Task Analysis and Contextual Inquiry

CS 160 Discussion Section

February 7, 2006

Interview VideoCarlo, Mareesa, and Jessica [0:51~5:00] Introduction

Give purpose of visit, and then do general background informationParticipants start volunteering information about technology use

[1:03:42-1:05:30] Learning about office computer setupAsk questions for clarificationPrompted by things in the environment (ask about them!)

[1:08:46-1:09:25] Managing digital photos [1:12:29-1:14:40] Scrapbooking

Mareesa describes her scrapbook; she and Carlo articulate why paper scrapbooks are better than digital scrapbooks

[1:16:04-1:17:00] PDA useMareesa describes why she doesn’t use her PDA

Contextual Inquiry Tips Should be performed in teams, not by

individual team membersInterviewers: Different perspectives help create better understanding of usersNote-taker: Record interesting events to look at laterPhoto, tape recorder, video

Try out different roles in each interview

Contextual Inquiry Tips Use time after interview to analyze info and

refocus for next interview

Refocusing includes choosing subsequent interviewees

Select interviewees who can develop our understanding of the users, their tasks and work contexts

Karen Holtzblatt and Sandra Jones. “Conducting and Analyzing a Contextual Interview,” in Schuler and Namioka, Participatory Design: Principles and Practices, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1993.

Contextual Inquiry Tips Make preliminary notes to focus interviews

Clarify notes with interviewees

If they use computers, ask what workarounds they resort to

Don’t talk all the time

Resume with interviewee’s words or thoughts if interrupt at an inconvenient time

Karen Holtzblatt and Sandra Jones. “Conducting and Analyzing a Contextual Interview,” in Schuler and Namioka, Participatory Design: Principles and Practices, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1993.

Task Analysis Tips Use the questions from lecture

Easiest to work from transcripts

Team analysis of interview transcriptsSaves time in the long runBuilds team ownershipCome out with a clear understanding of the group’s focus

Karen Holtzblatt and Sandra Jones. “Conducting and Analyzing a Contextual Interview,” in Schuler and Namioka, Participatory Design: Principles and Practices, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1993.

Task Analysis Tips Analyzing results is not the same as picking a

final designDon’t skip “ludicrous” ideas immediatelyDon’t structure/categorize too earlyConsider affinity diagrams(http://www.balancedscorecard.org/files/affinity.pdf)

Use and reuse the interviewees’ language

May need to validate interpretation with original interviewee

Karen Holtzblatt and Sandra Jones. “Conducting and Analyzing a Contextual Interview,” in Schuler and Namioka, Participatory Design: Principles and Practices, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1993.

Practice Task AnalysisSome Potential Task Domains Waiter/Waitress

Airline ticket agent

Bus driver

Car salesperson

Newspaper editor

Vacation planning

Practice Task AnalysisThe Task Analysis Questions1. Who is going to use system?

2. What tasks do they now perform? (specify easy, medium, and hard tasks)

3. What tasks are desired?

4. How are the tasks learned?

5. Where are the tasks performed?

6. What’s the relationship between user & data?

7. What other tools does the customer have?

8. How do customers communicate with each other?

9. How often are the tasks performed?

10. What are the time constraints on the tasks?

11. What happens when things go wrong?

Administrivia VisualStudio 2005 and the Windows Mobile

5.0 SDK are installed in Soda 330

Online assignment submission

Does anyone need help finding interview participants?

Thanks to Matthew Kam for some of the slides…