reasoning as your gift to posterity instead of your search for an MVP :) --- and then spending a day building this survey seems like an excellent next step.
Thanks Sam.
I understand what you're saying, but I have mixed feelings about it too.
The MVP question, is, at it's heart, a question about stimulus and response. What stimulus produces the appropriate response? Or -- what is the minimum amount of change I can make in my own life to reduce the feeling that time is wasted? It's a very practical and selfish question.
I think the heart of the issue is whether to study or experiment. There are folks that say that you can make a difference without even understanding the problem domain -- simply poke around until you find something that works. And then there are folks that say that understanding a problem is the key to fixing it. Both sides have a good point.
I'm still thinking over the survey. I think if I had a way to get 50 responses quickly I might do it. But to spend a day or two on the big honking mother survey of all time? And then have 2 people complete it? And then be paying Wufoo every month for four years while the data slowly accumulates? Only to perhaps have to go another round? I just need to prepare myself for that. Sounds like a pretty depressing outcome.