Presentation
Show me, don’t tell me. Workshop on performing a Contextual Inquiry
DescriptionContextual inquiry includes observation and interviewing techniques originally developed by anthropologists. These techniques can help us gain insights about people, the products and systems that they use, the tasks they are trying to accomplish, and the environments (physical, social, & technical aspects) in which they live and work. This workshop is a concentrated course on how to conduct contextual inquiry to have the greatest positive impact on the development of medical devices and healthcare systems. Specifically, the course will cover how to plan and execute a study and how to analyze, synthesize, and translate findings from contextual inquiry in the healthcare domain. The FDA and IEC have recognized the inherent value of contextual inquiry as an integral part of developing medical devices and successful user experiences. Many products and systems have benefited greatly from applying contextual inquiry during the generative concept and feasibility phases of product and system development. This workshop will cover applying contextual inquiry in both clinical and home environments.
Material to be covered:
The workshop will cover the following topics
• What is contextual inquiry and why do we need to do it?
• Process overview
• Developing a study plan
• Team roles
• Creating a checklist – what to do when
• Recruiting and screening participants
• Gaining access to the environments of use
• Administrative documentation
• Data collection tools & techniques
• Observation – passive vs. active
• Data coding and analysis – extracting findings and insights
• Translating / synthesizing insights into user needs and product / system requirements
• Deliverables & communication of results
Observation and analysis topics will engage students with interactive, hands-on activities.
What participants will learn:
At the conclusion of the workshop, participants should feel equipped to apply these techniques in their own work to fuel future system and product innovation and design. Specifically, the participants will
• Gain a fuller understanding of the meaning and scope of contextual inquiry
• Understand when and how these techniques fit in with other research methods used in the product development cycle
• Gain an appreciation for some of the significant challenges in conducting this work
• Learn how to identify and articulate a relevant research problem
• Learn how to develop research questions to target a specific research topic / problem
• Gain experience developing interview and observation questions and probes
• Learn how to create a research guide from interview questions & probes
• Learn the importance of gaining stakeholder buy-in, and when / how to involve stakeholders
• Learn who to include on the research team
• Appreciate the art and science of recruiting the right participants
• Understand potential pitfalls of scheduling and ways to ease logistical issues
• Learn techniques for eliciting natural responses from interviewees
• Understand how the way questions are asked and the way observations are made can influence respondents
• Learn techniques for note taking
• Be prepared to cope with difficult situations
• Learn how to extract themes from observation & interview data
• Gain an appreciation for how study planning affects data analysis
• Be able to envision how contextual research fits into their own work
• Learn methods for championing contextual research in their own organizations
Knowledge/expertise participants will need prior to the workshop:
Participants need no prior knowledge about this approach in order to benefit from the workshop—just curiosity, a desire to learn, and a willingness to engage in the exercises. Professionals practicing Human Factors Engineering and students currently enrolled in Human Factors Engineering programs and/or classes of similar disciplines are strongly encouraged to enroll in this workshop.
Who should take this workshop (within or outside the HF/E field):
This course is designed for
1. Human Factors Engineers
2. User Researchers
3. Industrial Designers
4. User Experience Designers
5. Engineers involved in product design
6. Marketing Professionals, and
7. anyone interested in learning more about the end users of the products and systems they help to create.
Material to be covered:
The workshop will cover the following topics
• What is contextual inquiry and why do we need to do it?
• Process overview
• Developing a study plan
• Team roles
• Creating a checklist – what to do when
• Recruiting and screening participants
• Gaining access to the environments of use
• Administrative documentation
• Data collection tools & techniques
• Observation – passive vs. active
• Data coding and analysis – extracting findings and insights
• Translating / synthesizing insights into user needs and product / system requirements
• Deliverables & communication of results
Observation and analysis topics will engage students with interactive, hands-on activities.
What participants will learn:
At the conclusion of the workshop, participants should feel equipped to apply these techniques in their own work to fuel future system and product innovation and design. Specifically, the participants will
• Gain a fuller understanding of the meaning and scope of contextual inquiry
• Understand when and how these techniques fit in with other research methods used in the product development cycle
• Gain an appreciation for some of the significant challenges in conducting this work
• Learn how to identify and articulate a relevant research problem
• Learn how to develop research questions to target a specific research topic / problem
• Gain experience developing interview and observation questions and probes
• Learn how to create a research guide from interview questions & probes
• Learn the importance of gaining stakeholder buy-in, and when / how to involve stakeholders
• Learn who to include on the research team
• Appreciate the art and science of recruiting the right participants
• Understand potential pitfalls of scheduling and ways to ease logistical issues
• Learn techniques for eliciting natural responses from interviewees
• Understand how the way questions are asked and the way observations are made can influence respondents
• Learn techniques for note taking
• Be prepared to cope with difficult situations
• Learn how to extract themes from observation & interview data
• Gain an appreciation for how study planning affects data analysis
• Be able to envision how contextual research fits into their own work
• Learn methods for championing contextual research in their own organizations
Knowledge/expertise participants will need prior to the workshop:
Participants need no prior knowledge about this approach in order to benefit from the workshop—just curiosity, a desire to learn, and a willingness to engage in the exercises. Professionals practicing Human Factors Engineering and students currently enrolled in Human Factors Engineering programs and/or classes of similar disciplines are strongly encouraged to enroll in this workshop.
Who should take this workshop (within or outside the HF/E field):
This course is designed for
1. Human Factors Engineers
2. User Researchers
3. Industrial Designers
4. User Experience Designers
5. Engineers involved in product design
6. Marketing Professionals, and
7. anyone interested in learning more about the end users of the products and systems they help to create.
Event Type
Workshop
TimeSunday, March 248:00am - 5:00pm CDT
LocationSalon A-4