Mobile Essentials: Field Study and Concepting

This paper describes a cross-cultural field study of what people consider to be mobile essentials, how those mobile essentials are carried and problems typically encountered.

Chipchase, Jan, Per Persson, Petri Piippo, et al. uiGarden (2007). Articles>Usability>Ethnographies>Methods

Research in Context: Ethnographic Usability  

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.

Dorazio, Patti A. and Julia Stovall. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Usability>Ethnographies>Contextual Inquiry

Using an Ethnographic Method to Gather Usability Data from the Field  

Observation is a way to gather rich information about how users work with software products that also provides a clearer understanding of the users' work. The method consists of watching users performing their normal work routine where they work. Observers can be usability professionals or trained individuals from the company. The richness and type of data collected can be used to identify design opportunities for the next release, define usability goals for all products, and create realistic customer scenarios.

Carlevato, Denise. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Usability>Ethnographies>Methods

Finding Usability in Workplace Culture    

The authors give a detailed account of their assignment to create a content management system (CMS) for a large office and how paying close attention to workplace culture and behavior affected their design of an effective CMS.

McCarthy, Jacob E. and William Hart-Davidson. Intercom. Articles>Content Management>Usability>Ethnographies

Cultural Ethnography: A Brief Report

There is a lot of curiosity about ethnography in design among designers, especially the academicians. Context study or field study are the other similar activities discussed in the domain of usability. I happened to have carried out an ethnographic assignment almost a decade ago. I thought, sharing that experience (good or bad) will be useful to many.

Katre, Dinesh S. Journal of HCI Vistas (2007). Articles>Usability>Ethnographies>Case Studies