Interview with Ethnographic: User Interview and Observer According to the practice of design and investigation over the years, the author believes in combining one-on-one interviews and work / lifestyle observation is the designer's equipment, the most direct and effectively acquisition users and their goals. Tools for quantitative data. Ethnographic Interview (WOOD, 1996) technology is a technique combined with integration observation and directional interview. Hugh Beyer and Karen Holtzblatt create a primary river in an interview with a context-related survey. Their technology has quickly advanced in the industry because of good performance, and provides a reliable basis for quantitative user research. In the first four chapters of this book, the context-related design (1998). The context-related survey method is quite close to the methods described herein, but some are somewhat subtle and important.
Context-related surveys in accordance with Beyer and HoltzBlatt, context-related surveys are Based on Master - Apprentice Learning Method: The interviewee as an apprentice observation as a user's users and puts a problem to her. Beyer and Holtzblatt also list four basic laws engaged in human motto: · context: should not interview with user in an empty room, but should be in the usual working environment, or any physical context-related physical context This is very important to contact and observe the user. Observe their operations and inquiry in your own environment, you can reveal a lot of important details in their behavior every day. · Cooperation: Interviews and observations should take a tone to explore and discuss their structural and inter-dimensional interaction in the observation of the work. · Explanation: Most of the designers are from the behavior of the collected users, their environment, and these facts they say in the facts. These facts should be interpreted by designer analysis. Interviewers must pay attention to avoid making assumptions on their own explanations, while different users verify these assumptions. · Focus: Should not interview with a questionnaire or aim to interview, designers need to carefully guide interviews to obtain data related to design topics.
The improved context-related survey contextual investigation has formed a solid atrophic foundation for qualitative research, but as a specific method, some inefficient and limitations, at least the author's view. The following process improved, with the author's experience, can produce more in the research phase of more than half-time, and lay a good foundation for successful design. · Shorten interview process: context-related surveys take all-day and user interviews. The authors found that lasting interviews have enough acquisition of user data, assuming a considerable number of interviews (probably each of the roles or types have 6 carefully selected users). Compared to finding users who wish to spend the whole day, finding multiple users can arrange an hour to be easier and effective. · Use a small design team: context-related surveys take a large design team, and interviews simultaneously, and then fully participate in the progress report meeting. The authors find that one of the same designers will be more effective. This makes the design team to maintain small (two or three), more importantly, this means that the entire team is directly dealing with all interviews, allowing members to analyze and integrated user data. · First identify the target: According to the description of BEYER and HOLTZBLATT, the context-related survey provides the design process based on the task-based design. We recommend that people 's interviews should first identify user objectives associated with the task before determining the task, and scheduled priority. · Beyond business areas: context investigation for commercial products and company environment. Location interviews can be used in the consumer product field, although the focus issue is somewhat different, we will describe it later. The remainder of this chapter provides methods and tricks for preparing and conducting humanography interviews.
The preparation of the humanography interview is a term borrowed from anthropology, which means that the meaning of the system and the cultural study of human culture. In anthropology, ambiguity investigation needs to be integrated into life in the object culture for several years. The chaotic interview draws the spirit of this survey, implemented in the specific and micro level. Its goal is not to try to understand the behavior and social practice of the entire culture, but understand behaviors and practices that people interact with individual products. Identification candidates Since the designer must obtain the entire range of user behavior of the product, it is very important to identify different users' instances and types of different users when planning a series of interviews. Based on the information obtained from the public, theme expert and the literature review, the designer needs to create a hypothesis as the starting point that the users and potential users should interview. Kim Goodwin (2002a) named the character role assumption, which is the first step in identifying and synthesizing the character role, in the next chapter we will discuss in detail the user prototype. Character role assumptions are based on appropriate behavioral differences, but this difference is not only a population statistical, but considers demographic and target markets. The characteristics of the product are significantly different from the establishment of character role assumptions. Because commercial users and consumer users are often very different on behavioral patterns and motivations, they should take different remembers to construct the character role assumption.
Character role assumes that the character role assumption is a preliminary outline of different categories of users (sometimes customers) for users of specific fields. This hypothesis can be used as the foundation of the initial interview scope, with interviews, if the obtained data indicates the user category that is originally not identified, then new interview objects need to be arranged. Character role assumptions try to answer the following three questions at a high level: · Will there be use of these different types of people? · What is the difference between their needs and behavior? · Those behaviors range and environment type need to explore?
The role behavior and needs of the business and consumption areas, and the type of user determined, there is a significant difference between commercial and technical products and consumer products. For commercial products, roles, usually provide significant different types of users defined by tasks and requirements, providing important initial organization principles. For example, in the enterprise portal, we may find the following rough roles: • People who upload and update the content through the portal · People who upload and update the content through the portal · People who conduct technical management to the portal in business and technical contexts, roles often roughly roughly Mapping position description, so by understanding the category of the system user (or potential user), it is easy to obtain a preliminary division of the customer category. Unlike commercial users, consumers do not have specific position descriptions, they tend to use products in a variety of context. Their roles are closer to mapping lifestyle options, for this judgment, consumer users for single products may need to assume multiple roles. For consumer products, roles can generally be better expressive in behavior variables.
Behavioral variables and statistical variables transmit through roles, and the character's role assumes demand recognition can distinguish between variables of different users according to demand and behavior. It is most useful, and it is also the most difficult to adopt a pre-knowledge is behavioral variables: a crossted table of different types of behavior. For example, for an e-commerce program, we can probably identify the following purchases: · Shopping frequency (often - occasionally) · Shopping expectations (keen shopping - hate shopping) · Shopping motives (buy cheap goods - find What you want?
By combining behavioral variables, the category of consumer users can be generally defined, and behavioral variables are very important for identifying business and technology user categories. There are people with the same business role, and there may be different motives to maintain current behavior and expectations for future intended. Behavioral variables can be obtained, however, to be after collecting the user's data. Out of the difficulty of correctly expected behavioral variables before collecting user data, there can be another way to help build character roles, that is, use statistical variables. In planning interviews, market surveys can be used to identify age, region, gender, income, etc. of the product target market. Interview objects should cover the combination of these statistical variables. The field expertise VS technology expertise has an important behavioral difference requires special attention, which is the difference between technical expertise (knowledge of digital technology) and the field expertise (on the knowledge of product-related specific themes). Different users will have different levels of technical expertise. Similarly, some users may have a lack of knowledge in the product sector (for example, accounting knowledge in the general account). Then, according to the product's design object, it is also part of the product design while making technologically easy to use. For products in special fields, if the interface does not provide support for domain knowledge, users in the first-time contact area may always use fewer features. If you have part of the special field product target market when you first touch users, you must pay attention to the support of the field of initial contact.
Environmental factors especially in the case of commercial products, the ultimate reference factors will vary widely because of the user's company's culture. For example, small companies tend to have more people with people between workers, while large companies will have multiple organizers. The following environment variables also need to be considering: They are very different because of different industries and geographical patterns.
Squiring Become a plan When you integrate potential characters, behavioral variables, statistical variables, and environment variables, you need to develop an interview plan and let people responsible for arrangeing users to communicate. For each role, behavioral variable, statistical variables, and environment variables identified in the character assumption, four to six interviews should be conducted (more often need for especially complex areas). However, these interviews can be overlap. Interview with a 20-year-old woman who is keen to shop is very good, this can be performed for three variables: gender, age groups and shopping expectations. Clearly understand the map relationship between interviews and variables, you can control the number of interviews within the manageable range.
Performance Interview When the character's role assumption is completed, and from the interview plan, you have made an interview ready - if you get an interview, you can get an interview! When developing an interview plan, the designer should work closely with the people who can contact the user. In general, through a method of interviewing opportunities through a related matter, it is especially true for business and technical products. If the public cannot help you contact users, you can combine the market or availability survey, specialize in finding the study objects and focus groups. These auxiliary work provide help for consumers who study different statistical types. The difficulty in this way is that the object that is willing to accept your interview in your own or workplace in this way is sometimes difficult. As a choice of consumption products, designers can invite their relatives and friends. This is easier to observe that the receiving interviewer in the natural environment, but has a large limitations in the statistical diversity and behavioral variables we have.
The interview team and the time author prefer two designers to interview, a guiding interview and record a small number of notes, another record detailed comparison (in the middle of the intercom can interact with the role). Each user should be sufficient for an hour unless there is an interview in the consumer or to travel with the product interaction (more time should be expected to be in this case). The group should try to let the daily interviews within 6, so that they have enough time to write reports and develop strategies in the interview clearance, and will not feel fatigue. The complete set of the Pharmacist Interview Plan can be grouped into three completely different, sequential phases. The way to interview every stage has a subtle difference with the last stage, which reflects the increase in user behavior than the user behavior. In the initial interview, focus is often relatively broad, targeting the overall structure and target orientation; while the last focus of the cycle will be more meticulous, focusing on the functionality and task-oriented problems of details.
· Early interviews in order to explore the essence, focusing on the field knowledge from the perspective of users. Usually use broad, free reply, while do not deep diamonds. • The designer began to understand the user's mode and clarified the problem by proposing free answerexia. The problem is more focused on the basic rules, structural and field vocabulary, etc. at this time. · Post-interviews confirmed the previously observed models, further clarifying the role and behavior of the user, and the hypothesis of the task and information demand is the final adjustment. Using a closed problem to collect data, organize the fragmented data material. When you know that you are actually interviewing, if you have the opportunity, you will be helpful to work with the people to arrange for each person to arrange the most suitable interview cycle. In some cases, you may also hope to return, interview with a knowledge-critical object in the beginning and end of the interview cycle.
The basic method of the basic method is very simple, direct and low-tech dependence. Although there is always a small difference between the interviews, you need some time to master, but if you follow the suggestions below, each offenders will have a rich render of user qualitative data. · Interviews in interaction · Do not use fixed problems. · First pay attention to the target, followed by the task · Do not let the user as designers · Do not discuss technology · Inspire story · Require display and tell if you want to induce the question in the back Some of us make more detailed descriptions of these methods
In the interaction site interviews according to the first rules of the context-related survey, there is an important way to interview with the object that is actually used by the product is quite important. This not only allows the interviewer to have a chance to see how the product is used, but also makes the interview team to contact the interaction. It can produce a great comprehension of the product constraints and the user's needs and goals. Close-distance observation environment: This is like peeling through the trails from those who have not mentioned in the interview object. For example, pay attention to the information they need (on the table, the instant stickers of the screen border); insufficient system (CHEAT Sheets) and user manual); the frequency and priority of the task (inbox and outbox) They follow the workflow (memo, charts, calendar). Don't peeking without allowing, but if you see something of interest, ask questions to the interview object.
Do not use a fixed problem set If you use a fixed questionnaire to conduct a humanography interview, you not only have the dangers of alienation interviews, but will make the interviewer miss a lot of valuable user data. The premise of the entire humanography interview (and context-related surveys) is that as an interviewer understands the insufficient understanding of the field, it is not enough to foresee what you need to ask: We must learn what we will talk about what is important. However, there is some type of problem in your brain is very helpful.
Here are some of the target orientation of some reference: • Time: The current activities make you waste time? · Target: What bring a happy day? What is the bad day? · Priority: What is the most important to you? · Information: What helps you make a decision? Another useful problem is the system-oriented problem: • Function: What is your most frequently used product? · Frequency: How many of the products you have? · Preference: What is your favorite product? Which is forced you to go crazy? · Failure: How do you deal with problems? · Expertise: Do you use those shortcuts?
For commercial products, workflow orientation is very helpful: · Process: What is the first thing you did today? After this? · What happens and loops: How long do you do this? What is going to do every week or monthly, but not daily? · Exception: How is a typical day consisted? Which is an uncommon event?
In order to better understand the user's motivation, can you use some attitude orientation? · Expected: What do you think after five years? · Avoid: What are you not to do? What time is you delayed? · Motivation: What are your favorite work (or lifestyle)? What is the first to you?
First of all, pay attention to the objectives, followed by the task and context-related survey, and most other qualitative research methods. For histological interviews, the highest priority is understanding why - different roles of individual motives, and They hope to finally reach the target - not the tasks they perform. Understanding the task is important, and the task should also be carefully recorded. However, these tasks need to be reorganized in the final design to better adapt to user objectives.
Don't let users guide interviews to check the subject instead of checking the problem without expressing solutions. In most cases, these programs are quite good for him, but there is no careful thinking, or they provide user modeling tools for the character role to try to avoid other solutions. That is, if the user has a fun idea, no matter how it is recorded, the user's proposal is grateful, and continue.
Don't discuss technology, like you don't want to treat users as designers, you don't want to treat them as programmers or engineers. For technology products discussed by technical issues, it is necessary to distinguish between related technologies and product related technologies in the field, and stay away from the latter.
Encouraging stories to ask users to ask users to design suggestions, encourage them how to use the product (whether it is a redesigned version, or similar products) experience, how do they use it, what do they think about it? When they used, who they would deal, they will take it where they go, and so on. This type of detailed story is to understand how the user is one of the best ways to associate and interact with the product. Try to get a story about processing typical situations and uncommon situations.
Request to show and tell the concept that is clear about the user's activities and interactions, and it has also solved other problems. Then ask the subject to show products about design issues and talk about or traversal. This can be a domain related article, software interface, a document system, a working environment patrol, and ideal is that all included. Please note that not only these products itself (it is very convenient at this stage camera), but also pays attention to how to describe them. At the same time, we must ensure that sufficient clarity is issued.
Don't induce a particularly avoided question in interviews is to use induction questions. As in court, lawyers can rely on their powers and mislead witnesses through hints, and the designers will not deliberately demonstrate the interviews due to the implicit (or obvious) solutions or views of the behavior. Inducible questions include: • Features X help you? · Do you like x, is it? · If x is available, do you think you will use it? After interviews, after each interview, the group can interact out and discuss any particular interesting or acquired details of any particular interesting or acquired in the recent interview. If there is time, they should look back in the earlier notes to see if other interviews and the unrescribed problems have now been appropriate. This information will be used to develop a plan to use the steps adopted by the subsequent interview. After the interview process is over, we will find all the notes all over again, and the tendency or model in the data is useful. This is helpful to create a character role in the accumulated research. If you have help, the team can book notes, review all of the tapes, print out the image of the product, or put it in a common surface, such as everyone can see the wall. This will be useful during the design phase.
