What needs to be finished first
At least one rough persona or user-segment profile is available so participant selection is goal-oriented.
A concrete research question focused on activity, context, or workaround is defined and aligned with the product team.
What needs to be ready before start
Notebook or tablet with an observation template; recorder (audio or video) with consent; camera for artifact photos; travel setup for on-site visits (power, business cards); structured field notes template.
One primary researcher (lead interviewer and observer); optional note-taking partner; the user performing work in their real context; and one organization representative for safety-critical devices or rooms if required.
Written consent; explanation of the Master-Apprentice model (user is the master, researcher is the apprentice); briefing on time window, duration, and recording; expectation that normal work should continue with no demonstration.
90-180 min per inquiry plus 60 min follow-up
Meet at the participant's actual workplace, not in a meeting room. Researcher sits beside or slightly behind the person, not opposite. Place recording device visibly. Start with a 5-minute setup: explain the model, confirm consent, and clarify when interruptions are acceptable.
The one question this method answers
How does the participant carry out their work in the real context, which workarounds, artifacts, and implicit assumptions shape the process, and which of these observations are design-relevant?
Marker: Minute
| Step | Duration | Action | Hint |
|---|---|---|---|
10-10 min | 10 min | Introduction on the workstation: introductions, consent confirmation, explanation of the Master-Apprentice model. Briefly brief the task the person is anyway completing today. | If the person prepared a special task for the study, the method is contaminated. Repeat the instruction: normal work in normal sequence. |
210-90 min | 80 min | Observe and ask clarifying questions: participant works, researcher observes, asks questions in the flow ("What are you doing now?", "Why this way?"). Document artifacts, screens, and workarounds. | If the researcher speaks more than the participant, the balance is off. Rule of thumb: 20% researcher, 80% participant. Hold silence and let the participant continue explaining. |
390-110 min | 20 min | Review with the participant: walk through observed steps together, validate interpretations, and clarify open questions. The participant confirms or corrects what the researcher understood. | Skipping this phase moves interpretation to a later solo effort. Recapping with the participant saves hours during synthesis and avoids misinterpretation. |
4110-120 min | 10 min | Close: thank the participant, define next step (feedback loop), and provide contact details for follow-up questions. Stop the recording and say goodbye. | Do not evaluate in front of the participant. Impressions are not yet synthesized; premature conclusions can frustrate or upset them. |
5120-180 min | 60 min | Immediately after the session, do structured follow-up: complete field notes, skim the recording, form initial theme clusters, sort photos, and note open questions for the next inquiry. | If synthesis takes place later than 24 hours, impressions blur. Invest at least 30 minutes the same day; do full synthesis within 48 hours. |
What comes out at the end
Structured field notes per inquiry with context, observed steps, verbatim quotes, artifact photos, workaround observations, open questions, and first interpretations. For study-level synthesis, aggregate a shared affinity wall from 4-6 inquiries.
One file per inquiry with date, role, and pseudonym in the header. Pseudonymize personally identifiable data. Keep aggregated synthesis linked to individual inquiries to preserve traceability.
Compact working template for Contextual Inquiry with context, input, output artifacts, and next step.
Observes and interviews users while they are doing real work in their actual context of use.
When and for what do we use this method?
Which data, observations, decisions, or materials are available?
Short notes along the runsheet.
Owner, date, and success signal.
Concrete filled scenario, fictional example
Concrete filled scenario, fictional example
Context: Home office, Monday morning, task "month-end close for client Mr. Müller".
The Excel checklist is not a learning aid, but completeness control. Product implication: implement a completeness indicator in the tool itself rather than in training documentation.
Recognize symptoms and steer against them
Researcher explains, suggests, and compares with other users. The participant listens instead of working.
Keep the Master-Apprentice model explicit. Pause after 30 seconds of your own talking. Ask questions rather than giving statements. Keep observations for synthesis and do not share them during the inquiry.
The participant prepared a special task for the study; the workspace looks organized and unusually structured.
Reinforce beforehand that normal work is expected. If it is still staged, ask about the real workflow from the past week and reconstruct examples before observing.
The researcher asks, "What would you like?" or "How do you normally do this?" instead of seeing concrete actions in context.
Anchor questions in what is happening now: "What are you doing right now?", "Why this step?". Move hypothesis questions to the end, not into the observation flow.
Field notes only contain summaries like "Sabine found the tool cumbersome," with no verbatim quotes.
Capture at least 10 verbatim quotes per inquiry, with timestamps and quotation marks. Quotes are the evidence base for synthesis and protect against confirmation bias.
In a 60-minute slot the participant reaches the main task by 30 minutes and the researcher only observes the surface.
Schedule at least 90 minutes, ideally 2 hours. If the participant finishes early, ask for follow-up tasks or explore edge cases and exceptions.
The recording is analyzed two weeks later, with field notes containing gaps and faded recall.
Block 30-60 minutes immediately for follow-up. Use the recording only as backup, prioritizing your own notes. Book the follow-up slot before the inquiry.
Done signals checkable in under a minute
Go to the profile for purpose, similar methods, and sources or continue to the next method in the catalog.