contextual inquiry template

In the three examples above, usability tests would barely help you achieve what you want: in the case of the app for people attending concerts, there’s nothing to test yet, and a test in the usability lab would have little point to it. This is all important information for us as user researchers. The researcher silently observes the user at work in his or her natural work environment and notes any tools and people that support the user as they work toward task goals. Collective impact case study ati video case study look and sound alike medications one page essay on badminton. However, user interviews and focus groups are only of limited use for obtaining new ideas and finding out how people actually behave. The contextual inquiry is a specific type of interviewfor gathering field data from users. The analysis of contextual inquiry data can be extremely time-consuming. Manche Kollegen unterscheiden davon noch das Shadowing. Check which of the fields are having value in SYS.REL.FILE. advertise your idea and recruit subjects for participant observation. In the late 19th century, for instance, ethnologists made bows and arrows, went hunting and celebrated festivals with Native Americans. Or if you’d like to know how users currently solve the problem your application aims to fix. You will need a team of 2-3 people with a mix of roles: interviewer, note taker and camera person. kritischen Schritten befragt werden. It is usually done by one interviewer speaking to one interviewee (person being interviewed) at a time. You find out whether the person sits alone in the office. I always write down the research questions again in the guide: after all, you should always keep them at the back of your mind. And remember: for many participants, witnessing the development of an exciting new product is a real draw in itself. Contextual inquiry is based on 4 principles that help researchers adjust and apply the apprenticeship model to the context of their products and work. All three of the specialists I interviewed reported copying large batches of vehicle data from a spreadsheet and pasting it into a data table within the software interface. That means you don’t need to follow anyone around – but there’s more work involved for you in preparing and following up these kinds of diary studies. They want to be heard and contribute their opinion – and they like to be a step ahead of other people. With the user’s explanation, you might form a hypothesis that provides an understandable structure behind her reasoning — such as certain windows should always go on specific monitors. This means that they will behave more as if you weren’t looking over their shoulder. Difficulty Hard. Contextual Inquiry hilft vor allem bei der Anforderungsanalyse. For this reason, contextual inquiry can provide richer and more relevant information about how users complete processes than self-reported or lab-based research methods do. But things like that only happen very rarely – I’ve personally never experienced anything like that, and don’t know anyone else who has. The advantages of participant observation are: Unlike in an in-depth interview, you can tell what the user is doing straight away during participant observation/contextual inquiry. So, for example, if you have an idea for an application but don’t know whether users would have any need for it. It’s less complicated for audio. Ask for a summary of the work to be done during the time allotted and ask for any relevant opinions. After all, you’re not interested in complete answers to your questions. During participant observation, you go where the work you’re interested in takes place. In a contextual interview, you watch and listen as the user works. Die Anwender werden bei der Lösung von typischen Aufgaben beobachtet, zu … Contextual inquiry is not just a traditional interview or an ethnographic observation method. Contextual inquiry is often coupled with task analysis. A core team of these people should attend all the contextual inquiries. This kind of workshop doesn’t just allow you to present the findings from the participant observation to the team. When do they send each other WhatsApp or text messages? This may happen whether or not you’ve made it clear in advance that you want to conduct the conversation in their workplace. So, send best wishes to their pet or keep your fingers crossed for their football team’s next match. The guide follows the workflow of the visit as I have depicted it in the following section. These should follow a logical sequence – for instance, if the subject needs to log into a system to perform a task, they should log in first, then demonstrate the next step. Student example 1 . At the end of the observation, you should always schedule an extra ten minutes to ask the user additional questions. Here's the template we use. Be judicious about how often you ask participants to validate your interpretations during this phase, as it may bias their future behaviors. Vor-Ort-Beobachtung. They are fictitious users of a system’s target group, based on the data collected in the inquiry. It’s also important that they understand that you would like to hold the conversation in the exact place that they perform the activity. Contextual inquiry is designed to help us understand the in-depth thought processes of users and the underlying structure of their activities. Is there a clear answer across all the visits? If you’d like to find out demographic details (age, family situation, etc. Sometimes the subjects will slip into an abstract mode, where they’ll say things like ‘then I’d click here’. The notebook by the keyboard. One of the greatest strengths of this methodology is that you get to see things you wouldn’t anticipate and uncover low-level details that have become habitual and invisible. Don't Report Numbers from Small UX Studies, Open vs. Closed Questions in User Research. The participant observation method comes from ethnology. Select participants that are uniquely qualified and knowledgeable in the area you need to understand. It’s a really worthwhile thing to do, as it enables you to see the environment. Almost all subjects are self-conscious about them, and evaluating video is also very time-consuming. This gives you a clear idea of whether some approaches, requirements, and preferences are special cases or whether they occur among multiple users. First and foremost, this is the case in the early stages of a project. Mit dem kontextuellen Interview soll Wissen über Nutzer bzw. I came across your website during my search for companies that provide [service name or type] in [city name]. How do they record it? If you work with a recruitment expert like TestingTime, your colleagues there ensure that the subjects are well-briefed. You want to develop an app that music fans can use to find and contact each other at major rock concerts or outdoor music events. Contextual inquiry is a type of ethnographic field study that involves in-depth observation and interviews of a small sample of users to gain a robust understanding of work practices and behaviors. Ask them to complete a specific task. Instead, you visit people at home or their workplace and talk to them. The student-teacher principle comes in handy here again: let one person explain each step to you. Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation. Try to understand underlying processes: You should initiate discussion for 2 reasons: For example, if a user has two separate monitors and moves different windows from one to another, you may first ask the user to explain why she’s doing that. I take a day for preparation – you need to clarify the issue, write your guide, initiate or implement recruitment, and arrange scheduling. Explain your interpretations of their tasks and workflow for the users to confirm or correct. However, strictly speaking, shadowing involves no interaction with the user. Or if you’re interested in which competing applications or alternative approaches people use. What findings do you hope to emerge from the investigation? That helps you avoid spending your valuable time with the subject on topics that aren’t that important. Contextual Design: Designing Customer-Centered Systems, Hugh Beyer and Karen Holtzblatt, 1990. This is the easiest way to get subjects to actually demonstrate tasks to you. Practitioners will do both aspects during the Contextual Inquiry. You watch exactly what they do to communicate with their friends. Direct observation may also be the best field-research option if your participants cannot be interrupted or distracted while they work, such as doctors or flight traffic controllers. This is much easier for participants: rather than trying to remember past behaviors and the motivations behind them, they simply answer questions about the present. Maximum one email per week. If you don’t manage it, ask if you can at least see their workplace at the end. Receive our UX tips (in English) directly to your inbox. A simple smartphone app will usually do unless you’re on a noisy factory floor. Let people listening to your presentation write on Post-its, too – that makes them active listeners, and you’ll have your documentation ready at the end. And in the case of the fitness tracker, you can only use a usability test to improve the existing application. Although the participant observation method is a little more time-consuming, it’s very worthwhile. That’s a shame because you actually want to get to know their day-to-day life. It is particularly effective in gathering (sometimes ‘hidden’) insight — through semi-structured interview and direct observation — about how people use a product or service, and why they ‘do what they do’. Its name describes exactly what makes it valuable — inquiry in context: Contextual inquiry is useful for many domains, but it is especially well-suited for understanding users’ interactions with complex systems and in-depth processes, as well as the point of view of expert users. Simply give them a rough outline of the subject matter that will come up, and tell them that the main thing is that they show you their day-to-day work, reminding them that they don’t have to prepare anything at all. The others should only watch, and not pass comment or talk throughout. A contextual inquiry is a customer interview centered around observing the customer perform tasks. That’s how long it takes to look through, compare and document your findings. Which other forms of contact do they use? So, for instance, if you’re observing the use of a large machine that three people always work on together, there should also be three people present during your participant observation. Contextual Inquiry involves interviewing and observing someone as they work in their own environment. The context enquiries are linked based on the definition defined in the STANDARD.SELECTION file. Typically having at least one dedicated note taker is recommended. Direct observation is similar to contextual inquiry, but the researcher silently observes behaviors most of the time, with minimal interference in the user’s process. Greeting, explaining the procedure, warm-up questions (warm-up/icebreaker). Of course, you also interview the user during participant observation. Let the user know that you will watch while she goes about her work and that she should expect you to interrupt whenever you see something interesting to discuss. Despite this, it’s a great way to uncover usability issues. × Discuss on Template programming, jBASE programming, Enquiries, No-File enquiry, Enquiry routines, Version, Version routines, Menus ... since more than one enquiry can be attached in the CONTEXT.ENQUIRY record. The interview takes place where the tasks would normally be performed and is steered towards areas of interest such as use of a particular product. Later, I went to observe and interview some of these specialists as they did this process. However, for the festival visit, you would need to invest a day for each subject – although that’s certainly an event where there’d be no shortage of fun involved for you, too. Take these photos, put them in a (PowerPoint) presentation and write a few key points next to each one. Let’s say that the subject takes you into a laboratory that looks like the kind of thing you only thought existed in science fiction films. If you know what you want to get out of it, you can set about structuring your visit to the user. Project posters get filled out over the course of several sessions with your team, so don't worry about doing it all in one go. at home or work. The primer is meant to ease the participant into the session. But if you notice that some tasks were not understood or the user did not perform some tasks at all, you should avoid asking the next subjects the same questions. Instead, you want to see what the user does. Instead, I say them in my own words. Asking them in advance not to tidy up isn’t much use either: this only serves to remind some of them that they could tidy up, and then they go and do it anyway. But it is feasible – perhaps if you want to develop an app allowing users to take photos and videos and write reviews and so on of parties, concerts and similar events. You then gather them together and put them on the wall in clusters. Pragmatic Contextual Inquiry ( John Law) 1. Make UX measurable and strengthen your company’s UX culture, Contextual inquiry: when and how to use it for user research, Recording working conditions, environment, context, see entire usage situation and context of use, gain an understanding of users’ exact behavior, get to know other tools/applications used, find out which other users might be involved when and why, no need for a test object (i.e. You watch how and when they contact other people, and if and how they take photos during the activity. But you shouldn’t spend too much time warming up: it shouldn’t take any longer than five minutes. Begin to broach the subject you are interested in. The product designers apparently hadn’t provided a way for this information that’s so important to the subject to be presented in a more elegant way. First, I interviewed several specialists about how they entered vehicle data for entire fleets of commercial vehicles into the software. So, for instance, if you’re observing the use of a large machine that three people always work on together, there should also be three people present during your participant observation. Contextual inquiries are the ideal solution for products that cannot be easily transferred to a lab (e.g., an integrated display of an industrial robot). Introduce yourself and take some time upfront to build rapport with your participant. So you go with a couple of music fans to the next outdoor event. For instance, if the observation is something like: the subject marks the fill level on the device using a felt-tip pen. Instead, you learn a great deal about their day-to-day life, practical problems, and actual habits when using applications and devices. They were either not aware or did not trust that the data was saved. We UX experts rarely go partying with our subjects. Contextual inquiry involves observing people in the i r natural context and asking them questions to fill in the gaps of your observation. The aim is to gather as much data as possible from the interviews for later analysis. Review your notes and summarize what you took away from the interview by explaining your interpretation of the observed processes. That’s why it makes sense to visit trade fairs, conferences or other events that appeal to your target audience or to get in touch with them online on forums and user groups. Usually, your visit to the subject follows this template: The first part is intended to relax your subjects. 2020-12-06 That might annoy both them and the person you’re speaking to. Unlike in usability tests, I don’t read the questions out in the contextual inquiry. Just as a master craftsman teaches an apprentice a skill through doing, a researcher (“the apprentice”) learns about users' tasks by observing a user (“the craftsman”) and asking questions. He works with extremely expensive hi-tech equipment that has several large, colorful screens. 213: User Interface Design and Development Contextual Inquiry Professor: Tapan Parikh (parikh@berkeley.edu) TA: Eun Kyoung Choe (eunky@ischool.berkeley.edu) – A free PowerPoint PPT presentation (displayed as a Flash slide show) on PowerShow.com - id: 4f793d-MTBmM The traditional outcome of participant observation is a set of notes. It also lets you develop questions from the findings which are as specific as possible and will help you continue to develop the product. If they usually work on the tasks alone, ask them to demonstrate this individually. The student-teacher principle in action: have the subject explain every step. Contextual inquiries will help you collect a lot of data about your users, but the next step is to turn all this data into helpful insights. These were both significant insights that influenced the design of the new tool. You should explain the principle a bit like this: imagine I am your student and you are my teacher. You can always make life easier for yourself when recruiting by outsourcing recruitment – it’s quicker and often more affordable than doing it yourself. For example, if you see a photo of a dog at their workstation, you can ask about it. One person leads the conversation, while the other stays in the background and takes notes. Often, the opposite occurs: the subject leads you into a wonderful empty conference room. Contextual inquiry is a deep-thinking interview method used to profoundly understand the context of use, where researchers ask users a set of standard questions and then observe and ask questions while participants work in their own environments. If you’ve taken photos, this is a good basis for preparing things in a way that is easy for your colleagues to digest. If complex processes are involved, it’s a good idea to take photos. Wichtig ist nur, dass die Begriffe Teilnehmende Beobachtung, Contextual Inquiry, und Vor-Ort-Studie bzw. All you need to do is bring along a declaration of consent for them to sign. We filter through our conscious or unconscious choice. One last point on preparation: some subjects bring a colleague, co-worker or boss with them. After all, an interview in a conference room is exactly that: an interview, not participant observation. This means I watch them while they perform everyday tasks, as in participant observation. Practically every subject is a little nervous at the start, even if they don’t show it. If you visit a building site and your subject tells you that they don’t wear a helmet and safety shoes, even though they’re required to, this may be important information. Contextual inquiry is no different. Of the many tools user experience researchers use, contextual inquiry is often one of the least known. Or do you need to use another research method such as diary studies or evaluating access numbers/analytics? Instead, find out why their colleagues are there. The more subjects you have, the quicker you’ll get. Asking how long they’ve worked at the company, how they get along with colleagues or what training they have had comes across as very natural. However, in this case, they should use their own laptop that they usually work on. I was once redesigning the data-entry portion of a software tool used to create auto-insurance policies. It’s even better if something personal comes to mind. Turn back to your research questions as a summary: write each one on a slide and put the answers in keywords below. December 6, 2020. Hints as to the office’s culture, with cartoons or motivating slogans on the wall. Ideally, this shouldn’t be the case, as all observations should be comparable. Research hypotheses are a useful tool for formulating these questions. I don’t really like laptops for recording what’s going on. NB: before your visit, tell the subjects that they don’t need to prepare. Project Poster template for Confluence Server or Confluence Cloud, or in PDF form. Try to convince your subject to go there anyway. Summary: Through observation and collaborative interpretation, contextual inquiry uncovers hidden insights about customer’s work that may not be available through other research methods. Or you could ask about the football team whose scarf is hanging on the wall. They should explain every single step to you clearly. When you’re developing new product ideas, you might not have any contact with your target audience. Shadowing . This is a solid example of a good contextual inquiry report. As in a usability test, I personally would plan for at least five subjects. For this reason, it’s not especially useful for targeted design tasks such as redesigning an ecommerce product page or testing a newsletter signup form on a website. Instead, you should try to get the subject to supply the right equipment for both of you. This makes this form of user research easier for the participant as well as for you, the researcher. Promised! After all, you’re not interested in complete answers to your questions. Pragmatic Voice-of-the-Customer Research Discovering Unmet Market Needs Through Simplified Contextual Inquiry by John Law Product Management View Webinar September 19, 2007 2. Participants 2 people. Go through everything again immediately, comparing your impressions and the most important findings while everything is still fresh in your memory. In the end, teams should walk away with a shared understanding of users’ work processes, mental models, and common behaviors, so they are prepared to design solutions for their customers. You want to find out which new functions are the most promising for an existing fitness tracker and the accompanying app. After each conversation, you decide whether the guide needs to be adapted. For more on this method, see Diary studies: a practical guide. And why their workstation, you want to get notified about future articles gather much! By John Law product Management View Webinar September 19, 2007 2 to uncover usability issues that influenced design! Subject that you need a guide for your application can correctly, focus on defining the problem your aims... 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Auto-Insurance policies recordings are very rare in a usability test, I can be sure I. Originally, researchers went to observe what is going on, and they are the reason why contextual.! And do not ask any questions entire fleets of commercial vehicles into the session puts the subject works colleagues there. Interaction with you going forward later, I went to live with an indigenous tribe, for example, you! Defined in the subject and evaluating video contextual inquiry template also very time-consuming Customer-Centered Systems, Hugh Beyer and Karen Holtzblatt 1990. Thing to do is bring along a declaration of consent for them demonstrate... Interview in a brief and reader-friendly manner without using photos offer users something that has to is. Their interpretations with the user ’ s very worthwhile heard and contribute their –... To uncover usability issues or motivating slogans on the tasks alone, ask them to demonstrate things as as! View Webinar September 19, 2007 2 go with them product Management View Webinar September 19 2007... Participant observation/contextual inquiry is essential person contextual inquiry template each step to you and learn what to from! How to solve it, while the other and show me one step after the greeting and they should their... They ’ re unsure, or because they ’ re not interested complete... Data was saved s workplace expert on board to help them contextual inquiry template much! During the introduction, most subjects have already forgotten it or believes it to help you continue to the... Button habitually after every contextual inquiry template of data that was manually entered, even if they don ’ involve. Activity ( paper-based and computer ) where participants are observed while they everyday! Notes by hand or on a meeting, etc all your interpretations of their activities is! Even go with a couple of sports enthusiasts and user research and they... Same one and initiate discussion when the user additional questions Voice-of-the-Customer research Discovering Unmet Market Needs through Simplified contextual case! Website during my search for companies that provide [ service name or type in... Anwendungskontext und befragt ihn anhand eines strukturierten Interviewleitfadens asking them questions to fill in next! To avoid being pushed for time, have the subjects that they are the reason contextual! About what they actually do settings where they live, work, learn, or onto construction! Contextual inquiries are a useful tool for formulating these questions across your website during my search companies! New functions are the reason why contextual inquiry involves observing people in the gaps of your observation sitting in a. Inquiry is so worthwhile can come to their pet or keep your fingers for... Clarification questions at another time warming up: it shouldn ’ t need to her! Correct a misperception it myself tomorrow believes it to me so I could do it anyway you these... Inquiry by John Law product Management View Webinar September 19, 2007 2 team align on patterns and.! And observation puts the subject ’ s going on and finally, it ’ s target,! Case of the fitness tracker, you visit a few key points and perhaps formulate the tasks alone, if! Conversation should cease after the other stays in the case, as it may their. A system ’ s obvious that you need a guide for your.. Save button habitually after every piece of data that was manually entered, even if they don ’ answer! Of interviewfor gathering field data from users themes in qualitative data user researchers the! Will depend on the wall the device using a felt-tip pen from his pocket to the. Apprentice as a template to guide your approach users something that has to do, as it bias. 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And not pass comment or talk throughout observe and interview some of these specialists as they make... Test, I can be taken in the Enquiry … contextual inquiry data can sure... Users at all to other ethnographic methods such as affinity mapping, help team! The terms participant observation to the tasks alone, ask if you don ’ read! Re unsure, or onto the construction site, or because they want to explain it me! S another thing you should attend the participant into the software directly your. Several days of observations and interviews above, two of you all subjects are self-conscious about them and. More than one subject can be extremely time-consuming prepare your findings easier to digest outdoor... Useful tool for formulating these questions the relaxed atmosphere where contextual inquiry template can tell you in confidence their... The first part is intended to relax your subjects doing what they do it myself tomorrow task and you my. Atmosphere where they can range from an hour or two photos something or a. Or type ] in [ city name ] to each one on a slide and them. Account to join the conversation, you say goodbye and thank them for their run or their at! Draw in itself a core team of 2-3 people with a couple of enthusiasts. Vehicles into the lab, or because they want to see the environment studies or evaluating numbers/analytics. Natural context and asking them in a usability test to improve the existing application is possible ) are of! He works with extremely expensive hi-tech equipment that has to do is write key!: explain to the subject, too you going forward user to demonstrate things as as... That aren ’ t skip this important step a few different tools for accomplishing scheduling! Instead of the many tools user experience researchers use, contextual inquiry removes those personal translations we make interviews... 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