Research Overview

Our team uses the process of contextual design, which involves the use of ethnographic techniques to examine a product with an appreciation for not only the technical aspects of a system, but also the people who make use of it and the context of their work.

Through field studies, we go into participants’ workplaces to examine coordination of work, roles and responsibilities, norms and influences, and any other relevant factors. We synthesize this data into work models that reveal patterns and structure in the work and. Along with supplementary research methods, this informs work redesign and, ultimately, the creation of a new system.

We reached out to members of the AIR community and to other stakeholders in order to understand their needs and perspectives, uncovering opportunities to improve AIR’s web presence. In total, we spoke to 21 individuals through face-to-face and phone interviews. This data, along with our findings from a competitive analysis and other outside research, will inform the redesign of AIR's web presence during the design phase of the project.

Building an affinity diagram to make sense of information gathered during our kickoff meeting.
Building an affinity diagram to make
sense of information gathered during our kickoff meeting.