User's natural environment

Capturing the participant's own environment can also help discover important aspects of how users might interact with the product. Imagine testing a TV-streaming device. The study sponsor will be interested in understanding the individual setup of the participants' environment, such as where they sit when using the device, what the distance to the TV is, or what lighting is available. These settings are difficult to replicate to everyone's individual taste in a lab.

Interruptions can also provide valuable insight into a product's usability with respect to how easy it is to pick back up after an interruption. This is relevant for any interface that is frequently or typically used in an environment or at a time when interruptions might occur, such as a colleague coming over to the user's desk or the doorbell ringing, and so on.