Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Participant Guidelines
•
Make the participants aware of your intentions.
Many people are wary of inter-
views. They don't like to be “put on the spot” and they don't want to be asked
“trick” questions. Let each person know the subject you wish to discuss, the names
of the other participants, the time you want to start the session, and whether this in-
terview is part of an ongoing series of interviews. Everyone in a given interview
session is more likely to engage in the conversation at hand and be quite respons-
ive to your questions if they know how you're going to conduct the session and
what you expect of them. Above all, reassure them that the interview is not a dis-
guised assessment of their performance; you want to make certain they feel com-
fortable talking to you openly and without reservation. This will go a long way to-
ward building a foundation of trust between you and the participants.
•
Let the participants know that you appreciate their participation in the interview
and that their responses to the interview questions are valuable to the overall
design project.
Earlier experiences are likely to make some people believe that
whatever input they provide at work goes unnoticed and unappreciated. Even when
their input did make a significant impact on a specific project, rarely did they get
so much as a “Thank you.” In light of this, there's no real motivation for them to
participate in your interview. Many, if not all, of your participants are likely to start
out with this attitude, but you can really increase their motivation by letting them
know that you sincerely and honestly appreciate their participation and are very in-
terested in their responses. Assure them that their feedback is truly valuable to the
design process and that in many cases their responses can substantiate and validate
decisions made throughout the design process. The participants will be more apt to
help you in any way they can if you make yourself credible by being genuinely
sincere; your job will be much easier and everyone will participate voluntarily and
enthusiastically. It's also very effective to show, on a second interview, how you
have already used participants' earlier contributions.
•
Make sure everyone understands that you are the official arbitrator if and when a
dispute arises.
It's inevitable that minor disputes will arise during an interview and
that there will be some amount of tension until such disputes are resolved. You can
avoid this situation by arbitrating these disputes yourself. As the database deve-
loper, you're in the best position to do this because you have an objective view-
point and can see both sides of an issue. Additionally, the decision you make will
always be in the best interests of the database structure. Always remember that dis-
putes dealing with something other than the database structure can and should be
referred to a more appropriate authority, if one exists.
