Contextual Inquiry

Material Source:Professor John Landay, UCB

2

Searching in PowerPoint Cannot

preview search results

Results pane holds only 2 results

No animation to convey search is in motion

Cannot preview search results to confirm success

3

User Study Methods & the different fields they come from

Social Psychology Focus Groups

Business, marketing technique Laboratory studies

Experimental Psychology Think-aloud protocols

Cognitive Psychology Participant/observer ethnographic studies Anthropology

4

Contextual Inquiry

Technique for examining and understanding users and their workplace, tasks, issues and preferences.

http://www.infodesign.com.au Witness users performing tasks

Objective rather than subjective as with questionnaire An evolving method A kind of “enthnographic” or “participatory design” method

Combines aspects of other methods: Interviewing, think-aloud protocols, participant/observer in

the context of the work Part of “Contextual Design”

Read www.incent.com

5

Contextual Inquiry

Design Ideas

New Design Ideas

Think-Aloud Usability Studies

Heuristic Evaluation

Cognitive Walkthrough

Prototyping

GOMS

Tasks

Analytic MethodsAnalytic Methods Empirical Empirical MethodsMethods

HCI methods in the design process

Contextual Inquiry is used in beginning of design processContextual Inquiry is used in beginning of design process

6

Contextual Inquiry

Interpretive field research method Depends on conversations with users in the context

of their work Recommends “direct observation” when possible

When not possible cued recall of past experience, or recreation of related experience

Used to define requirements, plans and designs. Drives the creative process:

In original design In considering new features or functionality

7

Why Context?

Design complete work process Fits into “fabric” of entire operations Not just “point solutions” to specific problems Integration! e.g. ‘those who bought this also…’

Design from data (not instinct or guess) Not just opinions, negotiation Not just a list of features

8

Who conducts it?

Interviewers: “Cross-functional” team Designers UI specialists Product managers Marketing Technical people

Customers Between 6 – 20 Representative of different roles

9

Key concepts in Contextual Inquiry

Context Understand users' needs in their work or living environment

Partnership Work with users as co-investigators

Interpretation Assigning meaning to the observations

Focus Listen and probe from a clearly defined set of concerns

10

Context

Definition: The interrelated conditions within which

something occurs or exists Understand work in its natural environment

Go to the user Observe real work Use real examples and artifacts

“Artifact”: An object created by human workmanship Interview while she/he is working

11

Master-Apprentice model

Master – Apprentice model allows customer to teach us what they do! Master does the work & talks about it while working We interrupt to ask questions as they go Each step reminds the user of the

next Skill knowledge is usually tacit

(cant put it in books) Studying many tasks, the

designer can abstract away Sometimes literal apprenticeship

works (Matsushita “Home Bakery”)!

12

Key distinctions about context

Contextual Inquiry

Ongoing experience & concrete data

ObjectiveSpontaneous, as it

happensWhat customers actually

need

Interviews, Surveys, Focus Groups

Summary data & abstractions

SubjectiveLimited by reliability of

human memoryWhat customers think &

say they want

13

Elements of User's Context: Pay Attention to all of these

User's work space User's work User's work intentions User's words Tools used How people work together Business goals (e.g. always buy from XYZ Ltd.) Organizational and cultural structure

14

Standard Contextual Inquiry:Work-based Interview

Use when: Product or process already exists

Or a near competitor’s

User is able to complete a task while you observe

Work can be interrupted

15

Interview note-taking

When to take notes? Any observations not being recorded Note taking can help you pay closer attention Notes lead to faster turn-around Do not let it interfere with interviewing

How to record? What the user says – in quotes What the user does – plain text Your interpretation – in parentheses Write fast!

16

Reasons for variation on the standard work-based interview

Different goals Designing a known product

Know the competition Addressing a new work domain

Study what replacing

Designing for a new technology

Types of tasks that make work-based inquiry impractical Intermittent – instrument or keep logs Uninterruptible – video and review later Extremely long – point sample and review

17

Partnership Definition:

A relationship characterized by close cooperation Build an equitable relationship with the user Suspend your assumptions and beliefs Invite the user into

the inquiry process Information acquired

through dialog User is expert –

employ master/apprentice model

Encourage user to speak Listen for non-verbal

communications

18

Analysis

In the moment:Simultaneous data collection and analysis during interview

Post interview: Using notes, tapes, and transcripts

Analysis by a group: Integrates multiple perspectives Creates shared vision Creates shared focus Builds teams Saves time

19

Focus

Focus is a perspective We always have an entering focus Better to make it explicit Characteristics of focus:

set of pre-conceivedassumptions and beliefs

reveals and conceals “Show me how you do …”

Decide what to ask about Still use general questions

Not an interview!

20

Setting Focus

Form a team of stakeholders Brainstorm: questions, assumptions, design ideas.

Each group member brainstorms individually Group meets and brainstorms Delay evaluation during brainstorming

Record the items generated Prune questions

Defer Qs that participants cannot answer Conclusions about other peoples’ experiences How large is the market? Would you buy this product?

21

Key Benefits

Can be used early in development cycle Defines user work problems and opportunities for

improved products Develops a partnership between engineering and

customers Creates a shared system vision for the whole design

team Combines with other development processes Identifies both short-term and long-term product

enhancements

22

Key Limits

Requires additional time and expense to set up customer site visits

Requires interviewing and analysis skills Requires a method of tracking the large

number of design ideas that result Consider Design Rational (gIBIS)

23

Example of CI Video of sample session with a eCommerce site:

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~bam/uicourse/EHCIcontexualinquiry.mpg See video of review of CI: http://ilserver.sp.cs.cmu.edu/view.pl?id=484 at

timemark 01:06:03 Issues to observe

Interview of work in progress, in “context” Actual session of doing a task

Not an interview asking about possible tasks, etc. Questions to clarify about routine, motivations

Why do certain actions: need intent for actions Notice problems (“breakdowns”)

Notice what happens that causes users to do something (“triggers”) E.g. appearance of error messages, other feedback, external events (phone

ringing), etc.

24

Summary

Think about the user community first Who they are, what their lifestyles are, what you’re

assumptions about them are. Selecting tasks

real tasks with reasonable functionality coverage complete, specific tasks of what user wants to do

Contextual inquiry way to answer the task analysis questions interview & observe real users use the master-apprentice model to get them to teach you