Contextual Inquiry Professor: Tapan Parikh TA: Eun Kyoung Choe Lecture #3 - January 29th, : User Interface Design and Development

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 Source: Beyer and Holtzblatt, Contextual Design

Context

Summary vs. Ongoing Experience Retrospective accounts are often summaries “I got to work, checked my 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 , 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 Adapted from Jake Wobbrock

What to Look For Workarounds Mismatches between what people say and do Offhand, under the breath comments Sighs Rolling of the eyes Confessions Adapted from Jake Wobbrock

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 Adapted from Jake Wobbrock

Stages of a Contextual Interview Interview / Warm Up Transition Observe Behavior Share Interpretation Refine Interpretation Wrap-up Adapted from Jake Wobbrock

Focus

Establish a Focus Establishing a project focus keeps the project team aligned towards relevant questions Asking 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 Adapted from Jake Wobbrock

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 Adapted from Jake Wobbrock

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 Source: Beyer and Holtzblatt, Contextual Design

Flow Model: Documentation Writer Source: Beyer and Holtzblatt, Contextual Design

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: Triage Source: Beyer and Holtzblatt, Contextual Design

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 Source: Beyer and Holtzblatt, Contextual Design

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 Source: Beyer and Holtzblatt, Contextual Design

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 Source: Beyer and Holtzblatt, Contextual Design

Affinity Diagrams Affinity 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:

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 ModelGroupAbstract PhysicalRolesResponsibilities, Communications, Breakdowns SequenceTasksTriggers, Activities, Intents ArtifactRolesParts, Structure, Intent, Usage PhysicalWork SpacesPlaces, Structure, Movement Patterns CulturalInfluencersInfluences

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)