Comments on: Research on the Quick http://triux.org/2006/09/28/research-on-the-quick/ User Experience news and events from North Carolina Sun, 06 Jul 2008 19:07:11 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=MU By: Sam http://triux.org/2006/09/28/research-on-the-quick/#comment-2375 Sam Wed, 04 Oct 2006 16:18:11 +0000 http://triux.wordpress.com/2006/09/28/research-on-the-quick/#comment-2375 We are ramping up direct observation and I got a reminder just today that _sometimes_ users can tell you exactly what they need. After a recent observation and task analysis session I walked back to the users' work area and saw a wishlist on a whiteboard that echoed my own conclusions. So while I don't like to rely on interviews, I think they should be done at some point. The information gathered can't be allowed to steer the rest of the requirements gathering, but it can be good for fleshing out details and as a sanity check. Dealing with conflicts between user interview material and contextual analysis is probably a good topic for a broader discussion. We are ramping up direct observation and I got a reminder just today that _sometimes_ users can tell you exactly what they need. After a recent observation and task analysis session I walked back to the users’ work area and saw a wishlist on a whiteboard that echoed my own conclusions.

So while I don’t like to rely on interviews, I think they should be done at some point. The information gathered can’t be allowed to steer the rest of the requirements gathering, but it can be good for fleshing out details and as a sanity check.

Dealing with conflicts between user interview material and contextual analysis is probably a good topic for a broader discussion.

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