What interviews teach us about users

‍User conversations help us to:

• Exposing needs
• New features to test
• Better understanding behavior

One method that we often use is contextual inquiry. In addition to talking to the user, you also let them perform a task in their natural environment — so that you can observe their behavior live. And that's useful, because people don't always tell everything. Sometimes they don't even see their own behavior as relevant.

For example, we used this approach when redesigning zigzag, a puppy training app. By observing users while training their dogs, we saw exactly how they used the app, where they got stuck, and what they needed — things we'd never found out of a survey.

The strength lies in the context: the environment, time and tools determine how someone uses a system. And you only see that when you're there.

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