Conducting and Analyzing a Contextual Interview ICS 205 Spring 2002

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Conducting and Analyzing a Contextual Interview
ICS 205 Spring 2002

• Tom Herring
• Ratiya Komalarachun

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Introduction

• After K. Holtzblatt and S. Jones, Human-Computer
  Interactions Toward the Year 2000, by R. M.
  Baecker, J. Grudin, W. A. S. Buxton, and S.
  Greenberg, pp. 241-253,
• Contextual inquiry arose from the need to build a
  general purpose computer system which would be
  successful in a varied set of user cultures. A
  system includes hardware, software, services and
  customer support.

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Specific Challenges

• Identify a process which supports people who do
  similar work but operate in significantly
  different businesses and national cultures.
  
• Identify a process which efficiently gathers user
  information within limited time constraints.
• Identify a means which accurately translates
  users work information into a form that helps
  Engineering design a system that meets our goals.

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Comprehensive and Consistent Vision

• The technique involves all the team members
  (hardware and software engineers, people and
  product managers, writers, marketing and customer
  support personnel).
• Participation by all these members fosters team
  work and the development of a shared and
  consistent vision.

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Contextual Inquiry Principles

• Not a set of steps or a walkthrough checklist
• A process, guided by
• ? Context
• ? Partnership
• ? Focus

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Context -- Rich in Information

• Design information is presented in its most
  comprehensive form when we speak with people
  during the performance of their tasks.
• By way of contrast, design information is
  presented primarily as abstractions when people
  are queried off the job, losing important
  information in the process.

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Context -- Teasing the Data

• People do not usually think about their work
  process and the impact of computer tools on their
  work.
• Computer designers are able to tease design
  information from the users most effectively when
  the user is actually performing their task(s).

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Context -- Detail vs. Summary

• When asked about a computer system, users will
  give abstract, summary information.
• When queried while performing a task on a
  computer system, users remember much more detail
  about the systems positive and negative
  attributes.

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Context -- Finding Touchstones

• Touchstones help people recall their work
  experiences.
• Touchstones are crib sheets taped to a wall or
  computer monitors, documentation that is actually
  opened and used, documents used in meetings, and
  other artifacts people use to support the
  performance of their tasks.

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Context -- The Principle

• Dialogue with users in their work context.
• Tease design information from users while they
  are in process to gain the greatest level of
  detail.
• Be aware of touchstones and the roles they may
  play in the performance of tasks.

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Partnership -- Sharing Information

• Context leads us to dialogue.
• Partnership with users makes this dialogue
  effective, producing quality information.
• Information is shared, not extracted, through
  this approach.

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Partnership -- Expert Users

• Acknowledging users as the experts and the source
  of understanding
• - makes the designer the student questions are
  expected, then, from the designer
• - designers are tempted to less interpretation
  given their status as students of the user

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Partnership -- Shared Control

• Detecting the difference between dialogue and
  interrogation (free flow vs. start, stop, wait
  for the next question from the designer).
• Open ended questions, recognizing the users
  expert status, communicate shared control to the
  user.

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Partnership -- Reflect and Engage

• The designer engages the user in a
  conversational, stream of consciousness
  discussion.
• The designer then reflects upon what has been
  shared, integrating it into the evolving
  understanding of the task.
• This process is repeated, allowing both partners
  to steer the conversation.

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Partnership -- The Principle

• By assuming the roles of expert in the
  respective areas of task performance (User) and
  computer system design (Designer) who partner to
  jointly create a new design, we optimize the
  quality and quantity of shared information about
  the new designs requirements.

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Arranging the Visit

• Identifying Customers
• - the business or industry sector we expect to
  buy our products
• - the individuals that will interact with our
  system
• Marketing earns its keep by getting the team
• in to visit an important customer

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Preparing the Framework

• Once a customer contact is established, we
  prepare our visit objectives and schedule before
  we call our contact.
• We prepare for the visit in all respects,
  including necessary hardware (video equipment,
  etc.).
• We are considerate of the customers business
  needs.

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Conducting the Interview

• Focus -- select people who
• - use the system directly (users)
• - manage the users
• - receive the systems products (recipients)
• - test the system and interface with management
  with the results/ make purchasing decisions
• - use a competitive (similar) system

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Conducting the Interview

• Focus -- large work domains require segmentation
  of the interview team and process
• - breakdown the organizations work domain into
  chunks and perform several sequential visits as
  necessary
• - identify key people for each visit segment

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Conducting the Interview

• Focus -- focus keeps us on track with who we
  interview, keeping costs down and speeding the
  process while minimizing the impact to the
  customers organization.
• Subsequent visits -- focus directs the decision
  of whom we will interview at the next visit

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Conducting the Interview

• Multiple Interviewers are beneficial
• - different perspectives (engineering,
  documentation, service, training) combine to
  present a complete picture to the team
• - team integration of data naturally includes
  information gained from the interfaces with the
  other perspectives.

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Setting the Focus Before the Interviews

• Discussing about the focus for this visit.
• Discussing about what aspects of the work will be
  probed.
• Entering assumptions and focus

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Setting the Focus before the Interviews

• Making notes on key areas.
• Clarifying its purpose.
• Discussing these notes with the user to focus on
  the conversation.

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Structure of a Contextual Interview

• A typical Contextual Interview
• Introduction Establishing a relationship
• Ongoing work inquiry
• The wrap-up

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Introduction Establishing a Relationship

• Introducing oneself to users.
• Assuring them for the confidential.
• Asking for the permission to record the
  interview.
• Informing them the purpose of this visit.

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Introduction Establishing a Relationship

• Informing how long it will take.
• Asking them to give the overview of their works.
• Discussing what specific work they are doing
  during the visit.
• Asking for the opinion about the tools they are
  using.

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Ongoing Work Inquiry

• Goals
• To articulate a coherent understanding of the
  users work process.
• To uncover the needs for the work
• To uncover what supports or hinders the work.
• To build a shared understanding of users work.

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Ongoing Work Inquiry

• Asking Questions and sharing ideas as users work.
• Watching them in silence.
• Sharing our interpretations and design ideas.

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Ongoing Work Inquiry

• Suggesting a break or end a session as needed.
• Ensuing that users are equally involved in the
  partnership.
• Letting users lead the discussion by keeping the
  questions open-ended.

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Ongoing Work Inquiry

• Redirecting the conversation as needed.
• Asking about workarounds.
• Bringing out assumptions that we have when users
  refer to that area.

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The Wrap-Up

• Summarizing what we learned by referring to our
  notes.
• Discussing any questions that might occur during
  the interview.
• Validating or invalidating our assumptions.

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The Wrap-Up

• Giving some tips about the software.
• Asking them if we can contact them later for
  further questions.
• Inviting them to contact us if they think of
  something after we leave.
• Thanking them for their times.

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Variations in the Use of Contextual Inquiry

• Collecting information about work and system use
  from people as they work.
• Maximizing the information.
• Spending 2-3 hours.
• Using the principles of context to design
  alternative information collection schemes.

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Analyzing Contextual Inquiry Information

• Interpretative process.
• Results in a shared understanding of users work
  and system use.
• Build an understanding of user and organizational
  work practices, a system vision, and specific
  design ideas.

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Analyzing Contextual Inquiry Information

• Analysis taking place both during and after the
  interviews.
• Integrate multiple perspectives.
• Create a shared vision of the system and a shared
  focus for subsequent interviews.

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Analyzing Contextual Inquiry Information

• Consist of 5 parts
• Transcribing the Interview
• Fixing and Evolving the Focus of Analysis
• Interpreting the Information
• Recording Understanding
• Structuring the Understanding

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Transcribing the Interview

• It is important to transcript notes and tapes
  while the interview is still fresh in memory.
• Reviewing the interview helps us refocus for the
  next set of interviews.
• We may include comments, insights, or questions
  that arise.

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Fixing and Evolving the Focus of Analysis

• It is important to clarify our focus before
  beginning analysis.
• What is our purpose of design concern?
• Our focus directs what we include and exclude.
• Some brought up questions might be useful.

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Interpreting the Information

• Bringing the focus to the information guides our
  interpretation.
• Changing the focus, different aspects are
  revealed.
• Discussing about users work and the system.

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Interpreting the Information

• Using and reusing the users language.
• Moving back and forth between the specific
  instance being examined and the whole session.

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Interpreting the Information

• The reusable knowledge provides us with a
  framework
• Work structure or work flow
• Problems accomplishing the work
• Problems in system use
• Disruptions caused by the system
• Workarounds that are used to avoid disruption
  from the system
• Transparency of the system
• Aspects of work process and system use that
  support work

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Recording Understanding

• As we interpret the text, we record our
  understandings.
• Using the a coding scheme.
• Using the Post-it or note cards.
• Reviewing each conducted interview one at a time.

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Recording Understandings

• What we record
• A description of users work
• The flow or structure of the work
• A description of problems in their work
• A description of problems with the computer tools
• Design ideas that emerge from our understanding
  of their work
• Questions for subsequent interviews

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Structuring the Understanding

• Working effectively with large amount of
  information requires some structuring.
• Using a technique to support inductive thinking.
• Dividing all Post-its among team members.

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Structuring the Understanding

• Grouping them conceptually.
• Continuing grouping them until stable.
• Reviewing each group and assigning the name.

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Using Contextual Inquiry Throughout the System
Development Cycle

• Each phase of development has key questions and
  tasks to which engineering teams must respond.
• The first phase development question
• What should we build?
• Determine a product strategy and product
  requirement.

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Using Contextual Inquiry Throughout the System
Development Cycle

• What is the users work?
• What tools are currently used?
• What works well and why?
• What are the problems that we can address with
  our technology?

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Using Contextual Inquiry Throughout the System
Development Cycle

• The second phase of development
• Focused on project planning and preliminary
  design.
• Used contextual inquiry with paper prototyping to
  define the system work model.
• Used Metaphor Workshops, scenario building, and
  user participation in design meetings.

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Using Contextual Inquiry Throughout the System
Development Cycle

• The third phase of development
• Include design and coding of the implementation.
• Used contextual inquiry to codesign the system
  work model and user interface with users.

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Using Contextual Inquiry Throughout the System
Development Cycle

• The forth phase of development
• Involving external field test of the system.
• Conducting contextual inquiry sessions with users
  in their environment while they are using the
  system for their work.

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Using Contextual Inquiry Throughout the System
Development Cycle

• Throughout the development cycle, user
  collaboration and system design are part of an
  ongoing, iterative process.
• The results of the inquiries are incorporated
  into the design of the system.