Can anyone recommend methods for performing usability tests on large, complex applications with lots of conceptual dependencies?
We're running into issues in our design of a test. We want to test "Section B" of our application, but "Section B" doesn't make a lot of sense unless you've already been exposed to "Section A". The trouble is, Section A is pretty complicated in itself. They're definitely too big to test together in a single 60 minute test. What to do, what to do...! So far I've thought of (with drawbacks in parentheses): a) Have a facilitator walk them through Section A for 15 minutes before they do the 60 minute Section B test (perhaps a bit overwhelming, hard to digest) b) Ensure the participants who test Section A come back and test Section B (good in theory, but difficult to schedule) c) Test the two back-to-back in a 120-minute-long test (participants might fade) d) Pretend the dependencies don't exist and have them test Section B with no background knowledge (not realistic, but hey, maybe the others are too ambitious) Surely other people have had experience with this sort of thing - any recommendations on what has and hasn't worked well? Am I approaching it all wrong? Thanks so much, Meredith ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
