Assignment #1: Observation
Assigned: January 29th, 2008
Due: February 12th, 2008
Objective: In this assignment, you will be conducting a contextual interview with a prospective set of users, and deriving a set of work models, scenarios and personas based on that experience.
What to Do:
1) Form a group of three people from the class to work with.
2) Select a Focus for your contextual inquiry. If you already have an idea for a topic that you would like to work on for the final project, you are encouraged to start investigating that now. Other example foci include:
3) Identify 2 different kinds of users. Choose an individual to interview for each type, and ask their permission to interview them. If they agree, set an appointment to interview them in a location where they currently perform the task that you wish to study. Before starting the interview, have them complete the informed consent form. If you also intend to capture video/audio/photos, have them also complete a record release form.
4) Conduct the contextual interview, making sure to follow the master and apprentice relationship model outlined in Beyer and Holtzblatt. One of you should be the apprentice, and the other two should take notes. You can also use a voice recorder (with the subject's permission). Alternate roles for each subject. Each interview should last at least 90 minutes.
5) During a group interpretation session, generate an affinity diagram and each of the five work models for one of your users, as described by Beyer and Holtzblatt. These should be at a level of detail appropriate to the task you are studying and the data that you have collected. Do this as soon after the interview as possible (up to a maximum of 48 hours), to make sure that the observations are fresh in your mind.
6) List a set of hypothetical usage scenarios that you would like to support in your eventual design.
7) Create at least 2 personas, representing each kind of potential user. Typically, each persona will consist of a textual description, supplemented by graphics if necessary. The persona should include details like their age, education, professional history, access to technology, idealized goals and current difficulties with regard to the task in question.
What To Turn In:
The preferred method of turn-in is to create a dedicated page on the course Wiki, including each of the following components:
1) Cover sheet including yourself and your partner's name, and your chosen focus. Also include 1-2 sentences about what each person contributed to the assignment. [1/2 page]
2) Summary of each contextual interview, including the person's name, approximate age (20s, 30s, etc.), job title, the location of the interview, who conducted and who took notes, how long it took to complete, etc. For privacy, don't use people's real names or any other uniquely identifying information. Also, include any difficulties you had or surprises you encountered in conducting the contextual interview [1 page].
3) A picture of your final affinity diagram [1 page].
4) A copy of each work model that you generated. Use one page for each model, aiming for the level of detail shown in the examples in the book. These can be done either using pen and paper, or a drawing program on a computer. On a separate page, include a 1-2 paragraph description of each model, including key points, surprises, potential ambiguities, and any difficulties you encountered in constructing the model. [7 pages]
5) The list of scenarios that you would eventually like to support in your future design. One paragraph for each scenario should be enough. Aim to document between 4-6 scenarios. [2-3 pages]
6) The list of personas that you will use to motivate your eventual design. A little less than a page should be enough for each persona. Aim to document between 2-4 personas. [2-3 pages]
7) Reflect on the experience of doing a Contextual Inquiry. What was easy? What was hard? What did you expect? What was surprising? How often did you ask a question? Did you ask too many? Did you ask too few? What types of questions worked best? Which lead to poor answers? Which lead to in-depth answers? Which work models were difficult to produce? Which were easy? Which helped most in developing your understanding? Which helped least? [1 page]
The total length of your report should be less than 15 pages, including 5 pages of work models. Brevity, clarity and focus on the goals of the assignment will be rewarded. Writing just for the sake of it will not. Illustrative graphics are welcome and encouraged!
E-mail a link to your group's project page to me (parikh@ischool) and Eun Kyoung (eunky@ischool) before midnight, Tuesday, February 12th.
Please contact the professor or the class TA using the course mailing list if you have any questions with this assignment.