Contextual Design is a step-by-step process for collecting field data and using it to design products or services that includes a technical component. There are three broad phases to Contextual Design: First, the team immerses itself in the life of individual users through field visits and interprets the data using models to see a picture of market issues. Second, the team uses that market view to drive ideation, inventing new product concepts from the consolidated user data. Third, these product concepts are designed with concrete user interfaces and behavior, which are validated and iterated with users.

Contextual Design has been incorporated into many requirements and software development processes, including Agile. Its techniques are guided by three overarching principles:

• Design for life, not just for an individual task or activity: The product, system, or service must fit into the user’s overall life; all platforms must be designed to work together and support a mobile life.
• Immersion: The team must own and be guided by the experience of the people who will use what they build. We tune the intuition of team members to focus their design thinking by immersing them in a deep understanding of their users.
• Design for innovation: Guided by our research into what makes things cool we help teams design for coolness: Design for Joy in Life (Accomplishment, Connection, Identity, and Sensation) and Joy in Use (Direct into Action, The Hassle Factor, and The Learning Delta).
• Design in teams: Designing, building, and shipping is always performed by a team of diverse people that need to work together well. Contextual Design guides teams to use the field data, invent, and make decisions quickly while hearing all voices and avoiding conflict.