1. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Understanding Users: Qualitative Research Cooper 4

2. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Topics Qualitative vs. Quantitative Qualitative vs. Quantitative Qualitative Explains Qualitative Explains Qualitative Provides Qualitative Provides Qualitative Benefits Qualitative Benefits Types of Qualitative Research Types of Qualitative Research

3. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Topics Stakeholders Defined Stakeholders Defined Stakeholder Interviews Stakeholder Interviews Subject Matter Experts (SME) Interviews Subject Matter Experts (SME) Interviews User And Customer Interviews User And Customer Interviews User Interviews User Interviews User Observation/Field Studies User Observation/Field Studies

4. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Topics Literature Reviews Literature Reviews Competitive Audits/Analysis Competitive Audits/Analysis Conducting Interviews Conducting Interviews Improving on Contextual Inquiry Improving on Contextual Inquiry Identifying Candidates Identifying Candidates Ethnographic Interviews Ethnographic Interviews

5. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Topics Basic Interview Methods Basic Interview Methods Basic Interview Questions Basic Interview Questions Post Interview Post Interview Other Research Other Research Usability and User Testing Usability and User Testing Questions & Discussion Questions & Discussion

6. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Qualitative vs. Quantitative Qualitative explains Qualitative explains Quantitative counts Quantitative counts Statistics are quantitative Statistics are quantitative Human behavior is too complex for quantitative Human behavior is too complex for quantitative

7. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Qualitative Explains How existing products are used How existing products are used The domain for the product use The domain for the product use –Technical –Business –Environmental –Vocabulary of the domain –Social aspects of the domain

8. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Qualitative Provides Creditability and authority to design team Creditability and authority to design team Provide common understanding of Provide common understanding of –User concerns –Domain issues Empowers decision making Empowers decision making

9. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Qualitative Benefits Faster Faster Less expensive Less expensive Flexible Flexible More useful answers More useful answers Reveals current problems Reveals current problems Identifies basic goals and current tasks Identifies basic goals and current tasks Explains broader aspects of product use Explains broader aspects of product use

10. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Types of Qualitative Research Stakeholder interviews Stakeholder interviews Subject matter experts (SME) interviews Subject matter experts (SME) interviews User and customer interviews User and customer interviews User observation/field studies User observation/field studies Literature reviews Literature reviews Competitive audits/analysis Competitive audits/analysis

11. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Stakeholders Defined Key members of organization Key members of organization –Managers –Engineering –Marketing –Sales –Communications –Customer support External External

12. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Stakeholder Interviews Primary vision of the product Primary vision of the product Budget Budget Schedule Schedule Technical constraints Technical constraints Business drivers Business drivers Perceptions of users Perceptions of users

13. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Subject Matter Experts (SME) Interviews SMEs are expert users SMEs are expert users Knowledgeable, but not designers Knowledgeable, but not designers Necessary in specialized designs Necessary in specialized designs Access throughout the entire design process Access throughout the entire design process

14. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu User And Customer Interviews Customer and user may be different people Customer and user may be different people Identify goals Identify goals Elicit frustrations with current processes and tools Elicit frustrations with current processes and tools Understand the purchasing decision process Understand the purchasing decision process Installation, maintenance and management Installation, maintenance and management Domain issues Domain issues

15. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu User Interviews Problems and frustrations with current system or process Problems and frustrations with current system or process Context of use Context of use Patterns of user behavior Patterns of user behavior Domain knowledge Domain knowledge Understanding of current goals and tasks Understanding of current goals and tasks

16. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu User Observation/Field Studies People are inaccurate in self description People are inaccurate in self description Observation is crucial Observation is crucial Video and audio taping can be useful Video and audio taping can be useful

17. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Literature Reviews Product or domain specific Product or domain specific Existing versions or competing products Existing versions or competing products Marketing materials Marketing materials Existing research Existing research White papers White papers Business and industry journals Business and industry journals Trade publications Trade publications

18. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Competitive Audits/Analysis Examine existing products Examine existing products Failed approaches or products Failed approaches or products Expert/user reviews of competing products Expert/user reviews of competing products

19. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Conducting Interviews Master/apprentice model Master/apprentice model Context Context Partnership Partnership Interpretation Interpretation Focus Focus

20. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Improving on Contextual Inquiry Keep it short Keep it short Use smaller design teams Use smaller design teams Identify goals first Identify goals first Look beyond business contexts Look beyond business contexts

21. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Identifying Candidates Get a diverse sample of users Get a diverse sample of users Persona hypothesis Persona hypothesis –What sort of people are the users? –How might their needs and behaviors vary? –What ranges of behaviors are there? –What is the range of environments?

22. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Identifying Candidates Based on behavior, not demographics Based on behavior, not demographics Vary by product type Vary by product type Business users are different than consumers Business users are different than consumers Business roles frequently map to jobs Business roles frequently map to jobs

23. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Identifying Candidates Consumer roles map to lifestyles Consumer roles map to lifestyles Identify behavioral variables Identify behavioral variables Domain vs. technical expertise Domain vs. technical expertise Environmental considerations Environmental considerations

24. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Ethnographic Interviews Gets stakeholder involvement Gets stakeholder involvement Early phase interviews are exploratory Early phase interviews are exploratory Mid-phase interviews identify patterns of use Mid-phase interviews identify patterns of use Late-phase interviews confirm observations Late-phase interviews confirm observations

25. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Basic Interview Methods Interview where the action is Interview where the action is Avoid a fixed set of questions Avoid a fixed set of questions Use goal related questions Use goal related questions –Opportunity –Goals –Priorities –Information

26. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Basic Interview Questions System oriented questions System oriented questions –Function –Frequency –Preference –Failure –Expertise

27. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Basic Interview Questions Workflow oriented questions Workflow oriented questions –Process –Occurrence and recurrence –Exception

28. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Basic Interview Questions Attitude oriented questions Attitude oriented questions –Aspiration –Avoidance –Motivation

29. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Basic Interview Methods Goals first, tasks second Goals first, tasks second Don’t let the user design Don’t let the user design Don’t discuss technology Don’t discuss technology Encourage storytelling Encourage storytelling Ask for demonstrations Ask for demonstrations Avoid leading questions Avoid leading questions

30. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Post Interview Meet with other team members Meet with other team members Compare notes Compare notes Identify and discuss trends Identify and discuss trends Review old notes Review old notes Create a binder and file interview notes Create a binder and file interview notes

31. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Other Research Focus groups Focus groups –Standard technique in product marketing –Good at eliciting product information –Weak at describing how products are used –Tend towards consensus in groups

32. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Other Research Demographics Demographics –Age –Education –Income –Location Market segmentation Market segmentation

33. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Usability and User Testing Focus on measurable characteristics Focus on measurable characteristics Requires a design artifact Requires a design artifact Effective at testing Effective at testing –Naming –Organization –First time use –Effectiveness

34. William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu Questions & Discussion