Ethnographic Interviews:Interviewing and Observing Users

Project:Investigating Sakai 3 Capabilities to Support Learning Activities

Jacqueline Mai10/20/09

What is Ethnographic Interviewing?

• A type of qualitative research

• Combination of observation and one-on-one interviews

• Contextual inquiry is an ethnographic interviewing technique that we will use to gather user data for this project

Why Contextual Inquiry?

• Designers need to understand all the different patterns of behavior a product must address. Types of research involving groups (e.g., focus group), tend to drive to consensus, and thus are inappropriate.

• Self-reported behavior may be inaccurate. Observation is required to capture user behavior adequately.

• Interacting with users in context allows designers to ask questions about situations and behaviors they observe in real time.

Preparing for Interview

• Define target interviewee audience– We’ve put together a matrix of user attributes that represents the

range of diversity that we hope to cover: http://confluence.sakaiproject.org/display/UX/Ethnographic+Interviews+-+Interviewing+and+Observing+Users

– It’s recommended that 6 users are selected for each major role or type. What we’re hoping for is to have at least 12-18 distinct user profiles across institutions:

• 6-8 Activity Creators (Instructors, TAs, Instructional designers)• 3-5 Activity Takers (Students)• 3-5 Activity Evaluators (Instructors, TAs)

Preparing for Interview (cont’d)

• Recruit interviewees– Using the user attributes defined at

http://confluence.sakaiproject.org/display/UX/Ethnographic+Interviews+-+Interviewing+and+Observing+Users, a diverse set of user types can be developed. Different institutions participating in our user interview research project can then select those types of users that they think match real users they have access to.

– Add which user type(s) you anticipate on recruiting to the following Google Spreadsheet: https://spreadsheets.google.com/a/stanford.edu/ccc?key=0Ar1f4XD_pVP7dGlmMkdFdUgyUzQ3RHVaOGhBWmh0SlE&hl=en&invite=CPnF97kE (all confirmed interviewers will be invited to view this spreadsheet, which is made private as the matrix becomes more descriptive).

Preparing for Interview (cont’d)

• Assemble Interview Team– Teams of 2 are ideal: one drives interview, other clarifies and takes

extensive notes

– Allow each dedicated team member to get experience as interviewer

– Do a practice run beforehand for 1st timer

Best Practices During the Interview

• Interview where the interaction happens• Focus on goals 1st, tasks 2nd

• Avoid making user a designer• Avoid discussion of technology• Encourage storytelling• Ask for show and tell• Avoid leading the interviewee or proposing ideas• Avoid fixed set of questions*

Best Practices to Keep in Mind

• Avoid fixed set of questions*– Useful to have types of questions in mind. Guiding questions

available at http://confluence.sakaiproject.org/display/UX/Contextual+Inquiry+Guides

• Data from these questions are meant to help us to develop specific types of models. Types of data that we want to collect:

– How user thinks about the activity– Goals and motivations for the activity and workflow– When, why, and how an activity is performed – Problems and frustrations with the activity

Next Steps

• Assemble your interview team• Identify and add potential interviewee candidates to Google

Spreadsheet: https://spreadsheets.google.com/a/stanford.edu/ccc?key=0Ar1f4XD_pVP7dGlmMkdFdUgyUzQ3RHVaOGhBWmh0SlE&hl=en&invite=CPnF97kE

Thank you for your participation!

Questions