Interview to understand new product idea
eSimplicity performs contextual interviews to understand use cases for an existing product or new product idea. For example, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has a Hospital Compare tool available for the public to use. We must understand what a beneficiary or caregiver is interested in when comparing hospitals. Simply displaying the existing hospital measures may not be helpful to the users. Observing a participant navigating a product can help an interviewer understand what aspects trip them up, what they enjoy, what is unnecessary, and what they might use it for.
Interview for user interface design
It can be difficult to get a sense of the best possible user interface by simply asking participants questions about what they like to see. Watching them succeed and stumble through different interfaces can be a better gauge. In the example of the Insurance Payment Reconciliation process, the interviewer can let the insurance specialist try the new prototype and ask questions about his/her experience with the interface and observe if certain links are difficult to locate or tasks require too many steps.
Interview to understand user workflow
One of the most beneficial uses of contextual interview is assessing employee workflow. For example, Medicaid policy analysts have to review information, gather data, and submit to the CMS. Interviewers can review an internal process at your business and ask employees what can be done to improve productivity.
