Post on 27-Jun-2020
Assignment: Contextual Inquiry
Name: Manohar KEmail ID: manohar.Kanapaka@gmail.com
Assignment Instructions
For every user you conduct contextual inquiry on, you need to prepare the following:
● User information: details about user demographics, his/her technological preferences and a photo. [See
slide no. 4 for reference]
● Venue details of contextual inquiry: photo and location name. [See slide no. 5 for reference]
● Details of the task performed: App name, task, task details, link of lookback recording. [See slide no. 6 for
reference]
● Notes for the contextual inquiry session which would include: [See slide no. 7 for reference]
- Questions asked during the session and user answers to those questions
- Distractions faced while conducting the session
- Moments of delight and disappointment expressed by user during the session
● Analysis of the user answers and recording of the session. These would contain the insights gathered from
individual sessions you conducted. These are insights about what did the user set out to, what worked well
and what didn't, pain points in current flow to perform a task. For example, in the session Manu doesn't
remember his Paytm password and cod option was not available either. [See slide no. 8 for reference]
Lokesh Mundhra
User Information: 1
Name: Lokesh MundhraAge: 28City: IndoreOccupation: IT Manager - PlatformMarital Status: MarriedEducation Qualification: B.E (Computer Science) (CCNA, PMP certified)
Photograph of the user
Mobile Device OS: AndroidPreferred device for web access: MobilePreferred social networks: Facebook, TwitterFavourite Brands: Samsung, Xiaomi
Demographics
Technology
Venue of the contextual inquiry
Venue details – User’s office guest cabin
Details of the task performed
App Name: LinkedIn Website
Task: Search for jobs and apply for a relevant job
Task details: User searches for jobs on LinkedIn and then browses among the options. Then he tries to apply
for the one that is relevant to him in terms of his role and function
Link to the Lookback Video for the user:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N7JbJz6jj7VATIFOs2T5m22PHhgMgtqh/view?usp=sharing
Notes for the contextual inquiry session
Question asked and the answers by the user
Q) Task: Could you log into your LinkedIn account and try searching for a few jobs and apply for one of them?
Subject logged into his account and started searching for jobs immediately
Q) How often do you use LinkedIn?
Subject uses it on a daily basis and keeps himself updated with the feed and profile
Q) So do you use it to find for jobs?
Subject uses it generally to make corporate connections and to keep looking for interesting jobs
Q) Do you have any particular role in your mind that you want to look for?
Subject has a very clear understanding of what he wants and knows his skill set thoroughly which was evident when he directly got into searching for the most
relevant jobs for his role
Q) Do you think this particular role (DB management at McAfee) is relevant to you?
Subject says that that role is relevant to him because he could see that the he has done the certifications that are being asked in the job description
Notes for the contextual inquiry session
Question asked and the answers by the user
Q) So on a scale of 1 – 10, how do you rate LinkedIn in terms of searching and applying for jobs?
Subject rates it very highly – 9/10 and calls it the best platform. LinkedIn has jobs posted by HRs and he could even get referrals which he wouldn’t get on
Naukri or Monster. He also says that he could get feedback from his connections with respect to the job and company
Q) Can you apply for this particular job then?
Subject clicks on the apply button and then goes onto explain how to apply directly on the careers page from here or ask for a referral and apply with HR.
Notes for the contextual inquiry session
Distractions observed if any
• The subject was not distracted at all even with some tiny disturbance from the outside (office chaos)
• Overall the subject was well versed with the flow of the website and didn’t get distracted at all
Notes for the contextual inquiry session
Moments of delight
• The subject was delighted to find the referral option directly with the job posting which makes the application easier
• The subject was delighted to find many relevant options within his core function and job interests, directly aligned with his career goals
• The subject was also delighted that the quality of jobs posted on LinkedIn is always high which according to him is LinkedIn’s edge over
its competitors like Naukri and Monster.com
Moments of disappointment
• The subject had no moments of disappointment at all, always knew his way around the flow and found everything smoothly
• If at all, his only tiny moment of disappointment was unable to get the drop down of Bangalore (from the key word bang) and had to
change it to beng to finally get the drop down as Bengaluru (this is a very tiny thing to consider)
Your analysis of the session
The subject could be called as a power user of LinkedIn and knows his way around the entire
user flow. He knows what he wants in terms of his requirements and skill-sets. Then he knows
how the discovery and job descriptions work and more importantly how to get him highlighted
among the hundreds of applicants. He understands the concept of referrals and how to use it
effectively with the job applications on LinkedIn.
The subject even knows the edge offered by the platform when compared to its competitors
and hence even bought a premium subscription from LinkedIn to establish corporate
connections and to look for most relevant jobs.
The subject also keeps his profile updated and uses LinkedIn on a daily basis. This gives him a
good understanding of all the LinkedIn features which was evident in his knowledge of using
referrals and connections in job applications.
Overall, his understanding of the product and the user flow is very good.
Vikas Shukla
User Information: 2
Name: Vikas ShuklaAge: 30City: IndoreOccupation: IT Manager – Network Marital Status: MarriedEducation Qualification: B.Sc. in IT (Diploma in Hardware & Networking)
Photograph of the user
Mobile Device OS: AndroidPreferred device for web access: MobilePreferred social networks: TwitterFavourite Brands: Samsung, Lenovo
Demographics
Technology
Venue of the contextual inquiry
Venue details – User’s office guest cabin
Details of the task performed
App Name: LinkedIn Website
Task: Search for jobs and apply for a relevant job
Task details: User searches for jobs on LinkedIn and then browses a few. Then he tries to apply for the one
that is relevant to him in terms of his role and function
Link to the video for the user:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dH8kLAvFkvkWT7ns1KhsrqbfO-N0wGuB/view
Notes for the contextual inquiry session
Question asked and the answers by the user
Q) Task: Could you log into your account and try searching for jobs
Subject logged into his account and started searching for jobs quite easily without any hassle
Q) How often do you use LinkedIn?
The user has a very updated LinkedIn profile and tries to keep updated with his feed/network
Q) Do you search for jobs on any other portals?
The subject also uses Naukri.com to look for jobs along with LinkedIn as well
Q) Do you find this job relevant with your experience?
The subject finds the job relevant but doesn’t want to apply as he is not interested in the job description or the overall profile
Q) So do you want to search for any other profile?
The subject then changes the search word to one other key word (another one his interest roles) and finds one more relevant job
Notes for the contextual inquiry session
Question asked and the answers by the user
Q) So do you want to apply for this particular job?
Subject was slightly hesitant to apply for the job initially but eventually applied to find that it leads to a different portal
Q) How would you have liked it better (in terms of applying for job)?
The subject would have preferred to apply for the job on the portal itself rather than again sending his updated resume on a different site
(as it redirected to a different portals page)
Q) How do you rate LinkedIn on a scale of 1 – 10 with respect to searching and applying for jobs?
The subject rates it at 7/10 and says that it is good but although it could be better
Notes for the contextual inquiry session
Distractions observed if any
• The subject was distracted a bit when there was a pop-up from LinkedIn regarding a layout change –
“try a new layout”. He had to stop and read it first and then finally closed it to continue with his task
• Other than that, there weren’t any distractions as such in the session
Notes for the contextual inquiry session
Moments of delight
• The subject was delighted to find that the very relevant jobs are being posted with respect to the roles that he is interested in
• The subject was delighted that overall flow is always smooth on LinkedIn and the profile stays updated which means it is easy to look for
relevant jobs
• Moments of disappointment
• The subject was disappointed to find that clicking on apply led to a different portal which meant uploading a resume again – which is a
lot of work.
• The subject was also disappointed that he didn’t find a way to bookmark that job option or save that job for later (this feature is present
on LinkedIn, he wanted to save it for later – but still didn’t find it while trying to apply for it)
Your analysis of the session
The subject knows his way around LinkedIn well and could perform the task quite easily. He
found what he wanted not once but twice – which means his understanding of his role and his
technical skill-set is very apt. He wanted to save one particular job, which he couldn’t finally.
This meant that, a prompt from LinkedIn in saving a particular job could help users like him.
Overall, his impression was also that on LinkedIn he can see lot of relevant jobs – but applying
would always be on a different jobs portal altogether (like in this particular session) which
means he has to send an updated profile again. The subject preferred that LinkedIn had a direct
apply button – which could accept his updated profile as his resume with no hassles at all.
For the very same reason – the subject rated Naukri as bit higher in terms of applying for jobs
and hence his rating of 7. Overall, his understanding of the platform is good, he is updated with
the features but quite not comprehensive yet.
Tasneem Hussain
User Information: 3
Name: Tasneem HussainAge: 24City: IndoreOccupation: HR ExecutiveMarital Status: SingleEducation Qualification: MBA – Human Resources & Finance
Photograph of the user
Mobile Device OS: AndroidPreferred device for web access: MobilePreferred social networks: FacebookFavourite Brands: Apple, One Plus
Demographics
Technology
Venue of the contextual inquiry
Venue details – User’s office guest cabin
Details of the task performed
App Name: LinkedIn Website
Task: Search for jobs and apply for a relevant job
Task details: User searches for jobs on LinkedIn and then browses a few. Then she tries to apply for the one
that is relevant to her in terms of her role and function
Link to the video for the user:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/18oylSNc6CEQ4OycdSwnP8QZFE0ij2lhA/view?usp=sharing
Notes for the contextual inquiry session
Question asked and the answers by the user
Q) Task: Could you log into your account and try searching for jobs?
Subject logged into her account after a failed 1st attempt and started searching for jobs using the key word – Asst. HR Manager
Q) Is this particular job not relevant to you?
Subject says since the role is with an insurance company, she is not really keen for it.
Q) So what are your areas of interest generally? (with respect to company/sector)
Subject quoted specific interest in banking, IT and corporate houses (group companies)
Q) Do you want to change the location (as she couldn’t find anything relevant) to a different choice?
Subject changes the location and finds a lot of jobs and starts browsing again within the options, with even setting a filter for experience level to fresher
Q) Do you want to search with a different key word (just HR) for more relevant results?
Subject identifies that Asst. Manager is not an entry level job which is the reason for very low number of results, changes the search word to HR and gets
relevant results
Notes for the contextual inquiry session
Question asked and the answers by the user
Q) Do you find this particular job (HR Generalist – Fresher) relevant to you?
Subject actually clicked on the post by looking at the key word fresher and then found that job description is very relevant to her, but wasn’t able to ascertain
what sector the company is into. After some careful scanning found out that the role is with a marketing company.
Q) So overall, what happened out there with respect to the whole process, what did you find difficult?
The subject confessed that she doesn’t have the exact key word to search for (which meant lots of options and lots of clutter) and hence clicked on even
unrelated jobs (like Oracle specialist – which is a technical job). The subject preferred that there is an option to select jobs based on the sector/industry level
which could help users like her.
Notes for the contextual inquiry session
Distractions observed if any
• The subject couldn’t remember her password which was a tiny distraction for her, but could
immediately recollect it and log into it
• The subject was distracted because the platform didn’t turn many results which led to poor
enthusiasm
• The subject found the whole exercise a bit exhausting as it was taking a lot of time for her find what
she wanted
• The subject confessed that she is unable to define correctly on what she wanted (for ex: HR generalist
or HR recruiter or HR manager or HR trainee etc.) which was another distraction as it led to poor
enthusiasm on the subject towards the end of the session
Notes for the contextual inquiry session
Moments of delight
• The subject found the jobs section very easily and even narrowed it down with her parameters of choice (location and function)
• The subject was delighted to find a very relevant job (in terms of profile) after thorough search, although it took some time
• The subject was delighted to find higher number of jobs on changing the location in her job search
Moments of disappointment
• The subject was disappointed to find that number of options were too many with most of them having no relevance to her profile
• The subject was disappointed that there was no filter to choose her industry/vertical of her choice (with respect to industry/sector)
• The subject also had expressed that there is no feature/filter to find the role of her relevance (with respect to job responsibilities)
Your analysis of the session
Overall, the subject had a very moderate understanding of the platform. She could find the jobs
section easily but the filters were an absolute blinder for her initially. The subject also struggled
with the key words as she is a fresher and didn’t have any industry knowledge of what could be
an entry level HR role called – there are too many names and options available on the search
filters.
The subject also had a poor knowledge of the relevant job descriptions and possible companies
that would have entry level openings in HR which led to her clicking on every random job that
she thought was relevant. The subject even clicked on a completely unrelated Oracle technical
job.
It is quite imperative that LinkedIn is not easy to use for novices like this subject. The platform
should help with some guidance and mock up tools with respect to the user flow and feature
flow.