ABSTRACT
Contextual Design (CD) is a user-centered design process that takes a cross-functional team from collecting data about users in the field, through interpretation and consolidation of that data, to the design of product concepts and a tested product structure. This chapter introduces the steps of CD; for a full description, see Contextual Design and Rapid Contextual Design. CD is a step-by-step process for helping a team collect field data and use it for the purpose of defining and designing products, systems, websites, mobile devices, consumer electronics, and so on. In order to design a product that meets users’ real needs, designers must understand the users and their practices. The challenge of getting the design data is designing a technique to get at the data that is unconscious and tacit. Most teams need to communicate their understandings of user needs and their design plans to stakeholders— management, customer organizations, product groups, and so forth.
