Context of Use

The context of use describes the environment and conditions under which a product or design will be used.

User experience (UX) design considers the entire experience around a product or service, taking into account the user’s emotional state, the context of use or environment, and the designed system or artifact.

Contextual research methods, such as field studies and diary studies, can provide a deeper understanding of how a design is used in context and ensure that research has high ecological validity or an accurate understanding of how users behave naturally (source: Nielsen Norman Group).