More about Guided Tour
Guided tours are best conducted one-on-one to pay close attention to every implicit and explicit detail suggested by the guide. The researcher can take pictures, notes, and record audio as well as videos to document the guided tour. Certain visual cues such as where items are kept, how are things organized, why are things organized in that manner, etc. can help reveal many meaningful insights for the researcher.
The participant is someone you are designing for. A guided tour also reveals cultural and gender dynamics that are at play in the user’s environment. The researcher must be sensitive to the aspects that are not explicitly stated by the participant and can probe at points when the participants mentions something interesting during the course of the guided tour.
Advantages of Guided Tour
1. In-depth understanding
As the researcher receives a guided tour firsthand from the user, through a one-on-one interaction, at a pace comfortable for the user and in a space that is familiar to the user, the researcher is exposed to a clear and detailed picture of the user and their environment.
2. Human-centered
Guided tour is human/user centered i.e. designed to address the need of the users.
3. User & Researcher relationship
As the user and researcher interact one-on-one, in an environment that is comfortable for the user, the user can reveal a lot more personal details as they would otherwise and with utmost authenticity.
4. Expert opinion
The user is considered an expert in their domain and the researcher gets to directly observe and probe the user on it.
Disadvantages of Guided Tour
1. Time consuming
By nature, guided tours can be time consuming.
2. User authenticity
Some users may lead the guided tour in a way to position themselves as experts when their viewpoint of their environment could be extremely different from what they are trying to project. This may be especially true in the case of sensitive issues such as culture and gender.
3. Diverse Viewpoints
Different users may present their environment differently; therefore, the guided tour could lead to diverse findings.