Contextual Inquiry Professor: Tapan Parikh ([email protected])[email protected] TA: Eun Kyoung Choe ([email protected])[email protected]

Contextual Inquiry

Professor: Tapan Parikh ([email protected])TA: Eun Kyoung Choe ([email protected])

Lecture #3 - January 29th, 2008

213: User Interface Design and Development

mailto:[email protected]






Today’s Outline

1) Introduction to CI

2) Principles of CI

3) Work Models

4) Assignment #1 -

Observation

Contextual Inquiry

“Contextual Design makes data gathering from the customer the base criterion for deciding what the system should do…”

“The core premise of Contextual Inquiry is very simple: go where the customer works, observe the customer as he or she works, and talk to the customer about the work. Do that, and you can’t help but gain a better understanding of your customer.”

Source: Beyer and Holtzblatt, Contextual Design

Making Change Palatable

“[S]ystems must match the user’s model closely enough that the user can make the transition…”

Even if a new technology is advantageous, it will not be adopted if it is too disruptive to current practice

Example of the slow transition from typewriters to word processors

Design from Data

“The user is not like us…”

We need data to understand the user and his/her work

Marketing only provides a high-level business case, not specific details about their current practice

Benefits of Data

Requires the design team to agree on a common set of observations and their representation

Reveals hidden aspects of work, that may be implicit in the user’s understanding

Contextual Inquiry is a method for gathering and representing data about the user and his/her work

Principles of Contextual Inquiry

CONTEXT - See the work where it unfolds

PARTNERSHIP - Make yourself and the user collaborators in understanding the work

INTERPRETATION - Assigning meaning to design team’s observations

FOCUS - Shared starting point, orienting the team and user towards a common goal


Context

Summary vs. Ongoing Experience

Retrospective accounts are often summaries

“I got to work, checked my email and had a cup of

coffee”

By being present in the time and place of activity, we

can access much richer data from ongoing activities

“I got to work, looked over my email, answered

messages from my boss, decided to have some

coffee, walked to the coffee machine, found there

was no coffee, so I made coffee…

Abstract vs. Concrete Data

Humans also have a tendency to abstract - to save time, and to

convey points that they feel are important

This reduces the amount and quality of data obtained in a CI

Leaning back, Staring at the ceiling are cues that a user is

providing an abstract description

Leaning forward, Point at artifacts are cues for being concrete

Focus on real tasks and artifacts

Master / Apprentice Model

You are the Apprentice; the Customer is the Master - keeps the

investigator humble, and the customer in charge

At the same time, the investigator is not afraid to ask questions

Teaching while doing means that the user doesn’t have to think

in advance about what to convey

Allows for the discovery of subtle details, which may be

overlooked in a “canned” discussion

Reduces need to develop a formal set of interview questions

Being a Good Apprentice

Be a keen observer

Don’t be afraid to ask questions

Maintain an attitude of inquiry and learning

Admire the Master as an expert in his/her work

Aspire to see the World as they do

Adapted from Jake Wobbrock

Withdrawal and Return

The researcher observes something that he/she would like to dig deeper about

“Is there a reason you paused there?”

The researcher asks about this, and the pair withdraw momentarily from the task at hand

The pair discuss the researcher’s question

Afterwards, the participant returns to the task at hand


What to Look For

Workarounds

Mismatches between what people say and do

Offhand, under the breath comments

Sighs

Rolling of the eyes

Confessions


Vet your Design Ideas

CI is also a fine time to get initial feedback on design ideas

“If you had a technology that did X, would that solve this problem?”

Designers will want to do this anyway, so might as well support it

Users will quickly understand the intent of your suggestion, and will be able to provide direct feedback

This will also demonstrate your understanding of the problem, providing an opportunity for brainstorming or clarification

Avoid other Relationships

Interviewer / Interviewee - Not based on context or ongoing activities

Expert / Novice - You are not the expert in the user’s work, they are!

Guest / Host - You shouldn’t be too afraid of asking the wrong question

Interpretation

Check your Interpretations

It is good to check your interpretations to make sure they are accurate

“I saw you just do X. Is that because of Y?”

“I believe X. Is that correct?”

As long as you check your interpretations in-context, participants will respond accurately

Outside of context, they may be more inclined to agree or answer in generalities rather than specifics


Stages of a Contextual Interview

Interview / Warm Up

Transition

Observe Behavior

Share Interpretation

Refine Interpretation

Wrap-up


Focus

Establish a Focus

Establishing a project focus keeps the project team aligned towards relevant questionsAsking the customer about whether they bring an umbrella to work probably wouldn’t be helpful for designing a word processor

Often different team members will have a slightly different focus based on their experience and interests

These differences are reconciled during group interpretation

7 Ways to Screw up a CI

Not being inquisitive/nosy enough

Overly disrupting the task

Turning it into a regular interview

Failing to respect your participants

Failing to observe and take good notes

Focusing on the wrong details

Slipping into abstraction


Work Models

Group Interpretation

A maximum of 48 hours after the interview, a group interpretation is conducted

Focusing on one interview at a time, each design team member is allowed to ask questions of the interviewer

The outputs of this meeting are:

A sequence of notes, including observations, questions, design ideas and breakdowns, indexed by user number (important to keep anonymous)

A set of work models (see following)

Roles during Group Interpretation

Interviewer - conducted the interview

Work Modelers - generate work models

Recorder - take notes

Moderator - run the session

Participants - ask questions, make observations

Rat-hole Watcher - avoids breaking protocol or wasting time

Work Models

Work models are a graphical way of representing the results of a CI

Generated during group interpretation session, after primary data collection

A concrete set of deliverables that allows the design team to agree upon a concrete understanding and representation

Distills the important contextual aspects of the design scenario

Five Kinds of Work Models

FLOW - Direction of communication and coordination

SEQUENCE - Detailed sequence of work steps

ARTIFACT - Physical objects that support the work

CULTURE - External influences

PHYSICAL - Layout of the work environment


Flow Model

Focuses on the role of different users, and how they communicate and coordinate to get the work done

Each flow model is generated from a specific individual perspective

Includes the places where communication happens, the artifacts used for communication, and breakdowns in communication that negatively impact work

Flow Model: Secretary


Flow Model: Documentation Writer


Sequence Model

“Low-level, step-by-step information on how work is actually done"

Includes the intent behind the action, the trigger that spurred the user to this action, and breakdowns that create problems in execution

Captured at a level of detail appropriate for the focus of the design team

Sequence Model: E-mail Triage


Artifact Model

Documents the physical artifacts used in work

“An artifact model is a drawing or photocopy of the artifact, complete with any handwritten notes”

During the CI, interviewers should inquire into the structure, content, presentation and usage of the artifact, as well as any breakdowns in its current use

Artifact Model: Personal Calender


Cultural Model

“Work takes place in a culture, which defines expectations, desires, policies, values, and the whole approach people take to work”

Revealed in the language used to describe work, the tone of the place, the policies, and the influence of the overall organization

Influencers are the individuals, formal groups or abstract principles that influence the work of specific people

Cultural Model: Developer


Physical Model

Documents the physical environment where work happens

Includes the organization of space, the grouping of people, and their movement in the space

Focuses on those aspects relevant to the work, and not on complete fidelity

Physical Model: Computer Lab


Affinity DiagramsAffinity Diagrams are generated during a full-day

group session

Each note generated from group interpretation is

copied to a post-it

The notes are hierarchically organized into themes,

according to the focus of the project

Usually done in a chaotic fashion, with design team

members running back and forth with post-its and

yelling ideas to each other

Source:http://interactivecalendar.pbwiki.com/Affinity+Diagram

Consolidating Work Models

Consolidating work models across different users

and interviews allows the design team to see

common patterns

Some observations may be missed during an

interview - by consolidating several, we can

achieve better coverage

Reduces the likelihood of bias by one idiosyncratic

user or interview

Only done for important and/or relevant models

Consolidating Work Models

Model Group Abstract

Physical Roles Responsibilities, Communications, Breakdowns

Sequence Tasks Triggers, Activities, Intents

Artifact Roles Parts, Structure, Intent, Usage

Physical Work Spaces Places, Structure, Movement Patterns

Cultural Influencers Influences

Example: Consolidating the Flow Model

Select 6-9 flow models

List responsibilities and roles of each person, group and place

Group similar roles, and provide a generic name

List the abstracted responsibilities for each role

List the abstracted communications and artifacts used between each role

Include any observed breakdowns

Go back to the individual flow models, and include any important roles,

responsibilities or flows not covered already

Assignment #1

Assignment 1: Observation

Choose a Partner and Focus

Conduct Two Contextual Interviews

Generate Five Work Models

Generate Scenarios and Personas

Write it up and turn it in!

Deadline is February 12th

More details on course home page

For Next Time

We will start with an in-class exercise on

conducting an contextual interview - be

prepared!

Start working on Assignment 1: Observation

Readings about Scenarios and Personas

Make sure you sign the class sign-up sheet

In-class Exercise

FOCUS: You are enlisted to develop an improved tool for giving class presentations

Who are your users?

Where is the workplace?

During the next class, I will be your interview subject. Come prepared to conduct a contextual interview, and to take notes (bring index cards or a small notepad)