Impact your Library UX with Contextual Inquiry

Impact your Library UX with
Contextual Inquiry
Rachel Vacek, Head of Web Services
University of Houston Libraries
Texas Library Association District 8 Conference
September 26, 2015
@vacekrae

User experience encompasses all aspects of
the end-user's interaction with the company,
its services, and its products.
- Jakob Nielsen and
Don Norman
h"p://www.nngroup.com/ar0cles/deﬁni0on-‐user-‐experience/

h"p://jjg.net/elements/pdf/elements.pdf

h"p://seman0cstudios.com/user_experience_design/

!  It’s a user-centered design (UCD)
ethnographic research method
!  It’s a series of structured, in-depth user
interviews
!  The interviewer asks the user to perform
common tasks that he/she would normally do

!  Human computer interaction
engineers created the
methodology in the late 1980s.
!  It’s based on theories from
several disciplines, including
anthropology, psychology and
design.
!  Contextual inquiries have rarely
been documented through
formal scholarly communication.

h"p://www.lib.ncsu.edu/userstudies/studies/2010personainterviewsredesign

How is contextual inquiry different
from other research methods?

Unlike web analytics, we can understand the intent
behind their actions. If it’s unclear, we can ask
them why they did something a certain way.

Unlike surveys, we can interact with the users and
observe what they are doing. This is much more
accurate than self-reporting.

While surveys can be excellent tools for many questions, and
are attractive for LIS professionals because they can reach many
people economically, effective surveys require knowledge of
survey design and validation, sampling methods, quantitative
(and often qualitative) data analysis, and other skills that require
formal training many LIS professionals do not possess. …
Without rigorous survey design and validation, data can lead to
results that are invalid, misleading, or simply not meaningful to
answer the question at hand.
- From “#DitchTheSurvey: Expanding
Methodological Diversity in LIS Research”
h"p://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2015/ditchthesurvey-‐expanding-‐methodological-‐diversity-‐in-‐lis-‐research/

Unlike usability testing, it’s not under contrived
conditions in a laboratory-like setting. It’s what
they would really do in real life, not tasks we
designed to test specific parts of the system.

Unlike focus groups, an individual user is able to
talk about and show us in detail the way he/she
does things without the influence of others.

…relying strictly on what students tell us in focus groups
is potentially incomplete … focus group participants may
share only what they think we want to hear or they may
fail to accurately describe their library use. Listening is
important, but observation can yield unexpected
revelations.
- Stephen Bell, From the Bell Tower
column, Library Journal
h"p://lj.libraryjournal.com/2015/06/opinion/steven-‐bell/not-‐liking-‐what-‐users-‐have-‐to-‐say-‐listen-‐anyway-‐from-‐the-‐bell-‐tower/#_

What are the advantages of
contextual inquiry?

!  The open-ended nature of the interaction
makes it possible to reveal tacit
knowledge .
!  The information produced by contextual
inquiry is highly reliable and highly
detailed.
!  The technique is very flexible as you can
conduct interviews anywhere your users
are.
h"ps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contextual_inquiry

Users can show us what
they do rather than tell us,
and we can better
understand why they do it.

h"p://www.nngroup.com/ar0cles/which-‐ux-‐research-‐methods/

Once you invite [ethnographic] practices into the the everyday
way of doing things, it can be institutionally transformative. It
takes time. It is inexact at times. It requires reflection, the
backing away from assumptions, it involves being
uncomfortable with what is revealed. Institutions willing to take
on those complications can thrive … Institutions who want the
publicity that comes from ethnography but not the work, not the
ambiguity, and not the full-time commitment, will fall short.
- Dr. Donna Lanclos , Anthropologist
at UNC Charlotte
h"p://www.donnalanclos.com/?p=305

What’s involved in
contextual design?

Contextual Inquiry
Interpreta0on Sessions
Sequence Modeling
Aﬃnity Diagramming
Visioning
Storyboarding
User Environment Design
Persona Development
Interac0on and Visual Design
Paper Prototypes and Interviews
Product and System Requirements
Talk with users, capture key issues,
understand as a team what is
important to users, and consolidate
the data
Set a direction based on what you
know about your users
Inspired by h"ps://www.interac0on-‐design.org/literature/book/the-‐encyclopedia-‐of-‐human-‐computer-‐interac0on-‐2nd-‐ed/contextual-‐design
Design a system to support all the
research
Iterate designs and systems with users

Contextual Inquiry
Interpreta0on Sessions
Sequence Modeling
Aﬃnity Diagramming
Visioning
Persona Development
Set a direction based on what you
know about your users
Inspired by h"ps://www.interac0on-‐design.org/literature/book/the-‐encyclopedia-‐of-‐human-‐computer-‐interac0on-‐2nd-‐ed/contextual-‐design
Talk with users, capture key issues,
understand as a team what is
important to users, and consolidate
the data
We are only going to review this first
half of the contextual design process.

Why did the Web Services
Department decide to do this?

What we had done already
!  Reviewed web analytics
!  Observed web design and develop trends
!  Performed a literature review
!  Held focus groups with stakeholders
!  Conducted competitive analysis on aspirational
websites
!  Ran usability benchmark tests

We needed to talk
with the users of the site.

!  Surveys, focus groups, and analytics have not proven
that useful for us for getting actual data on how users
do research.
!  To many UCD practitioners, contextual inquiry is the
best way to understand user needs. It is the
foundational user research method at many UX firms.
!  Only one other academic library has done it formally
and published the study.
!  It’s the only method that can answer some of our
questions about how users do research.

We thought that going through
the data together
to get a shared understanding of
the users’ contexts would
be valuable.

Impact your Library UX with Contextual Inquiry

November
2014
! Did lots of
research

! Deﬁned the goal
of contextual
inquiry

! Planned the
interview
ques0ons

! Prepared IRB
applica0on

December
2014
! Applied for IRB
approval

! Obtained money
for par0cipa0on

February
2015
January
2015
! Prepared
materials and
gave training
about contextual
inquiry to Web
Services dept.

! Study was
awarded Exempt
status by IRB

! Reﬁned interview
ques0ons

! Recruited and
trained library
stakeholders

March
2015
! Ran pilot
interviews

! Recruited and
interviewed users
! Conducted
interpreta0on
sessions

April
2015
! Con0nued to
interview users
! Conducted
interpreta0on
sessions

! Created sequence
models

! Created personas
May
2015
! Consolidated
sequence models

! Did aﬃnity
diagramming

! Did visioning

! Prepared ﬁnal
report

So what is contextual inquiry?
What are interpretation sessions?

The interview process
!  Interviews were scheduled in advance at location
where user typically did research
!  Interviewer and note taker conducted
1-hour interviews with each user
!  Utilized master/apprentice model
!  Each participant received a gift card
!  Captured audio as well as hand-written notes
!  2-hour interpretation session followed each
interview within 24 hours

Livescribe 2GB Echo Smartpen (~$120)
h"p://0nyurl.com/pr96xmg

Undergraduates (8)*
!  Geology and Geophysics
!  Civil and Environmental
Engineering
!  Biochemistry
!  Business Finance
!  Graphic Design
!  Chemical Engineering
!  History
!  English Literature
Graduate Students (3)
!  Construction Management
!  Social Work
!  Library & Information
Science
Faculty (1)
!  Classical Rhetoric
* Three of the undergrads were also students in the Honors College

!  M.D. Anderson Library – Quiet zones
!  M.D. Anderson Library – Business zones
!  M.D. Anderson Library – Learning Commons
!  M.D. Anderson Library – Instruction Room 106-R
!  M.D. Anderson Library – Academic Research Center
!  Department of Earth & Atmospheric Science Computer
Lab
!  Student Center – Legacy Lounge
!  The Nook coffee shop
!  Faculty member’s office

We observed how they did research
in the context of their daily lives.

!  Interviewer tells the story of the interview
!  Interview note taker helps tell the story
!  Interpretation session note taker records thoughts and
observations of the team as notes for an affinity diagram
!  Moderator keeps the meeting focused on the session
objectives and makes sure everyone is involved
!  Designer generates sequence models as the interview
story is told
!  Additional team members / stakeholders contribute
thoughts and observations

Our interpretation team*
!  Interviewer - Rachel/Robert
!  Interview note taker - Rachel/Robert
!  Interpretation session note taker - Sean/Keith
!  Moderator - Sean/Keith
!  Designer - J
!  Stakeholders** - Kelsey, Frederick, Lisa, Ashley, Cherie
* Everyone in Web Services (Rachel, Robert, Sean, Keith, J) par0cipated in some way
** Librarians from Liaison Services and Resource Discovery Systems departments to help analyze the data

What are the goals of an
interpretation session?

1.  To make sense of data
2.  To understand intent
3.  To move towards insights

So what does this whole
process look like?

Interview:
Par0cipant 1
Interpreta0on
Session:
Par0cipant 1
Interview:
Par0cipant 2
Interpreta0on
Session:
Par0cipant 2

Interview:
Par0cipant 10
Interpreta0on
Session:
Par0cipant 10
Aﬃnity
Diagraming
Sessions
Consolidate
Sequence
Models
Sessions

Persona
Development
Sessions
Visioning
Sessions
Gather
research into
report
Share work
with others

What is the interpretation
session protocol?

1.  The interviewer – along with the interview session note taker –
described to the team from the notes what the participant
said and did during the interview.
2.  The team members provided an interpretation of the events
as they were recounted, making observations about themes,
important characteristics of the work, etc.
3.  The interpretation session note taker captured these thoughts
into a Word document that was displayed through a
projector. Notes from every interpretation session were used
to construct affinity diagrams.
4.  At the same time, the designer documented the description
of the interview on a white board by creating diagrams called
sequence models.

What is captured in an
interpretation session?

!  Interpretations of events, use of tools, problems,
and opportunities
!  Important characteristics of the work
!  Breakdowns in the work
!  Cultural influences
!  Design ideas (flagged with DI:)
!  Questions or uncertainty about something from the
interview (flagged with a Q:)
!  Insightful user quotes

Thoughts were captured in a Word document
template so we could easily print them out onto
sticky notes.

We also
captured
insights from
discussing the
data.

At the end of the interviews and interpretation
sessions, we had:
!  User profile data that helped us build personas
!  Captured notes that were combined to build an
affinity diagram
!  We generated ~75 notes per interpretation session
!  A list of insights from discussing the data
!  A series of sequence models for an individual
participant

A sequence model is a diagram that
show the order in which each
participant completed each of their
tasks.
 A consolidated sequence model is a
diagram that displays all the
participants’ diagrams together.

A model provides a shared understanding of
the user data, a shared language for the
design team, and an easily understandable
deliverable for communication outside the
design team.
- Jon Kolko, Founder & Director
of The Austin Center for Design
h"p://www.jonkolko.com/projectFiles/scad/IDUS215_03_Ethnography_AnalyzingData1_ContextualDesign.pdf

What are the components of
a sequence model?

!  The step: The actual thing the user did at the
appropriate level of detail.
!  The trigger: The situation(s) that prompts a user
to start a new task or a particular step. A trigger
always starts a sequence.
!  The intent: The reason, known or unconscious,
the user is doing the task or the step. The more
intents you can identify, the better for your future
design.
!  A breakdown: A point in the sequence where the
direct path to fulfilling the intent breaks down,
and the user must devise a workaround or quit.

•  Interpreta0ons of events, use of ar0facts, problems,
and opportuni0es
•  Important characteris0cs of the work
•  Breakdowns in the work
•  Cultural influences
•  Design ideas (flag with DI:)
•  Ques0ons for future interviews (flag with a Q:)
•  Insighlul customer quotes
h"ps://www.interac0on-‐design.org/literature/book/the-‐encyclopedia-‐of-‐human-‐computer-‐interac0on-‐2nd-‐ed/contextual-‐design

h"ps://interac0oncultureclass.ﬁles.wordpress.com/2008/11/seq_model.jpg

h"p://sta0c.squarespace.com/sta0c 510417dbe4b0554384f78c51/51ca85bde4b03f5551914111/51ca85c8e4b07cb3e84e986d/
1372227055762/01_sequence_model.jpg

TITLE: Find Specific Book By Title
INTENT: find a specific book by title
TRIGGER: need a specific book to complete a task
learns from BlackBoard he needs a specific book
Sequence #4
U01 2/27/2015
opens new tab
types in U of H Library
clicks on top link (info.lib.uh.edu)
clicks on catalog tab in search box
clicks on “title” link
goes to desktoptypes in “Tipping Point”
goes to desktopfirst selects by publication date
goes to desktopBD: book not available locally (MD Anderson)
goes to desktopRequests book to be places on hold
goes to desktopBD: realizes book won’t be available for 2 days
PAGE 1/2
writes call number down on paper

The sequence models help direct design decisions
on what to do as well as what not to do.
 We learned what breakdowns exist and can make
design decisions to help users more easily recover
from the inevitable breakdowns.

!  They are hierarchical representations of the
issues for your user population built from
interpretation session affinity notes.
!  They group the data into key issues under
labels that reveal users’ needs.
!  They show in one place the common issues,
themes, and scope across all users.
!  The issues and themes translate well into user
requirements and user stories.

Affinity diagrams synthesize
major themes and issues for each
of three different types of users.

!  The objective of an affinity diagram in a
contextual inquiry is to identify user needs.
!  As low-level insights and ideas are grouped,
labels are assigned that articulate a
consolidated user need.
!  These needs are then grouped into a higher
level need, which themselves are grouped
under a theme.

Top Level: Theme
Second Level: Consolidated user
needs, often articulated in the
voice of the user
Third level: Individual user needs,
always in the voice of the user
Fourth Level: Ideas, insights, and
observations from the user
interview interpretation sessions

Affinity major themes
!  Discoverability of resources
!  Valuing physical space and their resources
!  Information overload
!  Organization and efficiency
!  Collaboration and exploration
!  Lack of confidence and trust
!  Resource medium is important to me
(These are from the green s-cky notes.)

!  Personas are fictional characters created to
represent the different user types that might use
a site, brand, or product.
!  They embody the characteristics, behaviors, and
needs observed through user interviews.
!  They help project team members and
stakeholders develop a shared understanding of
what the users might need in a variety of
scenarios.

!  Visioning is where the team uses the consolidated
data to drive conversations about how to improve
users' work.
!  A vision includes the system, its delivery, and
support structures to make the new work practice
successful.
!  It sets a possible design direction, without fleshing
out every detail. This enables the team to see the
overall structure of the solution and ensure its
coherence.
h"ps://www.interac0on-‐design.org/literature/book/the-‐encyclopedia-‐of-‐human-‐computer-‐interac0on-‐2nd-‐ed/contextual-‐design

What were the challenges of
doing contextual inquiry?

!  It’s time-intensive. It took us 7 months from writing the
IRB to finishing the final report.
!  It’s resource-intensive. Although a lot of the work was
done by 1 or 2 people, there were 10 people involved
in interpretation sessions and affinity diagramming
sessions.
!  Lead investigators need training and familiarity with
overall process and especially with analyzing large
amounts of data
!  You need incentives for 10+ users to participate in hour
long interviews.
!  You need space for affinity diagramming.

What were the advantages of
doing contextual inquiry?

!  It produced an incredible amount of in-depth,
rich qualitative data that can be used by
multiple departments within the library.
!  We better understand our users and their
research process.
!  We developed robust personas that can be
used for spaces and services throughout the
library, not just the website.

!  We have a final report to share with colleagues
at UH and other libraries about our
methodology, findings, and future directions.
!  We have a better understanding of where
breakdowns exist.
!  We will be able to create a website that is more
responsive to our users’ needs.

We could do this again with other types of
users:
!  External researchers who access our print and
digital unique collections
!  Alumni and donors
!  Faculty in specialized fields
!  Users with disabilities
!  International students with language acquisition
needs
!  Health science professionals

Beyer, H., & Holtzblatt, K. (1997). Contextual design: defining customer-centered systems. Elsevier.
 Dempsey, L. (2014, November). Thinking about Technology . . . Differently. Speech presented at LITA
Forum 2014, Albuquerque, NM.
 Holtzblatt, K., & Jones, S. (1993). Contextual inquiry: a participatory technique for system design.
Participatory design: principles and practice. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
 Holtzblatt, K., Wendell, J. B., & Wood, S. (2004). Rapid contextual design: a how-to guide to key
techniques for user-centered design. Elsevier.
 Kolko, J. (2015, February). How to Use Empathy to Create Products People Love. Speech presented at
the Designing for Digital Conference, Austin, TX.
 Makri, S., Blandford, A., & Cox, A. L. (2006). Studying Law students’ information seeking behaviour to
inform the design of digital law libraries. Presented at: 10th European Conference on Research and
Advanced Technology for Digital Libraries 2006 (ECDL2006), Alicante, Spain.
 Notess, M. (2004). Three looks at users: a comparison of methods for studying digital library use.
Information Research, 9(3), 9-3.
 Raven, M. E., & Flanders, A. (1996). Using contextual inquiry to learn about your audiences. ACM
SIGDOC Asterisk Journal of Computer Documentation, 20(1), 1-13.

A special thank you
to Robert Newell
(robertvnewell.com)
for all his work on
this project during
his tenure at the
University of
Houston Libraries.

Rachel Vacek
Head of Web Services
University of Houston Libraries
 rachelvacek.com
vacekrae@gmail.com
@vacekrae
 This presentation is available at:
slideshare.net/vacekrae/
 All our user research is publically available at:
sites.lib.uh.edu/wp/website-redesign/

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