ABSTRACT
The socially centered system design process begins with a contextual inquiry to determine the user, product, task and environmental parameters potentially influencing system design (Stanney et al. 1997). This investigation will generally involve some form of direct observation such as field studies or ethnographic observation. It is critically important that this observational period be conducted in an unbiased, non-leading manner (Nardi 1997). Designers are expected to become immersed in one or more communities of practice to observe, record and analyze what users actually do in applying artifacts to achieve goals. While such participatory observation leads to great insights, designers should avoid modifying the behavior of those observed by refraining from asking leading questions, or imposing biases where their perspectives differ from those being observed. In applying techniques like interviews, focus groups, detailed questionnaires or by measuring specific aspects of work performance, the immersed designers seek to adopt the user’s frame of reference or view of reality to understand the how and why of artifact use. Once completed, the most common mistake of such observational studies is to overextend the interpretation of the results. Thus, it is essential that the rich abundance of observational data obtained be filtered, organized and interpreted in the larger context of the technology and science in which the artifacts exist.
