#contextual inquiry

We had read about these spaces... now it was time to se a few. What do they feel like? How are people using the tools provided? We blasted a bunch of companies in Atlanta to see if we could visit their space and scheduled a week to go up and perform some contextual inquiry. 

[start]

Normally, class starts at 9:00AM sharp. But, today, people strolled in at around 8:30AM to indulge in the school provided bagels and cream cheese (I chose the one with chives) marking the beginning of our 10-week program. It was a good bagel.

This is what the classroom looks like from the back of the room where the door is:

There’s actually another column on the left that you can’t see and a fifth row in the back that was also cutoff. Other than that, this is more or less what the classroom setting looks like.

I chose to sit in the 3rd row in the center and feel pretty comfortable about my decision. Being in the middle of the room and having the close proximity that I do with the others makes me feel more involved and fosters my participation, which is good.

Today, we went over what is essentially User Experience 101. We went over some fundamentals and basics of the industry so that everyone could have a more educated answer when being asked: What is UX design? But, don’t ask me that just yet—I’ve yet to process and keep it short and sweet.

Aside from the introduction of the industry that we’re going to be immersed in for the next 10-weeks, we did a quick exercise on contextual inquiry. During lunch we were split up into groups of 3-4 people and went out to conduct some research on a local process (e.g., Citi Bikes, MTA, etc.). My group decided to head over to Dig Inn (17 E 17th St).

I’d go into my thoughts on the food and such there, but this isn’t Yelp, so I’ll just go straight into our findings.

As a group, we had our own pain-points that we were able to see and experience as users ourselves. However, we interviewed 4-6 different people (one was a group of 3) and found that others had different experiences. These are some photos of the notes I took:

Excuse my messy handwriting. Here’s a semi-TL;DR.

- A lot of New Yorkers are complacent and don’t have super high expectations on a place to have lunch - Long lines and a lack of seating is the norm in the Big Apple - Rushed environments have pros and cons Pro: get in and get out Cons: feeling rushed can cause people to stick to what they know and order the same thing giving the illusion that there’s a lack of variety in foods - The focus on individualized seating doesn’t make the most of the limited space they have; perhaps look into communal style seating - No clear process on how to order food there (for first timers)

There were a bunch of different solutions we thought of in the 15-20 minutes we had to collect our thoughts, but I wont’ get into that right now. It was a lot easier to conduct research and contextual inquiry when with other people than when doing it on your own. I think I’m going to really be able to get situated in my researching process especially after we get more into it as the course goes on. Exciting.

We went on to present our group’s findings (along with the 6 other groups) and, just like that, our first task was completed. Speaking of first tasks, our first project to be presented is due on Friday (they were serious about this being fast-paced). It’s on rapid prototyping and that’ll have it’s own post later on, for sure.

Anyway, I’m excited to get into the real nitty grittiness of the course and to tackle the heart of the lessons. It’s already been a growing experience and I’m hoping I’ll continue to be able to just sit down and really process what’s going on. I also have to remember to keep a humble head on my shoulders and to continue to depend on God. He’s the one that got me here.

Oh, and they gave me this little notebook and now I have a new sticker on my laptop. So, I’ve got that going for me.