2. Contextual Inquiry
Provides reliable, detailed knowledge of what people
actually do and what they really care about
3. Contextual Inquiry
A set of principles, not steps
Context
Partnership
Interpretation
Focus
4. The principle of Context
What people say they do
And what they actually do
Are different
5. What is Context?
Get as close to the work as possible
Go to the customer
Interview while they are working
Be grounded in real objects and events
Pay attention to non-verbal communication
Ongoing work versus summary experience
People tend to give summaries
Ongoing work is never summarized
Stay concrete, don’t abstract
Ongoing work. “Show me…”
Recent retrospective account . “When was the last time you…”
Look at artifacts
6. The principle of Partnership
People know
everything about
what they do…
They just can’t
tell you
7. What is Partnership?
Partnership as relationship
The user is the expert
So follow their lead
Help the users articulate and Withdrawal
see their work practice
Avoid ineffective interview styles
The Traditional Interviewer
The Expert/Novice
The Guest/Host Return
Apprenticeship is the preferred model
Listen, learn, be humble, don’t judge
And assume that people do things for a reason
Return to the ongoing work
• It always keeps you in the apprenticeship model
8. The principle of Interpretation
It’s not the facts
that matter…
It’s the
interpretation of
the facts
9. What is Interpretation?
Interpretation is the data
A shared understanding of what is going on Customer
Offer interpretations
• Don’t ask open-ended Fact
questions
Listen for the “No” tune the interpretation
Huh?
Hypothesis
Umm... could be
“They” would like it
“Yes” comes with elaboration Implication
Watch for non-verbal clues
Check your design ideas as they occur
Design
Idea
10. The principle of Focus
“What you know, you know,
what you don't know, you don't
know.
This is true wisdom.”
- Confucius
11. What is Focus?
Know your purpose entering focus
We all have an entering focus what
• A set of preconceived assumptions and beliefs we make
Drive interviews with your project focus up
• A clear understanding of what work you are trying to
what we assume
understand about the user’s
Expand your focus world
what we see
• Challenge your assumptions, probe the unexpected
Probe to expand focus
Surprises and contradictions
“Nods” — What you assume is true
What you do not know
The problem behind solutions
Share
Interpretations for validation what we miss
Design ideas for co-design user’s world
13. How to get started
It doesn’t take many interviews
3-5 people who do the same activity can characterize markets of millions
Rule of thumb for numbers of interviewees
• 4 for each work role; 3 in each significant context (e.g., skill level, tech savvy)
• 3 organizations of each significant type (e.g., size, geography)
Make the data you bring back actionable
Use a process like an interpretation session with other people
Create session notes (virtual Post-Its) and diagrams you can use to…
Build an affinity diagram and other work models as appropriate
Reveals underlying pattern: intent, strategy, structure, and scope
Shows what matters to the entire population, keeping variations that matter
Eliminates focusing on individual users
Provides real data for design thinking, personas, scenarios, user stories
14. Put the customer at the center
of the design
Dave Flotree, Program Manager
dave.flotree@incontextdesign.com