Research in Context: Ethnographic Usability
http://www.stc.org/ConfProceed/1996/PDFs/Pg315318.pdf

Dorazio, Patti A. and Julia Stovall
STC Proceedings
1996

Abstract:

The only way to judge a product's acceptance in the workplace is through its use. Before release, developers would like to predict its acceptability to the target market. One predictor of acceptability is usability test results. Usability testing takes place outside of the user's natural environment in an artificial environment. This paper suggests ethnographic information might be used to predict a product's acceptability in the market in conjunction with traditional usability testing.