01.2.2 · Skill in User research
Observation and field studies
Watching people do the work in their own environment.
Observation shows what people actually do, including the workarounds they no longer notice. Field studies and contextual inquiry go to where the work happens. They catch problems that never come up in an interview because users consider them normal.
Resources
2- articleStart hereField studies ↗NN/g · 2024 · 10 min
When to leave the office and watch people in their own setting, and how to run the visit.
- docsStart hereContextual research and observation ↗GOV.UK Service Manual · 2017 · 7 min
Practical, no-nonsense guidance on visiting people where they work or live, from a team that does it at national scale.
Tools
none yetTools for this topic are being researched.