2. Contextual Inquiry
Provides reliable, detailed knowledge of what people
actually do and what they really care about
3. Contextual Inquiry
A set of principles, not steps
Context
Partnership
Interpretation
Focus
4. The principle of Context
What people say they do
And what they actually do
Are different
5. What is Context?
Get as close to the work as possible
Go to the customer
Interview while they are working
Be grounded in real objects and events
Pay attention to non-verbal communication
Ongoing work versus summary experience
People tend to give summaries
Ongoing work is never summarized
Stay concrete, don’t abstract
Ongoing work
Retrospective account — from the last two weeks
Look at artifacts
6. The principle of Partnership
People know
everything about
what they do…
They just can’t
tell you
7. What is Partnership?
Partnership as relationship
The user is the expert
So follow their lead
Help the users articulate and Withdrawal
see their work practice
Avoid ineffective interview styles
The Traditional Interviewer
The Expert/Novice
The Guest/Host Return
Apprenticeship is the preferred model
Listen, learn, be humble, don’t judge
And assume that people do things for a reason
Return to the ongoing work
• It always keeps you in the apprenticeship model
8. The principle of Interpretation
It’s not the facts
that matter…
It’s the
interpretation of
the facts
9. What is Interpretation?
Interpretation is the data
A shared understanding of what is going on Customer
Offer interpretations
• Don’t ask open-ended Fact
questions
Listen for the “No” tune the interpretation
Huh?
Hypothesis
Umm... could be
“They” would like it
“Yes” comes with elaboration Implication
Watch for non-verbal clues
Check your design ideas as they occur
Design
Idea
10. The principle of Focus
“…There are also
unknown
unknowns – the
ones we don't
know we don't
know.”
11. What is Focus?
Know your purpose entering focus
We all have an entering focus what
• A set of preconceived assumptions and beliefs we make
Drive interviews with your project focus up
• A clear understanding of what work you are trying to
understand
Expand your focus
what we see
• Challenge your assumptions, probe the unexpected
Probe to expand focus
Surprises and contradictions
“Nods” — What you assume is true
What you do not know
The problem behind solutions
Share
Interpretations for validation what we miss
Design ideas for co-design user’s world
13. Are you visiting your users in the field?
If so, are you…
An apprentice to their work?
Staying concrete and not summarizing?
Challenging your assumptions?
Bringing back a shared interpretation of what you see happening?
If not, what are the barriers?
How are you gathering requirements?
What’s left open for interpretation? Who ends up interpreting?
How do you know they are right?
14. Contextual Design
Requirements & Solutions
Contextual Inquiry Talk to specific customers in the field
What matters to
Interpret the data as a team to capture key issues
users –
Interpretation Session
characterizing
what they do
Work Models and
Consolidate data across customers for a full market view
Affinity Diagramming
New ideas and
Visioning Redesign people’s work with new technology ideas
direction
Define & Validate Concepts
Storyboarding Work out the details of particular tasks and roles Redesign
activities and
technology to
User Environment provide value
Design system to support this new work
Design
Paper Mock-Up
Mock up the interface using interaction patterns for testing
Interviews Iterate the
system with
Interaction & Visual users
Design and test the final look and user experience
Design
15. Put the customer at the center
of the design
Dave Flotree, Program Manager
dave.flotree@incontextdesign.com