An ethnography of communication approach to mobile product testing

Product testing of mobile communication technology has typically employed the same research methodologies that were traditionally applied to stationary technology. An approach that does not primarily rely on physical location to study mobile communication technologies is thus needed. The stable component of mobile communication technology is not physical space but human communication. Therefore, a research model is developed based on an ethnography of communication approach, which designates “talk” (i.e., symbolic communication) as the primary and essential unit of measurement while making stationary physical location secondary. This allows design teams to enter a user “speech community” anywhere. Eight participants tested both the stationary and mobile version of customer relationship management software for sales. All participants were professional salespeople, comprising a speech community. Users articulated their “local” speech community meaning systems in the form of scenarios of use, which can guide product design and marketing. The findings show that proof-of-concept testing of mobile versions of desktop software can be done in conjunction with the usability testing for stationary technology.