Contexts of Use: A Framework for Connection
Summary
The events and experiences of the last several years have exposed gaps in our awareness of - and practice around - connecting with people across the broadest range of human perspectives. Too often, as we've built services and complementary products, we have bypassed the hard questions around identity. To improve design decision-making, many organizations are using new approaches to ask a broader range of questions to more people. We'll discuss strategies for how to connect with the broadest range of people as well as how to represent insights that drive more inclusive design decision-making.
Key Insights
-
•
Personas should focus on user goals, motivations, and barriers rather than demographics or superficial traits.
-
•
Context of use narratives enrich personas by addressing intersectional identities and situational factors affecting user experience.
-
•
Frequent, semi-structured 'mini empathy interviews' provide valuable evolving user insights beyond traditional annual research.
-
•
Inclusive design anticipates a broad spectrum of human perspectives, not just the majority demographic (80%) but also smaller, marginalized groups (20%).
-
•
Public and nonprofit sectors often operate under tight budget constraints but innovate creatively to meet diverse user needs.
-
•
Engaging stakeholders and affected communities as co-designers in research fosters more relevant and effective outcomes.
-
•
Tools like empathy maps, journey maps, and user stories complement personas and context of use to guide design decisions.
-
•
Intersectionality includes both persistent and situational identity elements, plus factors of visibility to systems and data.
-
•
Behaviors such as seasonal service needs or temporary disabilities (e.g., broken wrist) highlight the dynamic nature of user contexts.
-
•
Designing with accessibility features from the start often benefits the entire user base, not only those with specific disabilities.
Notable Quotes
"We can no longer think of users as flat personas; we have to enrich those concepts with intersectional identities."
"Alan Cooper created personas to stop developers building features just because they're cool to build, not because users need them."
"It's not the demographics or names that should drive personas, but what people are really trying to do."
"The context of use framework helps teams understand that different experiences aren't bad, just different."
"Inclusive design isn't an add-on; it should be part of the minimum viable product to serve diverse human perspectives."
"Sometimes accommodating 20% of users with special needs improves the experience for the entire 100%."
"Mini empathy interviews embedded in regular research uncover evolving user stories that quantitative data alone misses."
"Nonprofits often treat communities served as stakeholders, which drives authentic inclusion in design."
"People are individuals first and part of communities second, which adds complexity to designing effective personas."
"Design teams need diverse perspectives because our own experiences cloud our judgment about user needs."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Culture is the sticky glue holding us together but flexible enough to allow us to move in new directions."
Chloe Amos-EdkinsA Cultural Approach: Research in the Context of Glocalisation
March 27, 2023
"We need to get comfortable with the unknown and embrace that some days we’ll sprint and others we’ll fall flat — but we go farther together."
Tricia WangSpatial Collapse: Designing for Emergent Culture
January 8, 2024
"Our clients all have innovation portfolios, but if you zoom out, it's many micro decisions over time that are often opportunistic, lacking strategic connection."
Milan Guenther Benjamin KumpfThe $212 billion ‘so what?’: unlocking impact in development cooperation
November 20, 2025
"Without a human in the loop, AI can go off and do crazy disastrous things."
Jon Fukuda Amy Evans Ignacio Martinez Joe MeersmanThe Big Question about Innovation: A Panel Discussion
September 25, 2024
"It's okay to try and mess up your OKRs in the first few quarters and learn from it."
Bria Alexander Benson Low Natalya Pemberton Stephanie GoldthorpeOKRs—Helpful or Harmful?
January 20, 2022
"I want there to be no hierarchy in communication. Even a junior associate should be able to talk directly to CEO Marc Benioff."
John TaschekMaking People the X-Factor in the Enterprise
June 15, 2018
"Anytime you have to justify something by saying just this one time, you know you’re going down a bad road."
Dan WillisEnterprise Storytelling Sessions
May 13, 2015
"We don’t promise that every piece of feedback will show up in the product, but we keep partners informed about how their input influences development."
Tracy McGoldrickIBM User Experience Program—The What, Why and How
October 15, 2021
"You are all very excited about the future of design ops because you are charting the course together."
Alana WashingtonTheme 3 Intro
October 1, 2021
