OBJECTIVES
Shadow Research
- You and your teammates will work together to immerse yourselves in the context of use and act as your ‘users’.
- This research should be taken seriously– don’t just gloss over it! Complete this research as a team.
- Each person in the group must perform at least three individual tasks in your team’s chosen topic area.
- ALL tasks must be thoroughly documented with photos/video and notes of observations.
- While one teammate is performing a task, the others should be observing and documenting the experience with video, photo, and/or notes.
- Plan ahead to make sure there will be ample time for a thoughtful and thorough approach to the task, plus ensuing discussion.
- Shadowing is made considerably more effective if you carry out out a discussion with the ‘user’ as they perform the task. It should be an interactive event.
- Throughout the observation and the discussion you should be watching and studying what the ‘user’ is doing while asking questions to build a better understanding of their experience.
- Workon this research as a whole group: a lot can be gained if you are all present, working together, and discussing together.
Background Research
Your team will conduct background research about your user group and chosen topic area, with the goal of becoming better informed about the area you are studying. What will you need to know to be a sort of “expert” on the topic?