Video for Design Workshop Follow-up Notes
Thrown together by David Tamés, September 13, 2017
Workshop Objectives
Through participation in a rapid design ethnographic reconnaissance mission and synthesizing the data collected, participants will gain some insight into how video can be used to enhance the design process and appreciate some of the challenges designers face in incorporating video into their process.
Follow-up Reading
- “Studying what people do” (Ylirisku and Burr, 2007, pp. 41-85)
- “Spontaneous Cinema as Design Practice” (Strickland, 2003)
Notes
What are we doing when we observe users using video as a design practice? We are:
- Observing people interact within an environment or with a design prototype,
- Recording evidence of our observations, and
- Thinking about what we’ve seen, heard, and read and figuring out what it means.
How do we do this?
We draw on the rich tradition of participant observation (Randall and Rouncefield, 2017), a technique that has a long tradition in anthropology and has been successfully applied by designers.
Through the use of notes, audio recordings, video, and other forms of evidence, we can analyze qualitative data that will help us better understand users. This informs the design process with rich, qualitative information in the form of stories, thinking-out-loud process, and visual evidence.
The thinking out loud methodology described in Gomoll (1992) can be quite revealing when used along with video.
It is polite to ask your subjects for permission to record them on video and possibly have them sign a release form. The law has different things to say about video (image only) and sound recording in a public place. You have to be careful with sound recording because it falls under wiretapping laws which vary from state to state.1
Comparison of Three Data Collection Techniques
| Criterion | Notes plus photos | Sound recorder plus photos | Video |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equipment | Paper, pencil, and camera are easily available. | Portable sound recorders are inexpensive, smartphones are ubiquitous. | More complicated, requires editing software, however, smartphones are ubiquitous. |
| Flexibility of use | Very flexible, unobtrusive | Flexible. Relatively unobtrusive. | Needs positioning, and may require mounting gear. |
| Completeness of data | Only gets what note-taker thinks is important and can record in the time available Problem with inexperienced evaluators. | Can obtain complete audio recording but visual data is missing. Notes, photographs, sketches can augment recording but needs coordination with the recording. | Most complete method of data collecting, especially if more than one camera is used, however, coordination of video materials is needed. |
| Disturbance to users | Very low. | Low, but position of portable sound recorder must be positioned properly for a good recording. | Can be very obtrusive, care needed to avoid Hawthorne effect. |
| Reliability of data | May be low. Relies on humans making a good record and knowing what to record. | High, but ambient noise can interfere with understanding what was said. | Can be high but depends on what camera is focused on. |
| Analysis | Relatively easy to transcribe. Rich descriptions can be produced. Transcribing data can be onerous or a useful first step in data analysis. | Critical discussions can be identified. Transcription needed for detailed analysis. Permanent original record that can be revisited. | Critical incidents can be identified and tagged. Automated support may be needed for detailed analysis. Permanent original record that can be revisited. |
| Feedback to design team | Relies strongly on the authority of the evaluator. | Material captured on a sound recorder is more convincing than notes, but feedback relies on the authority of the evaluator. | Hard to dispute material captured on video. Video clips are very powerful for communicating ideas. |
Table adapted from Sharp, Rogers, and Preece (2007).
Bibliography
Gomoll, Kathleen (1992). “Some Techniques for Observing Users,” in The Art of Human-Computer Interface Design, Brenda Laurel, Ed., Addison-Wesley, 1992, pp. 85-90.
Although dated and focused on screen-based interface design, this classic chapter provides a practical set of guidelines for starting out and is fun to read.
Ireland, Christopher (2003). “Qualitative Methods From Boring to Brilliant,” in Design Research: Methods and Perspectives, Brenda Laurel, Ed., The MIT Press, pp. 30-38.
An introductory summary of several methods used in qualitative research.
Plowman, Tim (2003). “Ethnography and Critical Design Practice,” in Design Research: Methods and Perspectives, Brenda Laurel, Ed., The MIT Press, pp. 30-38.
An introduction to ethnography and how it became a critical design practice.
Peyrichoux, Isabelle (2007). “When Observing Users Is Not Enough: 10 Guidelines for Getting More Out of Users’ Verbal Comments,” UX Matters.
Offers guidance on using interviewing techniques within the context of usability testing, but many of these techniques are applicable to other user research activities.
Randall, Dave and Mark Rouncefield (2017). “31. Ethnography,” The Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction, 2nd Ed.
A comprehensive description of ethnography, its evolution, and how it’s been used in human-computer interaction research. Covers various ethnographic techniques including auto-ethnography and examines the problems and complexities in the use of these techniques. Includes an extensive bibliography.
Sharp, Helen, Yvonne Rogers, and Jenny Preece (2007). Interaction Design: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction, 2nd ed. Wiley.
Two key chapters, “Data Gathering” and “Data Analysis and Interpretation,” provide a good introduction.
Strickland, Rachel (2003). “Spontaneous Cinema as Design Practice: How to walk without watching your step,” in Design Research: Methods and Perspectives, Brenda Laurel, Ed. The MIT Press, pp. 118-128.
Provides keen insights into observing design practice in everyday life using video, a classic, highly recommended.
Ylirisku, Salu Pekka and Jacob Buur (2007). Designing with Video: Focusing the user-centred design process, Springer.
Illustrates how video can be used throughout the design process from early user studies through making sense of the video content and envisioning new design with video scenarios. Presents several case studies in academic and industrial contexts.
Image credits: 1. Product School, San Francisco, CC0; 2. Luke Southern, CC0
Footnotes
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Massachusetts has a two-party consent law that makes it a crime to secretly record a conversation and this applies to both in person and technologically mediated conversations. If a person involved in a conversation is aware that the conversation is being recorded and they do not wish to be recorded, it is their responsibility to remove themselves from the conversation. This paragraph should not be construed as legal advice, when it comes to legal matters, always consult a lawyer. For more information see Massachusetts Recording Law (Digital Media Law Project, Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society). ↩