Field studies are the best way to learn about your customers' goals and needs. Visiting people in their own environment can help you learn very different kinds of information from that collected in usability labs or other methods. So why have so few companies perfected the field studies method? Probably because of one or a combination of the following reasons: 1) not understanding the importance of this method, 2) planning and conducting these studies is new and foreign to them, 3) misconceptions that it is too time-consuming or expensive, or 4) they have tried field research but were unsuccessful in interpreting the piles of data collected. This tutorial will help solve these problems, leading participants through lecture and exercises. After taking this workshop, participants will be able to conduct their own successful field studies.

The most fundamental and important change you can make goes beyond design and involves a deeper understanding of users' behavior and approach to their tasks. This data is quite hard to come by because one cannot simply rely on what users say they do. Thus, interviews and focus groups do not provide the type of insights needed to specify a site that will be substantially better at supporting users' needs. You have to visit the users in their own environment to fully understand the way they work. We have a field study methodology that does just that, and collects rich and valid data. Doing it provides the opportunity to leapfrog the competition, but we have to admit that it is a hard and time-consuming process.

The outcome of Field Research is not a design but rather an understanding of what's needed for a new design. You can evolve this understanding into a design in two ways:

1. You can simply design a new site with the recommended feature set. This is cheap and fast and does not involve us, even though we obviously do recommend that you include some usability work to check that you actually got the design right.
2. It is possible to follow the Field Research with the four-step method for specifying design directions (process B). Doing so does increase the duration and cost of the project but maximizes the utilization of the data and the quality of the final design.

After this workshop, you will be able to conduct your own user tests in the future and you will never have to pay us a dime again.

Logistics

• NN/g sends you a document describing how to set up and schedule the visits

• NN/g has a conference call to go over this document and any questions you have

• You find the people to visit and schedule the visits

• Day one: prepare for visits

• Days two and three: go on visits (all local)

• Day four: discuss findings and work on reports/ diagrams

We ask that your staff find the actual users or customers to visit.

The only part of this seminar that allows a large audience is the final presentation, which you will help deliver. The rest is very intensive and should ideally be limited to 10 people (6-8 better).

Outcomes

• The participants will have learned the skills necessary to carry out their own field studies in the future.
• Field study results, including defining profile, personas, tasks and tools.
• Increased awareness about usability across the organization because of the highly motivational and action-oriented final lecture.

Thus, you can pay for the seminar out of your training budget or your development budget as you prefer: this is both a learning experience and a way to improve the user experience of your next design.
 

Pricing Details

• The price for this seminar within the United States is $35,000 plus travel expenses.
• Prices in other countries are higher.

How to Order

Please contact Nielsen Norman Group at info@nngroup.com if you are interested in more information or would like to request this workshop. Note that availability of our senior staff is highly variable: usually we need at least one month's notice. If you need the workshop on a specific date or if international travel is involved, three months' notice would be preferable.