New Architect: Stalk Your User

I've been learning a little more about a user-centered method of design and development called Contextual Inquiry, first developed in the early 90's by Hugh Beyer and Karen Holtzblatt. This article provides a high level view of the basics.

Contextual inquiry is an increasingly popular method for discovering this information. Also known as ethnographic research or field studies, the idea is deceptively simple: Build useful products and watch your users as they work. The process itself sounds even easier: Go to where your users are and tag along with them.