Designing for the Real World | Erik Stoltenberg Lahm (The LEGO Group)

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Erik is a behavioral scientist with a passion for understanding how people, especially kids, interact with digital experiences. He works at The LEGO Group, where he leads behavioral research to create safer, more inspiring, and more playful digital spaces for children. He specializes in using behavioral science, experimentation, and innovative research methodologies to uncover what kids need and love in digital play.

Beyond his professional role, he is a self-proclaimed research methodology nerd, always exploring better ways to understand and test how kids engage with the digital world.

In our conversation, we discuss:

* Why ecological validity is critical to meaningful product testing and what it means in practice.

* How Erik approaches testing with kids at LEGO, including the need for playful environments and cognitive load considerations.

* The pitfalls of lab-based research and why researchers must move beyond “zoo-like” conditions to see real-world behavior.

* Ways to mitigate social desirability and authority bias, especially when conducting research with children.

* How remote research, diary studies, and mixed methods can provide deeper behavioral insights—if done with context in mind.

Some takeaways:

* Validity is about realism. Erik defines ecological validity as the extent to which research reflects real-world behavior. While traditional labs optimize for internal validity, in product development, what matters is whether your findings will translate when people are distracted, tired, or juggling multiple tasks.

* Don’t study lions at the zoo. One of Erik’s standout metaphors urges researchers to avoid overly sanitized environments. Testing products in sterile labs might remove variables, but it also strips away the chaotic, layered reality where your product must actually succeed. Aim for the “Serengeti”—not the zoo.

* Researching with kids requires creativity, play, and caution.

Kids aren’t small adults, they process and respond differently. Erik emphasizes using play as a language, minimizing cognitive load, and focusing on behavioral observation over verbal responses. A child saying “I loved it” means little if they looked disengaged the whole time.

* Remote testing can work if grounded in real-life context. Remote methods like diary studies and follow-up interviews can capture valuable insights, especially if paired with contextual in-person research first. The key is triangulating methods and validating self-reports with observed behavior.

* Think beyond usability, map the behavior chain. A product’s ease of use in isolation means little if the behavior it enables is derailed by real-life obstacles. Erik illustrates this with a simple example: refilling soap sounds easy until you’re cold, wet, and have other priorities. Designing for behavior means understanding the entire chain around your product.

Where to find Erik:

* LinkedIn

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The views and opinions expressed by the guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views, positions, or policies of the host, the podcast, or any affiliated organizations or sponsors.

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