What is a Contextual Inquiry?
A Contextual Inquiry is a user research method in which a UX consultant observes users of a digital channel in their natural environment as they use the website, mobile app, or kiosk. As the user interacts with the channel, the consultant may ask the user questions to better understand why users do what they do. These inquiries are an important tool in user research to help bridge the gap between what users say and what they actually do.
Key Aspects of a Contextual Inquiry
- Observation + Interview: It combines watching a user perform tasks (observation) with asking questions about their actions (interview) in real-time.
- Natural Environment: Research happens in the user’s workplace or home, revealing environmental distractions, physical tools, and habits that labs cannot mimic.
- Master-Apprentice Relationship: The researcher acts as an apprentice, learning from the user (the master) how to do their work. The user guides the researcher through their process.
- Goal: To understand the user’s mental model, workflows, and the context surrounding their work to improve existing products or validate new concepts.
Contextual Inquiry Timeline
A contextual inquiry is conducted in four steps.
- Planning: Define the target users and study objectives. Duration: 2 days.
- Contextual Observation: Shadows and interviews the participant while they perform their usual tasks, taking detailed notes. Duration: Depends on the number of users to be observed. Generally, half a day for one user. For eight users, at least 4 days.
- Analysis/Interpretation: Analyze the collected data for recurring themes and other insights. Duration: 1 week.
- Report: Prepare and Deliver the Final Report. Duration: 3 days.
Benefits of a Contextual Inquiry
- Complements other user research by distinguishing what users say they do from what they actually do.
- Reveals how users’ environments at work, at home, or in the store affects users’ interaction with a digital channel.
- Helps businesses understand how users work through complex workflows, thereby providing a basis for process design decisions.
- Provides insights needed to improve existing, complex digital channels (e.g., websites, mobile apps, kiosks).
- Enables a deeper understanding of user needs and user motivation, thereby providing insights needed to better connect business objectives to user goals.
Engagement Details
Duration: 3 weeks or longer.
Best For
- Businesses with existing digital channels during the Discovery phase of a strategic redesign.
- Businesses about to design and develop a digital channel to replace a currently manual process.
Engagement Model: Fixed Price
Price Estimate: $12,000 and up.