How to Use Observation in Games User Research

First published as The Acagamic Tip Tuesday #3 on acagamic.com. Edited for this archive.

Use observation systematically to study your users in the field.

Curiosity drives most observation, but good UX research needs a system and a purpose. If you know what to watch for, writing up your findings later gets much easier. Here are five aspects to observe.

Organization of time and space

In a field study, channel your inner anthropologist. Watch how people organize their time, who makes decisions, and which activities and events take place. This gives you a feel for how the action flows.

Pay close attention to the layout and furnishing of the space, because groups and individuals mark and protect their territory. Does that lead to conflicts you can see?

Physical objects

Objects carry meaning. Note which objects are present and how people use them. What does each one symbolize here? Which are private, and which are shared? Does anyone control access to them?

Social actors

How people look and behave in a shared space tells you about its social structure. Can you read status and social roles from people’s relationships? Is there a visible professional hierarchy, or does everyone seem equal?

Interactions

Watch what people do and how they do it. Notice nonverbal behaviour, and listen to what people say formally and informally, including tone, topics, and context. Find out who communicates with whom, when, and where. Then reflect on your own feelings and reactions. Why are you responding the way you do?

Rituals, routines, and episodes

Separate routine actions from unusual ones. Which rituals are formally recognized, and which happen informally? Look for episodes: chains of action and reaction between people. How do people express their emotions?

Accept that you are human

You cannot observe everything. Narrow your focus to your research problem.

This tip draws on Ciesielska, M., Boström, K. W., and Öhlander, M. (2018). Observation methods. In Qualitative Methodologies in Organization Studies (pp. 33–52). Palgrave Macmillan.