Kasutusloost

Kasutusloost is an Estonian term used in product development and user research to describe a narrative about how a product or service is used in real-world contexts. It emphasizes user goals, steps, context, and outcomes, rather than isolated features, to illuminate typical usage patterns and pain points.

The term combines kasutus (usage) with lugu (story) and is inflected to form kasutusloost, a phrase that can mean a usage story or a set of usage scenarios used to illustrate how people interact with a product.

Content and method: A kasutusloost centers on a specific user and situation, detailing the goal, sequence of actions, context, obstacles, and the result. It is gathered through interviews, field observations, diaries, or contextual inquiries, and is used to inform design decisions and prioritization.

Relation to related concepts: Kasutusloost is related to user stories, use-case scenarios, and case studies, with a stronger emphasis on narrative context and real tasks. It complements quantitative data by providing qualitative insight and should be conducted with attention to privacy and representative sampling.

See also: user story, case study, user research.