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Contextual InquiryProductCamp Vancouver 2012
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Dave Flotree, Program Manager
978.823.0100
2352 Main Street, Suite 302
Concord, MA 01742
Copyright © 2011 InContext Enterprises Inc. All rights reserved.
www.incontextdesign.com
Using Contextual Inquiry To Understand Customer Needs
ProductCamp Vancouver 2012
Contextual Inquiry
Provides reliable, detailed knowledge of what people
actually do and what they really care about
Contextual Inquiry
A set of principles, not steps
Context
Partnership
Interpretation
Focus
The principle of Context
What people say they do
Are different
And what they actually do
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
The principle of Partnership
People know everything about what they do…
They just can’t
tell you
What is Partnership?
Partnership as relationship The user is the expert
So follow their lead
Help the users articulate and see their work practice
Avoid ineffective interview styles
The Traditional Interviewer
The Expert/Novice
The Guest/Host
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
Withdrawal
Return
The principle of Interpretation
It’s the
interpretation of the facts
It’s not the facts that matter…
What is Interpretation?
Interpretation is the data
A shared understanding of what is going on
Offer interpretations
• Don’t ask open-ended
questions
Listen for the “No”
Huh?
Umm... could be
“They” would like it
“Yes” comes with elaboration
Watch for non-verbal clues
Check your design ideas as they occur
Fact
Hypothesis
Implication
Design Idea
Customer
tune the interpretation
The principle of Focus
“What you know, you know,
what you don't know, you don't know.
This is true wisdom.”
- Confucius
What is Focus?
Know your purpose
We all have an entering focus
• A set of preconceived assumptions and beliefs
Drive interviews with your project focus
• A clear understanding of what work you are trying to
understand
Expand your focus
• 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
Design ideas for co-design what we miss
what we see
what we make
up
user’s world
entering focus
what we assume about the user’s
world
Contextual Inquiry
Context
Partnership
Interpretation
Focus
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
How to get started
