Contextual Inquiry and Analysis Methodology—— 背景研究 & 分析方法

1、Some usability Methods

• Contextual inquiry
• Contextual Analysis (Design)
• Paper prototype 【原型】
• Think-aloud protocols 【出声思维法】 
• Heuristic Evaluation 【启发式 评估】

 

2、Contextual inquiry

• Interpretive【解释性的】 field reserach method
• Depends on conversations with users in context of their work
• Used to define requirements plans and designs
  • Discover the real requirements of the work
• Drives the creative process
  • In orignial design
  • In considering new features or functionality 【功能性】

　　2.1. Context

• Definition: The interrelated conditions within which something occurs or exists
• Understand work in its natural environment
  • Go to the user
  • Observe real work
  • Use real examples and artifacts ( "Artifact": An object created by human workmanship)
  • Interview while she/he is working
  • More reliable than asking them
• Context exists even when not a "work" activity
  • Use work here just to mean "doing something"
  • Can be home, entertainment, etc. 

　　2.2 Elements of User's Context: Pay Attention to all of these

• User's work space
• User's work
• User's workaround 
• User's work intentions 【意图，目的】
• User's words (language used)
• Tool used
• How people work together
• Business goals
• Orginizational and cultural structure

　　2.3. Why Context?

• Design complete work process
  • Fits into "fabric" 【结构】of entire operations 【业务，操作】
  • Not just "point solutions" to specific problems
• Intergration【整合，融合】
  • Consistency, effectiveness, efficiency, coherent 【一致性、有效性、效率性、连贯性】
• Design from data
  • Not just opinions, negotiation 【谈判】
  • Not just a list of features

 

　　2.4. Key distinctions 【区别】 about CIs

Interviews, Survey, Foucus Groups			Contextual Inquiry
Summary data & abstractions			Ongoing experience & concrete data
What customers say			What users do
Subjective			Objective
Limited by reliability of human memory			Spontaneous, as it happens
What customers think they want			What users actually need

 

3、Who are the targets?

• Users
  • Representative【代表】of different roles
  • Note: may not be people who will be doing the purchasing of the system
• Interviewers ： “Cross-functional” team
  • Designers
  • UI specialists 【专家】
  • Product managers
  • Marketing
  • Technical people

4、Partnership

• Definition: A relationship characterozed by close cppoeration
• Build an equitable relationship with the users
• Suspend your assumptions and beliefs
• Invite the user into the inquiry process

　　4.1. Establishing Partnership

• Share control
• User open-ended qurstions that invite users to talk
  • "What are you doing?"
  • "Is that what you expect?"
  • "Why are you doing?"
• Let the users lead the conversation
• Listen
• Pay attention to communication that is no-valued

 

5、 Some Alternative【可供选择的】 Contextual Inquiry Interview Methods

• Fro intermittent【间歇性的】 tasks
  • In-context cued recall
  • Activity logs
• For uninterruptible【不间断的】 tasks
  • Post-observation【观测】 inquiry
• For extremely【及其，极端】 long or muuti-person tasks
  • Artifact【人工制品】 walkthrough【演练】
• New technology within current work
  • Future Scenario【方案】
Prototype or prior【早期的，优先的，较为重要的】 version exists
• Prototype/Test drive

6、Interview Recoring and Note-taking

• Do record interview
  • Video recordings
  • Screen capture softere with laptop microphone for user
• When to take notes？
  • Note taking can help you pay colser attention
  • Notes leads to faster turn-around【改善，周转】
  • Do not let it interfere【干扰】 with interviewing
    • Usually would use a second person
• How to record?
  • What the user says —— in quotes
  • What the user does —— plain text
  • Your interpretation【解释】 —— in parentheses 【括号】　
  • Write fast

 

7、Analysis

• In the moment：
  • Simultaneous【同时】 data collection and analysis during interview
• Post interview 
  • Using notes, tapes, and transcripts
• Anaiysis by a group
  • Integrates multiple perspectives
  • Creates shared vision
  • Creates share focus
  • Builds teams 
  • Saves time

 

8、Defining the Tasks

• In a real Contextual Inquiry, user decides the tasks
  • Investigate real-world tasks, needs, context
• But you still must decide the focus
  • What tasks you want to oberve
  • That are rlrvant to your product plan

9、Test Tasks

• Task design is difficult part of usability testing
• Representative of "real" tasks
  • Sufficiently【充分的】 realistic【实际的】and compelling【引人注目的】so users are motivated to finish
  • Can let users create their own tasks if relevant【相关的】
• Appropriate difficulty and coverage
  • Shoul last about 2 min. for expert, less than 30 min. for novice【新手】
  • short enough to be finished, but not trivial【微不足道的，琐碎的】
• Tasks not humorous, frivolous【愚蠢的，可笑的，不严肃的】, or offensive【冒犯的，无礼的，攻击性的，令人不适的】
• Easy task first, progressively【逐步的】 harder
  • But better if independent

 

 

 10、Initial Questions for the Users

• Find out the context through initial【最初的】questions
  • When would you normally do this kind of task?
  • Who would be involved in making the desisions?
  • What would influence any decisions?
  • How would you know what to do?
    • What information would you use to helo decide?
• Getting their feelings about the tasks and the context 

 

词汇总结：

1. Contextual 【上下文，背景】
2. inquiry【调查】
3. prototype 【原型】
4. protocols 【协议】
5. Heuristic 【启发式】
6. Evaluation 【 评估】
7. Interpretive【解释性的】
8. functionality 【功能性】
9. interrelated 【相关的】
10. intentions 【意图，目的】
11. fabric【结构】
12. operations 【业务，操作】
13. Consistency【一致性】
14. effectiveness【有效性】
15. efficiency【效率性】
16. coherent 【连贯性】
17. Intergration【整合，融合】
18. Representative【代表】
19. Specialists 【专家】
20. Alternative【可供选择的
21. intermittent【间歇性的】
22. uninterruptible【不间断的】
23. observation【观测】
24. extremely【及其，极端】
25. Artifact【人工制品】
26. walkthrough【演练】
27. Scenario【方案】
28. prior【早期的，优先的，较为重要的】
29. turn-around【改善，周转】
30. interfere【干扰】
31. interpretation【解释】
32. in parentheses 【括号】
33. Simultaneous【同时】
34. Sufficiently【充分的】
35. realistic【实际的】
36. compelling【引人注目的】
37. relevant【相关的】
38. novice【新手】
39. trivial【微不足道的，琐碎的】
40. frivolous【愚蠢的，可笑的，不严肃的】
41. offensive【冒犯的，无礼的，攻击性的，令人不适的】
42. progressively【逐步的】
43. initial【最初的】