Remote contextual Inquiry
I found this article really interesting, but it can be quite technical sometimes so it took me a few read to understand it fully. After that, I decided to note the most important parts for me, to make a clear summary to start the next project with a solid foundation.
Remote Contextual Inquiry captures the computer screen of a person working with their version of the software on their own computer. The user in question completes typical tasks through the website and talks aloud as he/she does so. RCI is particularly useful for examining end user behavior and software customizations.It allows us to identify the end user’s task flow and the features and functions that may already be available to the user, but are not being used. Is cost-effective while yielding rich contextual information about users’ behaviors within their desktop environment.
It opens a direct dialog between those who create the software and those who use it, allowing developers and interested parties to observe user behavior and to ask and answer questions without having to leave the office. ( Interactions with supporting software also can be captured, including email clients, file folder systems, and data storage systems).
It offers great opportunities, especially when:
A project requires feedback from regional or international users.
Project cost is an issue (& it still allows greater contextual information).
Preparation time is limited.
Participants have limited time. It can take place in as little as 30 minutes.
Recognize fields that have been hidden or disabled.
Getting to know if a field had been removed from a page or if it was unnecessary for their business process.
Identify particular words and labels that are ambiguous or misleading.
To discover if end users know (or not) what a word refers to.
Identify customized functionality and features.
To discover if end users may need printing capabilities, for example, and consultants may have custom-created the functionality to do so. In addition, new fields are sometimes added to store data that is customer-specific.
Evaluate possible layout changes.
Usability professionals can learn about which tasks are primary, which are secondary, and the UI elements that get in the way. The content and amount of default data that appears in a form can be captured, as well as the personalization that make the user more efficient.
Obtain real-life baseline metrics.
General time-on-task measures can be recorded and find the number of mouse clicks required to perform tasks.
Identify non-intuitive learnability issues.
Participants can describe learnability issues and can comment on the level of training that they received.
You need to understand the target markets for your product so that you can obtain representative data from appropriate market segments.
This technique applies to software that is already deployed to a customer base.(The pros and cons of this technique must be weighed against a more traditional usability method).
You must always ask and receive permission to record audio or video with your participants and let them know where the info is gonna go or where will be used at.
It is helpful for researchers to understand the functionality of the product.
This technique is not a full contextual inquiry, supplemental documentation could be gathered to further understand the environment (request that the user take a few pictures of her work area, desk, and surroundings).
Steps I will be following for the next project:
Do some very deep research process to choose the business I find interesting and suitable for an on-boarding web app.
Do an investigation of the different end users of the website.
Define the target market to later collect good data from that segment of the market.
Conduct very well thought interviews with the appropriate user to gather the richest amount of data possible.
Do some brainstorming to create some interviews.
Do an interview-call where I define some tasks for the end users to perform while they talk aloud explaining every action and thought. (After asking for permission to record the whole interview)
Analyse the data gathered from interviews and start a second brainstorming to generate some ideas.
Iterate if necessary, no pain no gain!
