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Beyer, Holtzblatt - Contextual Design

1. contextual inquiry: the idea is that you learn more about how people actually do things, both the problems and smooth interactions, much more successfully if you are asking them questions in the context (while watching them in their workplace) of the interface that you want to evaluate.
1. the contextual interview
1. watch a user (or team) perform the work that needs analysis. interviewer is like an apprentice attempting to figure out all the relevant details by letting the user teach the interviewer about their method. later interviewers are able to interpret data in the context of their shared understanding of the problem domain.
2. ground analysis in detailed, trustworthy customer data.
3. seeing the work reveals what matters
4. seeing the work reveals the details
2. four principles of contextual inquiry
1. context
1. context tells us to get as close as possible to the ideal situation of being physically present. staying in context enables us to gather ongoing experience rather than summary experience and concrete data rather than abstract data.
2. partnership
1. balance of control between interviewer and interviewee allows a conversation between the two to unfold. This let's both participants have enough control to direct the interview towards interesting phenomena.
3. interpretation
1. use the data from interview to figure out a design solution by interpreting how that solution applies to the to the actual data. this can be done done effectively during a contextual interview. the interviewee will fine tune observations.
4. focus – not in reading

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