Assignment 3

Contextual Inquiry

Problem Statement:
Conduct a contextual inquiry for selected product / system

Objectives:
To describe and apply core theories, models and methodologies from the field of HCI

Outcomes:
Inculcate basic theory, tools and techniques in HCI. Apply appropriate HCI techniques to design systems
that are usable by people

Theory:
Contextual inquiry

This research technique is used when the environment plays a role in the users’ interaction with the
system. The focus is on traveling to users’ locations, capturing the user interaction in a particular context,
and recording it to identify pain areas in the existing design. 

Surveys

 Surveys are done when quantitative data is more important than interacting with individuals to capture
qualitative data. In this method, a large number of users can be contacted at the same time to get
information. This technique is quite useful at the initial stage of product or design conceptualization to
understand the psyche of the users and their expectations.

Conduct Interviews

The best way to get answers is to ask questions. Conduct interviews with people who can offer
insight into questions posed in the buyer persona template. Those people may include:

 Existing customers
 Prospects and leads
 Former customers
 Ideal customers

Ask Your Sales Team

Another group of people who can offer insight into your ideal customer is your sales team. Talk to
them to gather information about the questions they typically hear from prospects and to learn more
about the qualities of your customers. Work with them to create buyer persona examples that you
can later pull details from to develop one cohesive, collective persona.

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Use Business Data

Depending on your business, you may have a trove of useful information hidden in your business
data. Customer relationship management tools, points of sale systems, and website analytics can all
offer insights related to your customer’s habits, wants, and needs.

Listen on Social Networks

To get insight about customers in your industry, engage in social listening (the act of tracking and
monitoring conversations on social media). Target terms and phrases related to your industry and
offerings and see how people talk about them. Also, use social media as a two-way communication
tool, and come right out and ask your ideal prospects questions to gather information about them.

Research Competitor Websites

Competitor websites can often offer a great deal of insight about your target audience. Research
websites that share your same ideal audience, and see what you can learn from their data. One way
to learn about your competitors’ audiences is by digging into their web presence using  Audience
Overlap Tool .

To use this tool, enter the website URL of one of your known competitors or of a brand that has an
audience similar to the one you want to attract. For example, a project management company may
enter basecamp.com, as it is a well-known software in the industry.

The tool will find similar sites and create a visual map of other websites that also share the same audience
as basecamp.com. The tool allows you to see what other sites your target audience visits.
By researching those sites, you will see that those websites all focus on digital marketing. That means that
your ideal audience is interested in reading marketing resources. Another insight about your audience
could be uncovered from the group of sites that includes uberconference.com, gotomeeting.com, zoom.us,
slack.help, etc.

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This information will help you get a better idea about the habits, interests, characteristics, and
demographics of your desired audience. You can use your insights to create a more accurate description
of your buyer persona.

Conclusion
Thus Contextual Inquiries combine classical in-depth interviews with an observation of the users in the
actual context of use. They are a suitable method to understand the users’ needs and requirements and to
reveal environmental influences on the interaction with a product.