Capturing user experience closes the feedback loop
Categorised under: Usability & user-centered design
Jon Udell has written an article on portable usability testing equipment and software. To quote:
Developers who possess deep but tacit knowledge of complex hardware and software environments are notoriously unable to project themselves into the beginner’s mind. Observation is the only way to bridge the gap, but Pausch’s innovative exercise notwithstanding, that’s easier said than done. It’s expensive to rent a so-called “fixed lab” and to bring people there to conduct a formal study. Even commercial developers can’t do this routinely; many enterprise developers never get the opportunity to see users interact with their wares.
Portable labs — available from Alucid Solution, Ovo Studios, and UserWorks, among others — are a cheaper and more convenient alternative to fixed labs. These are typically suitcases packed with gear for capturing and editing videos of both onscreen activities and the users performing them.
James Robertson is the Managing Director of 