A lot of unknown problems and unknown opportunities lie hidden
in the real life context of product users. Users often adapt to
bad designs, find workarounds, and develop habits due to real life
problems. Contextual Studies help unearth valuable opportunities
that can help product creators differentiate their products and
ensure higher acceptance from users.
These studies are conducted with the help of research techniques
like Contextual
Inquiry (Karen Holtzblatt and Hugh Beyer).
 |
‹ A
picture of a Government Document Archive taken during an E-Governance
project by Design Incubator. This little PC shall replace storage
& retrieval of millions of documents in this archive. |
› DI conducts Contextual Inquiries to observe and understand
users' needs
in the context of work and environment.
› Contextual Studies reveal a treasure of information about end
user behavior
and the environment they work in. Designers often come across hidden
opportunities and issues while observing users
in their own contexts.
› Task flows, mental models and work habits are understood through direct
interviews, talk-aloud work demonstrations by users and insightful
observations.
 |
‹ Design
Director Gautam Karnik and Design Associate Rutuja Rasam document
data from a Contextual Study. |
 |
‹ Design
Director Atul N Joshi interviewing factory workers in the context
of their work to understand their issues. |
 |
‹ Sr.
Designer Sarvesh Chinagi and Associate Consultant Ashish Ganu
in process of capturing insights with help of Affinity Analysis. |
