Paragraph 2.2: Contextmapping of the Delft Design Guide, for Industrial Design, TU Delft ()

Delft Design Guide | Part 2 | Creating Product Ideas and Concepts | Contextmapping – 2.2

Contextmapping

What Is Contextmapping?Contextmapping is a user-centred design technique

that involves the user as ‘expert of his or her

experience’. By providing the user with design tools

and approaches, he or she can express a particular

experience.

In the past decades, the role of researcher within

design has grown considerably. Previously designers

could focus on the product with its additional inner

technology, whilst these days design often begins

with a thorough understanding of the user and the

usability context such as the what, where, how,

when, with whom etc, which surround the interaction

between user and product.

The term context is defined as the context in which

the product is used. All the factors that influence the

experience of product use, such as: social, cultural,

physical aspects as well as goals, needs, emotions

and practical matters.

The term contextmap indicates that the acquired

information should work as a guiding map for the

design team. It helps the designers find their way,

structure their insights, recognise dangers and

opportunities. The contextmap is meant to be

regarded as an inspiration, not a validation.

When Can You Use Contextmapping?A Contextmapping study should help designers to

understand the user’s perspective and to translate

the user’s experience into a desirable design solution.

To design desired (product) solutions, designers

create a vision for future use, which pays special

attention to the deeper layers of meaning. These

layers are expected to be valid in the long term and

can be attained by calling up memories from the past.

How Can You Use Contextmapping?Step 1: Preparing

• Determine what you want to learn

• Determine the topic of study

• Define the scope around the focus that is to be

explored

• Capture your preconceptions in a Mind Map

• Start selecting participants in time

• Make a planning

• Conduct preliminary research (first interviews, study

background literature)

• Design expressive tools such as workbooks or probes.

Step 2: Sensitising

Some time before the session, users receive a

sensitising package, which helps them to observe

their own lives and reflect on their experiences of

the study topic. It can consist of various elements

derived from cultural probe packages, such as an

exercise book, postcard assignments, fill-in maps and

cameras. Here are some tips:

• Make it personal but well cared for

• Make it inviting and playful

• Always conduct pilot tests before creating your

materials

fig.2.54 Example of a sensitizing package

Delft Design Guide | Part 2 | Creating Product Ideas and Concepts | Contextmapping – 2.2

• Invite the user to extend rather than answer

• Meet your participants in person.

The sensitising process takes about a week. The user

is encouraged to spread the assignment throughout

the week, which gives him or her the opportunity to

generate memories and associations and sharpen

their sensitivity to the topic.

Step 3: Meeting

After the sensitising step, the researcher and user

meet. This can be in a group session with typically

up to six users, or an interview at the user’s home

or work location, whereby one of the researchers

facilitates the process and the other makes notes and

observes. In the session a number of exercises are

done to gradually deepen the insight into the topic.

Here are some tips:

• Record it on video if possible

• Write down your impressions immediately afterwards

Facilitating

• Instruction: ‘you are the expert of your experience’,

‘anything goes’, ‘respect each others’ stories’

• Ask questions like ‘how do you feel about it?’, ‘what

does it mean to you?’

Exercise

• Use diverse images and words

(nature, people, interactions) 80-90

words/ pictures often work well

• Select ambiguous pictures

• Balance between positive and

negative emotions

• Invite

• Don’t make it too beautiful.

Step 4: Analysing

Sessions and workbooks provide large amounts of

data, which must be interpreted to find patterns and

possible directions. The data contain photographs and

workbooks that participants have made, expressive

artefacts from the session and often a video

recording and full-text transcript from the session.

Quotes are selected from the transcript, interpreted

and organised. On the basis of the first impression, a

qualitative analysis is performed.

How toContextmapping

WORKBOOK

NEW CONCEPT

make & say discussing analyzing capture & share conceptualizingsensitizingpreparing

session

collecting user insights share with and communicate to the design team

fig. 2.56 Analysing; Selecting and interpreting chunks of

data, often a group activity

fig. 2.55

Users create

expressions

of their

experience,

which are

presented to -

and discussed

with their peers

Delft Design Guide | Part 2 | Creating Product Ideas and Concepts | Contextmapping – 2.2

Researchers sift through the material, make

selections and interpretations and try to find patterns

of similarities and differences.

The researcher typically creates a rich visual

environment of interpretations and categories which

he or she then analyses. Here are some tips:

• Immerse yourself in the data

• Clarify your interpretations

• Give it some time

• Do it together (triangulate)

• Be surprised

• Find patterns.

Step 5: Communicating

In practice, designers often do not meet the users.

Therefore the researchers have to translate the ‘user

experience’ to the designer and convey the user’s

perspective, needs and values. Here are some tips:

• Do a workshop

• Sensitise the designers

• Leave room for users’ own interpretations

• Make it personal

• Show that your contact was real

• Show real people

• Combine raw data with interpretations

• Combine results with other (market) research results.

Step 6: Conceptualising and beyond

Communications often serve to improve idea

generation, concept development and further

product development. Users are often highly

motivated to look at the results again and can build

on the knowledge they generated many weeks

after the original study. In the meantime they often

have become aware of the new insights into their

experience which they enjoy sharing.

fig. 2.57 Example of an Infographic; to communicate insights

Watch interview with Sanne Kistemaker (Muzus)

via the OpenCourseWare version of this guide:

http://ocw.tudelft.nl

fig. 2.58 ‘Piece of Family’ (graduation project)

Delft Design Guide | Part 2 | Creating Product Ideas and Concepts | Contextmapping – 2.2

Here are some tips:

• Keep user and experience in mind

• Tell stories

• Make storyboards

• Do role-playing.

References and Further Reading

Sleeswijk Visser, F., Stappers, P.J., Lugt van der, R. and

Sanders, E.B.-N. (2005) Contextmapping: Experience from

Practice, CoDesign, 1(2), pp.119-149.

www.contextmapping.com

http://maketools.com