People,
Let's take a breath and reset for a moment.
The point of user research is to learn about who users are and what
they do.
The point of usability testing is to observe someone interacting
with a design to learn *why* things work or don't work for them.
Though participants often give their opinions, what we care about is
how easily participants can reach their own goals with the design as
they perform tasks that are realistic. It is important to have
participants who are like the real users. There are ways to do that
that aren't that difficult or expensive.
Usability testing is not scientific. Especially if you're
evaluating design concepts and prototypes. There's a lot of art and
craft involved in learning from humans. BUT usability testing can be
very useful for experimenting with design ideas and eliminating
frustrations that may have been introduced by drawing the wrong
inferences from your earlier research about users.
Usability testing is one tool. It's not the only tool.
Dana
:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::
Dana Chisnell
415.519.1148
dana AT usabilityworks DOT net
www.usabilityworks.net
http://usabilitytestinghowto.blogspot.com/
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