Usability Films

Usability Films

Posted Oct 18, 2005 23:11 UTC (Tue) by crouchet (guest, #1084)
Parent article: A pair of desktop initiatives

Usability labs work. Developers tend to have blind spots about their own software and end users don't know what is possible so they typically have no idea what to suggest. But watching those end users work through your application is a great way to spot the flaws and areas where the users just don't think like the developers.

As a member of a team developing a large, complex application I can say we have found this method very valuable. It is important to select your end user sample carefully since selecting those who know too much or who are too incompetent is not useful and can even be misleading. The ones you select should accurately represent your target audience.

Watching those end users try to find their way though your app can be a bit painful and humbling so you need to leave your ego on the shelf when you watch.

We usually have our team members sitting together in a location remote from where the user is working through a set of scenarios. We watch using a projector. Since we are far out of earshot we can discuss what we are seeing, make suggestions, brainstorm, etc as the user works. We make lists of problems/improvements/suggestions to be worked later. We have a controller who will help the user along if they get really stuck or misunderstand the scenario but should otherwise be silent and let the user struggle through it as much as is feasible. Our controller will also interview the users at the end and get their impressions, suggestions, likes and dislikes.

Of course, this does little or nothing for under-the-hood issues but that is not the point of this sort of testing.

JC

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