It's odd that the author can criticize UCD when they apparently don't know what it is. Focus groups and "just asking the user" are exactly what UCD advocates discourage.
The "contextual" part of Contextual Design means real users using real products in their real context. That is how you extract useful data from your users and enable yourself to design something centered around them.
The "contextual" part of Contextual Design means real users using real products in their real context. That is how you extract useful data from your users and enable yourself to design something centered around them.