Methods
Contextual Inquiry
Facts:
See also: Context of Use Analysis, Interviews, User surveys, Field observations
Lifecycle stages: User research
Contributors: Cathy Herzon, Donn DeBoard, Chauncey Wilson, Nigel Bevan. Some content adopted from UsabilityNet entry by Patrik Burvall.
Version: 1/2010
Contextual inquiry is a semi-structured interview method to obtain information about the context of use, where users are first asked a set of standard questions and then observed and questioned while they work in their own environments.
Because users are interviewed in their own environments, the analysis data is more realistic than laboratory data. Contextual inquiry is based on a set of principles that allow it to be molded to different situations. This technique is generally used at the beginning of the design process and is good for getting rich information about work practices, the social, technical, and physical environments, and user tools.
The four principles of contextual inquiry are:
- Focus - Plan for the inquiry, based on a clear understanding of your purpose
- Context - Go to the customer's workplace and watch them do their own work
- Partnership - Talk to customers about their work and engage them in uncovering unarticulated aspects of work
- Interpretation - Develop a shared understanding with the customer about the aspects of work that matter
The results of contextual inquiry can be used to define requirements, improve a process, learn what is important to users and customers, and just learn more about a new domain to inform future projects.
Read More About It
Beyer, H. & Holtzblatt, K. (1998). Contextual Design: Defining Customer-Centered Systems. San Francisco, CA: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.
Gaffney, G. (2004). Contextual enquiry – A primer.
Holtzblatt, K., Wendell, J. B., & Wood, S. (2005). Rapid contextual design: A how-to guide to key techniques for user-centered design. San Francisco, CA: Morgan Kaufmann.
Rampoldi-Hnilo, L. & English, J.(2004).Remote Contextual Inquiry: A Technique to Improve Enterprise Software. Boxes and Arrows.
Whiteside, J. Bennett, J., & Holtzblatt, H. (1988). Usability engineering: Our experience and evaluation. In M. Helander (Ed.). Handbook of Human-Computer Interaction. New York, NY: Elsevier Science Publishing. 791-817.
