In addition to our report, I should've also mentioned that Dana
Chisnell has been writing on this topic on her blog:
Yes or No: Make Your Recruiter Smarter
http://is.gd/iFrx
Why Your Screener Isn't Working
http://is.gd/iFrV
Her firm, Usability Works, are ideal recruiters and understand why UX
recruiting is not the same as market research recruiting. They also
have very low no-show rates and produce high-quality participants,
even for very unusual project requirements. They're on the top of my
list for outside recruiters. (Dana will also help you set up an
effective internal recruitment process, if that's how you want to go.)
Jared
On Feb 6, 2009, at 12:26 PM, Jared Spool wrote:
Hi Vicki,
I'll take a stab at answering these two, since the others are very
broad and could result in endless threads of their own on this list.
On Feb 6, 2009, at 6:44 AM, Vicki Splaine wrote:
1) Tips for successful recruiting using in house resources, as we can
not use an outside recruiting agency for cost reasons?
I co-wrote an entire report on just this subject called Recruiting
Without Fear (http://is.gd/iFbB). It's 43 pages of tips on how to do
your own recruiting.
In our research, the most effective organizations do their own
recruiting, because it's a great way to extend your research
capabilities. It's not hard to do, but there is a fair amount of
administration involved, so you have to be prepared to put the
resources into it. Shirking on the resources will reduce the
effectiveness, increase your costs, and take a lot more time in the
long run.
2) We have considered forming a "Customer Council". A group of
dedicated users that represent defined personas for each brand. The
idea is to utilize these individuals to get their feedback/opinion on
website enhancements, etc. Does anyone have an experience using a
"Customer Council" model?
We've used customer councils and advisory boards in research with
many of our clients. When done well, it's very powerful.
A couple of caveats:
1) Not all councils / boards are the same. Before invitations are
sent out, the team really needs to know what they want to get from
the council. If you just invite folks without having clear goals, it
reduces the likelihood that the council/board will produce long-term
useful results, beyond just enhancing the power of the echo chamber.
2) Make sure you're not confusing personas (which are behavior
archetypes) with market segments (which are demographic/
psychographic groupings). For most organizations, it would be
virtually impossible to form a council around personas, since well-
formed personas don't map into specific individuals or groups.
3) Look beyond focus groups. Far beyond focus groups. Like, if
someone says, "Hey, let's just invite them together for a sort of
focus group," take that individual out and slap them around. (I
really think we don't take enough advantage of natural selection.
Sometimes we just need to thin the herd, know what I mean?) If the
primary execution of your council/board is to gather them together
and have them discuss designs, don't bother. It's not going to
provide any more insight than you currently have and, as found in
many documented cases, is likely to lead your team in the wrong
direction. The council/board will be of most use if you use them as
a base for behavioral work, which probably means going to them and
watching, not discussing.
Hope that helps,
Jared
Jared M. Spool
User Interface Engineering
510 Turnpike St., Suite 102, North Andover, MA 01845
e: jsp...@uie.com p: +1 978 327 5561
http://uie.com Blog: http://uie.com/brainsparks Twitter: jmspool
UIE Web App Summit, 4/19-4/22: http://webappsummit.com
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