In-Depth Interviews: Context of Use, part II
The subject matter you are researching will determine the types of questions and exercises you will include in the customer interview protocol to fully understand the context of use. Some different types of questions and exercises that I have found helpful to discover context of use factors for customer purchase processes related to e-commerce web sites are described below.
- Description of the participant’s history, experience, and knowledge level in the subject matter
- Description of typical situations that precede the activity being researched
- Detailed account of an event that involved the use of the web site in question or a competing web site
- List of web sites used for information during the course of the activity, which either supplemented the use of the site for which the research is being conducted, or instead of that site. Details of information resources consulted, and the value of each to success of the event.
- Step by step description of activities related to the research topic, such as Category-specific purchase patterns or decision-making considerations.
- This task analysis focuses on the context of the purchase or event or subject matter; a description of web site usage comes later in the interview.
- Discussion of gaps, or missing information or support tools, in the experience
- Discussion of problem points other than information gaps that arose before, during, or after the activity
- Prioritization of factors using card-sorting or rating scale to reveal preferences, values, trade-offs related to satisfaction of needs and wants associated with the activity
- Perceptions about brands related to the need fulfillment that were confirmed, altered, or newly discovered
- Point(s) at which participant wanted to stop the process
- Description of what would be considered a success in this situation or topic
The main goal of the context of use module is to reach an understanding of the most important factors that influence a customer’s behavior when they are in situations that lead them to use web sites like the one you are designing. Some specific takeaways or inisights that the questions and exercises listed above could elicit to help shape web design include:
- Information typically needed to make a decision or selection
- Ranking of decision-making factors in terms of importance and frequency
- Mental model of the subject matter
- Obstacles in the activity that need to be overcome
- Opportunities for an improved user experience
- Tools that may be supportive or competitive with the web site in question
- Task steps that need to be accommodated
- Success metrics according to participant
Copyright 2009, Paul Bryan, Usography Corporation (www.usography.com)
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