In the course of a Contextual Design project, once all user inquiries are completed and interpreted by the team, all of the user models need to be combined into one integrated view.  These consolidated models of user activity will be the primary agents for design opportunities, as the models reflect the current user experience and expose opportunities to improve it.

Method

It is important to include a majority of people trained in Contextual Design in this stage and in the preceding stage of gathering the kind of data needed to model user workflows.   Model of user's real work processes represent the language, structure, and important features.  These models promote a shared understanding of users' work by capturing and organizing the true complexity of a detailed work process. This technique organizes data collected in user work process interviews (see Contextual Inquiries).

Results

Model diagrams showing the flow of tasks, communication, culture, artifacts, and physical resources. One model for each interviewed user, all models of each type are then consolidated into a macro model that visually represents the reality of the workflow process, providing a single view of the customer from five different points of view. The application can then be designed to improve upon and work within those constraints.

Timeframe

One day to create models from an interview. Two days to consolidate all user models into one consolidated representation of all related work.

Additional Reading

K. Holtzblatt and H. Beyer, " Representing Work for the Purpose of Design," Representations of Work , HICSS Monograph (Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences), January 1994. Lucy Suchman, Editor.