---
title: "needfinding"
aliases: 
tags: 
- info203
---

how to start imporving or designing inerface
how to identify the gap or use interface issues

needdfinding tries to identify issues, often through observational studies (qualitative)

> "the trick [challenge] to finding ideas is to convince yourself that everyone and everything has a story to tell"
> "The other trick if finding out the difference between power and knowledge. You dont start at the top if you want to find a story, you start in the middle. Because its the people in the middle that do the work"
> "self conciousness is the enemy of interestingness"
> -malcolm gladwell

## 1 Methods
- [participant-observation](notes/participant-observation.md)
	- Apprenticeship
		- set a partnership with the people to be observed
		- be taught the steps in the process
		- observe the practives
		- validate what you are observing with those observed as you go along
		- e.g.,
			- apprenticeship is eVision user 
			- task: find in which room INFO203 is
			- problem: I do not have a timetable in eVision like students
		- allows you to capture the context of use and the issues and needs
			- what do people do now
			- what values and goals do people have
			- how are these particular activities embedded in the larger context
			- similarities and differences across people
			- other types of context that are relevant -> time of day, social context
		
- [interviewing](notes/interviewing.md)
	- avoid leading questions
	- choose sample representative of real users
	- often impractical
	- can be structured or semi-structured
	- effective for high level

- Longitudinal studies
	- sporadic use -> when the product is used rarely
	- used when you cannot use observational studies
	- diaries
		- scale better than direct observation (less time consuming)
		- give people a diary to copmlete
		- structred task
		- can use journals, camera, voice, video
		- tailor the recording to the context
		- may require practice, training, reminding
			- use of ntifications, digital calendars, phone calls
	- Experience sampling
		- use txt, phone calls , calendars, notifications to recieve feeback or actively remind people
		- choose interval depending on study context

 
