> > Does anyone out there have the experience of actually performing a given > job > (for at least a day or three, perhaps longer) as a means of really > researching context, tasks etc.?
I've done this a number of times. Once, for example, I learned from a waiter the proper process for serving wine in a restaurant for an eLearning course I was developing. I've always thought (and said out loud) that becoming proficient in the activities you're trying to support with design is one of the best ways to step into the mind of the user. Did you have some basic, prior understanding of the domain? Not at all. I don't like wine. :) What did you call it? (methodology) > I think the #1 reason this approach hasn't become more prevalent is the lack of a good name. It needs a name! It's not contextual inquiry, obviously, but it feels like a form of contextual inquiry. Something like "contextual participation" sounds accurate, but it also sounds ... stuffy. It should sound as fun as it really is. Was it disruptive to work setting? Researchers do this all the time — Cialdini and his team, for example, actually got jobs as salespeople and such as part of their research on persuasion. Of course, they were completely undercover rather than entering a supervised experience. (Perhaps even more beneficial!) Does it provide a level of insight worth the time/hassle of setting it up? Undoubtedly. -r- ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [email protected] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
