Corporate Identity and Innovation

by Karen Holtzblatt
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

Innovation is not just, or even primarily, about technology leaps — or user experience leaps — or new category definitions. Innovation is about corporate identity and corporate skill.
Go scan the business bookshelves. Innovation that produces major profit is the holy grail of business. Everyone wants to know the secret sauce. And now everyone wants to [...]


Don’t Ask Your Customer

by Karen Holtzblatt
Friday, October 16th, 2009

Don’t ask your customer what they need or want or like. People focus on doing their life not watching their life. So if you ask them outright, people can’t tell you what they do or what they want. It’s not part of their consciousness to understand their own life activities. We can offer you a better way.


Don’t Ask Your Customer—Use Contextual Inquiry

by Karen Holtzblatt
Friday, October 16th, 2009

Every methodology invented for designing the right thing starts with gathering requirements. Requirements gathering is the single most difficult part of the process because if you don’t get it right, you don’t build the right thing—or the most desirable thing. Here’s why these popular methods fail, and what you can do instead to find out who your customers really are and what they need.


Is Friendship Relationship Management Our Future

by Karen Holtzblatt
Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

Social networking has created opportunity to enhance life—we can keep and find people we lost and want to weave back in, or catch up, or network for jobs. But have we lost the natural way we manage our social relationships?


Uncovering Essential Requirements for Green Design

by Karen Holtzblatt
Tuesday, March 17th, 2009

What does it mean to gather requirements with green consciousness?
I am not a crunchy tree-hugging green environmentalist. But today environmental consciousness is reaching the mainstream. The average consumer, like me, is asking questions about what it all means for daily life.
I was talking to a rabid green friend of mine.  “If we could produce [...]


Water Drop Torture and Customer Loyalty

by Karen Holtzblatt
Friday, December 19th, 2008

In these difficult economic times, customer loyalty is critical. How can you provide your users with delight and make them loyal to your brand?


Personalized Advertising

by Karen Holtzblatt
Thursday, July 31st, 2008

Observations of the numerous vendors encountered in Mazatlan, Mexico
Tom Cruise is walking quickly through the mall of the future. The 3D avatars on the walls of the shops and signs are saying hello to him personally; they are modeling wares just for him; and they are talking about bargains. It is loud, it is colorful, [...]


Diary of the Brand Switcher

by Karen Holtzblatt
Monday, March 3rd, 2008

What’s the impact to your bottom line when your customers switch loyalty to your competitor? What if you could understand why and be able to prevent it?
My car story
After 13 years and 180,000 miles my Toyota Celica convertible was starting to feel unreliable. I didn’t like driving it in the snow, it felt unsafe. The [...]


Please Come In and Help Yourself! Designing a Self-Service Website

by Traci Lepore
Monday, September 11th, 2006

The face of customer service is rapidly changing from a friendly smile or voices on the phone to a something a little more “square” and electronically powered — generally known as a screen. I can’t even remember the last time I stepped foot inside a bank — at least not farther than the atrium with [...]


Anatomy of a Mad Navigator

by Karen Holtzblatt
Friday, April 7th, 2006

I am geographically dyslexic. I go up the elevator into my hotel room—and when I leave I invariably turn the wrong way to go back to the elevator. In building 10 at Microsoft I needed a guide to get me to and from the restroom after being lost multiple times! Then there was the time [...]


Smart Automation in Everyday Life: The Public Rest Room

by Karen Holtzblatt
Thursday, July 7th, 2005

“Mommy, I’m NOT sitting on the toilet! It’s going to get me! NO, I’m not going to!”
“It’s okay, Amanda. Look, I’ll go in with you and cover the laser beam so it won’t flush,” says Mom to her 4-year old.
Automation is supposed to make life easier. Or automation is supposed to help fulfill a social [...]


Rapid User-Centered Design Techniques

by Karen Holtzblatt, InContext, Lisa Baker, LANDesk, and Joerg Beringer, SAP
Friday, April 22nd, 2005

Challenges and Solutions

Why it matters:

Organizations are challenged today to shorten and simplify processes but also want to get customer data into the development cycle. This is especially the case when development follows Agile development methods such as Extreme Programming (XP).
When development experiences a tight timeframe or teams react to heavy weight front-end design methods, in-depth [...]


Designing Mobile Applications with Customer Data

by Karen Holtzblatt
Wednesday, May 26th, 2004

Techniques that Work for Mobile Platforms
CHI 2004 SIG

Why it matters:

The ongoing transformation of the role of mobile devices is leading to more and more discussion about the best way to include the customer in the design process
Do the traditional methods work, or do they need to be transformed as the technology transforms?
What is the best [...]


User Focus in Enterprise Software: Part 2 of 2

by George Knoll
Friday, December 5th, 2003

Customer Data: It’s not just for designers anymore…

Why it matters:

User data can improve every dimension of a vendor’s relationship with its customers
Software solutions that disregard user work practice are destined to become “shelfware”
The lack of a common language for business software designers results in poor knowledge distribution

In Part 1 of this article I discussed some [...]


Turning Less Into More: How Re-Designing for a 50% Smaller Display Led to Increased Usability and Sales

by Bob Posert, FieldCentrix
Monday, November 24th, 2003

Why it matters:

Doing a reverse User Environment Design on an existing application before re-design reveals design and usability problems
Going to a smaller display is an opportunity to improve an application’s usability
A smart team takes advantage of paper prototypes and design rooms to communicate and “sell” their work to organizational stakeholders, and even to customers

Setting the [...]


When Different Work Cultures Come Together on a Team

by Jessamyn Burns Wendell
Friday, November 7th, 2003

Melding “Their” Work Style with “ours”

Why it matters:

Successful designs are a team effort
More and more teams are cross-functional, cross-company, and even across multiple companies—each of which may have its own culture
When different cultures come together we need ways to actively prevent possible collisions and get the best of all world

I recently finished working on a [...]


User Focus in Enterprise Software

by George Knoll
Friday, October 10th, 2003

Part 1 of 2

Why it matters:

The current economy has CIOs sharply focused on real ROI from business software investments
Enterprise software vendors can no longer rely on software design practices that keep users in the periphery
Using so-called best practices, domain experts, and requirements that don’t come from actual end user work practice leads to software that [...]


Helpful Tips to Improve Your Contextual Inquiry Techniques

by Shelley Wood
Friday, August 29th, 2003

Stay on Track:

When doing field interviews, it can be easy to fall back into old interview patterns that are not Contextual Inquiry
There are some triggers you can watch for that signal you are not doing a Contextual Inquiry interview
There are specific things you can say that will redirect an interview back into a Contextual Inquiry

Keeping [...]


Just the Essentials—Adapting Contextual Design to a Narrowly-Scoped Project

by Wendy Fritzke
Friday, July 25th, 2003

Why it matters:

When working in “Web-time” it’s important to focus on the Contextual Design techniques that will get the data you need in the brief time frame allowed
Contextual Design needs to work in conjunction with other processes used by the organization
When the essential design is set, a full-blown User Environment Design is not always necessary
Clear [...]


Focus Setting: Getting the Right Interview Mix

by Joyce Vigneau
Friday, July 4th, 2003

Why it matters:

Knowing the type of project you have (tactical or strategic) drives your focus setting decisions
Once your focus is set, you need the right role mix and organization mix to collect the appropriate amount of customer data
There are guidelines you can follow to help you make good decisions about who and where to interview

In [...]


Designing to the Intent — Support Your Users’ “Whys” Not Just Their “Whats”

by Shelley Wood
Friday, June 13th, 2003

Why it matters:

Only finding the steps customers take for a task is not enough
Uncovering why steps are taken reveals design requirements
Both the overall intent and underlying subintents need to be supported

In one of my many “prior lives” I was an instructional designer; over the years I slowly transformed from a training professional into a product [...]


Freeing Up Our Creativity

by Paula Curtis
Friday, May 30th, 2003

Why it matters:

To create a successful design, teams need to balance between analytical thinking and creativity
Making the shift from analysis to creativity can be hard
There are some ways you can use to quickly engage your creativity when you need it

The success of a design project relies on a team’s creativity and ingenuity in developing solutions [...]


Making Customer-Centered Design Work in the Real World

by CHI 2003 SIG
Friday, April 18th, 2003

Challenges and Solutions from Real World Experience

Why it matters:

Advocates of customer-centered design often come face-to-face with resistance from their company and co-workers when they try to introduce it into the organization
There are strategies and tactics that work to shift organizations toward customer-centered design
Recognizing what works—and that it takes time to shift an organization’s thinking and [...]


Paper Prototyping in the Large

by Hugh Beyer
Thursday, March 13th, 2003

Why it matters:

Paper prototyping can help you work out the problems in any design, no matter how large or small
Paper prototyping can help integrate process design with design of a tool or machine

It’s always fun to push the limits of a process and see what it can do. Paper prototyping is our method for testing [...]


Focus Setting: Building a Strong Foundation for Your Project

by Joyce Vigneau
Saturday, March 1st, 2003

Why it matters:

Without explicit focus setting before the project starts, your success is already at risk
Everyone associated with a project needs to understand what the expectations are for the project, what is within the scope of the project, and what is outside the scope
Carefully choosing which roles to interview and at which organizations to interview [...]


Technology and Intimacy: A Tribute to IM from the Voice of This Customer

by Karen Holtzblatt
Friday, February 14th, 2003

Why it matters:

Technology has a direct impact on relationships
Designers can have a positive impact on relationships and intimacy if they design for it
User data should be collected to ensure that we don’t accidentally disrupt the interpersonal

My doctoral dissertation was on “Women’s Friendship and the Psychological Sense of Community” (This was also the origin of the [...]


Using Video in Paper Prototypes

by David Rondeau and Alexandra Mack
Friday, January 31st, 2003

For Real Feedback on Multimedia Elements

Why it matters:

Rough paper prototypes are the most effective way to test a proposed design with users
Paper prototype interviews allow you to have a co-design experience with the user
When your design contains video or other media, standard paper prototyping methods need to be extended to create a dual paper/online prototype
The [...]


Using a Floor Plan as a Metaphor for Design: Is Your Product a Dream House or a Construction Nightmare?

by Shelley Wood
Friday, January 10th, 2003

Why it matters:

Systems need to support the work of the customer or end user
Teams need a design representation to explicitly reveal how well the system supports the customers’ work
The User Environment Design offers that representation, and serves as the basis for requirements and specifications

In San Jose, California there is a popular tourist attraction called the [...]


Why Contextual Inquiry vs Other Marketing Techniques

by Karen Holtzblatt
Friday, November 8th, 2002

Get the right data:

Different types of “talk” provide different types of data
Saying “we talk to our customers” does not necessarily mean you are doing customer-centered design
To get data that is truly useful for product design, you need to use a data collection method created for that purpose.  Use these guidelines for gathering data:

Contextual Inquiry

Elicits detailed [...]


Will the Video Phone Succeed this Time?

by Shelley Wood
Friday, October 25th, 2002

Why it matters:

It’s easy to focus on the technology, but cool technology can seduce us into thinking we have a product people want
Successful products come from a deep understanding of the customers’ work practice
Successful products support and extend customers’ work practice

“It’s deja vu all over again”1
Latest Attempt at Video Phone Is Light Years Past Early [...]


Contextual Use Cases: Using Contextual Design to Define Use Cases

by Hugh Beyer
Friday, October 11th, 2002

Points to consider :

Teams are trying to employ use cases to define the design, but that’s exactly the opposite of how they should be used
Teams who care about customer needs are looking for ways to reconcile customer-centered design with the requirements of corporate-mandated development methodologies
Contextual Design has the components you need to satisfy the mandate [...]


Build It So They Will Return

by Phanita Sudana
Friday, September 27th, 2002

Why it matters:

If you want the users to understand the product, you must first understand the user
Understanding about the users and their needs is central to any successful product
In the effort of pleasing all your users you might have pleased none

“Build it, they may or may not come. But if they do come and you [...]


Personas and Contextual Design

by Karen Holtzblatt
Friday, September 13th, 2002

Why it matters:

Personas are currently receiving a lot of attention; is the attention warranted?
How can contextual data be used to create personas?
How would personas fit with the Contextual Design process?

Recently I participated in a conference panel discussing and comparing methodologies. As a group we represented a variety of user-centered methods like scenarios, story-based design, goal-directed [...]


Using Clean Document Design to Clarify Your Message

by Jessamyn Burns Wendell
Wednesday, August 21st, 2002

Why it matters:

A well-designed document invites your readers into your text. A poorly designed document pushes your audience away.
Your readers are time-challenged. You can’t manage their schedule, but you can help them get your message quickly.
Good layout can improve the accessibility of your writing; poor layout can hinder it.

From time to time we all need [...]


How Long Does Customer Data Stay Fresh?

by Hugh Beyer
Saturday, August 3rd, 2002

Why it matters:

Customer data will continue to drive design ideas long after the original project is completed.
Building a full set of customer work models is an investment. You want to make it pay.
You want to use your resources wisely. Don’t get data before you need it-but don’t get blindsided by changes in the market.

To ship [...]


Good Interview Data — It’s More Than Just the Facts

by Shelley Wood
Friday, July 19th, 2002

Why it matters:

Facts are not the data that matters for design
Interpreting facts with the customer during the interview reveals design needs
Using a chain of reasoning with the customer brings you to a shared understanding of what the facts mean
Offering a hypothesis is more effective than asking open-ended questions

You’ve made the big step and are doing [...]


Color Theory for Today

by Traci Lepore
Friday, June 21st, 2002

Combining art and technology

Why it matters:

With all the advancements in tools and the Internet today it is easy to forget the basic principles of design
Even with all the new technology, color hasn’t lost its symbolism or meaning
Today’s global markets have caused a need for multicultural awareness and sensitivity in design

Does this sound familiar? An image [...]


Contextual Design with Distributed Teams

by Hugh Beyer
Friday, June 7th, 2002

Why it matters:

The work of Contextual Design is done by a team
To be successful, team members must be in ongoing touch with customer data and have a shared understanding
More and more companies are using distributed teams that can’t meet face-to-face
We need techniques for making the Contextual Design work in those environments

Let’s assume you’re all fired [...]


What’s an Archaeologist Doing at a Design Firm?

by Alexandra Mack
Friday, May 24th, 2002

Why it matters:

The only way to understand the work you are supporting is to see it
Learning to interview like an anthropologist leads to better customer data and better designs
Looking at work artifacts like an archaeologist reveals important work practices

By now, I’m used to the question, “How did your background lead you to this job?” People [...]


Making Design Meetings Work

by Karen Holtzblatt
Monday, May 13th, 2002

Why it matters:

Meetings are suffering from an image problem
You don’t want to waste valuable time with unproductive meetings
You do want to lead productive meetings that yield real results

When meeting invitations arrive, do you and your co-workers immediately groan in protest at the impingement on your productive time? Worse, do people start moaning when invited to [...]


Keep Your Design Meetings on Track by Having a Mainline Coversation

by Hugh Beyer
Friday, April 12th, 2002

Why it matters:

Learn how to recognize when a meeting is going off track and what to do about it
Learn to set up your meetings for success
Agree on ground rules in advance so participants let you control the meeting

“What conversation are we in?”
This is a question you’ll hear frequently in a Contextual Design team. This simple [...]


Give Your Website Clarity of Purpose by Avoiding Some Common Design Pitfalls

by Sharon Harris
Friday, March 29th, 2002

Why it matters:

Reinforce the website message with branding elements, graphics, and links
Make scanning for key information easy
Users goals are the primary focus

Simply Stated
Starting with the home page — get to the point
It’s that simple. If there’s a need to explain what your website is about with text, write a short sentence or a few short [...]


Assembling Creative Design Teams

by Karen Holtzblatt
Friday, March 15th, 2002

Why it matters:

Complementary members bring divergent ideas
Conflicting pairings can derail teamwork
You want to spark creativity, not ignite a conflagration

A team can only be as good as the combined skills of its members. So what qualities combine to create a crackerjack team? And how can you deal with each other’s differences?
Design is synthesis — there is [...]


Clear, Concise Text: Is It an Impossible Dream?

by Jessamyn Burns Wendell
Friday, March 1st, 2002

Why it matters:

So your audience will want to read your documents. A well-written document is a pleasure to read. A badly written document will drive readers away.
So your stakeholders can understand your project. They need to know what’s going on and you want them to know the project is a success.
So your time-challenged readers can [...]


Innovation or Market Research?

by Alexandra Mack and Karen Holtzblatt
Thursday, February 14th, 2002

Points to consider :

Field data collection is becoming more common in many industries
Field data can be used for design, innovation, marketing, and product placement
Many field methods rely on set questions and do not collect design data
Design data comes from careful observation and partnering with the customer

A recent New York Times article highlights the use of [...]


The Evolving Role of User Researcher

by Les Holtzblatt
Friday, January 18th, 2002

Social Scientists Can Bring More Than Expertise in Studying People

Why it matters:

The role of user researcher has existed informally for years
The field is growing as more companies are focusing on user-centered designs
User researchers bring unique value beyond front-end data collection and modeling
Designers bring unique value to user research

An old role gets a new name
The idea [...]


Guerilla CD

by Hugh Beyer
Friday, January 4th, 2002

Why it matters:

When management doesn’t think there’s time for contextual design
When your co-workers are afraid it will add more work
When you know that customer data will make your design better

Sometimes life is beautiful. Managers smile on your requests. Co-workers are eager to adopt your suggestions. Product managers love the idea of taking you to visit [...]


Data From a Few Leads to Optimum Results

by Karen Holtzblatt
Friday, November 30th, 2001

Points to consider:

There are only so many ways to do work, and they’re revealed within a few interviews
Frequency data doesn’t show what matters in the work practice
Contextual data uncovers tacit details about work practice, including underlying goals and intents; surveys show generalities and frequencies
Contextual data doesn’t show market trends, it models the structure of work [...]


Contextual Design in Internet Time

by Hugh Beyer
Friday, October 26th, 2001

Why it matters:

You don’t want to do extra work that doesn’t support the project’s goals
You do want to focus your effort where it can make a difference
You don’t want less time to mean less quality

A question I used to hear all the time was: “How do I do it faster? We have to ship a [...]


Designing from Data: The User’s Voice

by David Rondeau
Friday, October 12th, 2001

Why it matters:

You need to design what customers think is great, not what you think is great
By understanding the needs of your customers, you won’t waste time re-designing
Spend more time creating designs instead of arguing about them
Differentiate your designs from the competition in a way that matters to your customer

Before I started using Contextual Design [...]


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