From the earliest stages of a project, it is vital to understand the needs and expectations of a product's user community. This section outlines numerous methods that help designers and project teams gather rich, current insights about the actual user community, and provide input that guides all follow-on activities.

Current topics

Context of Use Methods

• Contextual Inquiry
• Context of Use Analysis
• Longitudinal Study

Ethnographic Methods

• Ethnography
• Cultural Probe
• Participant Observation

Field study Methods

• Field Study
• Diary Study
• Photo Study
• Phone Interview

Focus Group

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