CHAPTER 1
Newton and Its Users
1-16 Involve Users in the Design Process
“If we can locate the trouble spots, then we can go back and improve
the product.”
“Remember, we’re testing the product, not you.”
2. Tell the participant that it’s OK to quit at any time.
Never leave this step out. Make sure you inform participants that they can
quit at any time if they find themselves becoming uncomfortable. Partici-
pants shouldn’t feel like they’re locked into completing tasks. Say some-
thing like this:
“Although I don’t know of any reason for this to happen, if you should
become uncomfortable or find this test objectionable in any way, you
are free to quit at any time.”
3. Talk about the equipment in the room.
Explain the purpose of each piece of equipment (hardware, software,
video camera, tape recorder, microphones, and so forth) and how it will
be used in the test.
4. Explain how to think aloud.
Ask participants to think aloud during the observation, saying what
comes to mind as they work. By listening to participants think and plan,
you’ll be able to examine their expectations for your product as well as
their intentions and their problem-solving strategies. You’ll find that
listening to users as they work provides you with an enormous amount of
useful information that you can get in no other way.
Some people feel awkward or self-conscious about thinking aloud.
Explain why you want participants to think aloud and demonstrate how
to do it. For example, you could say something like this:
“We have found that we get a great deal of information from these
informal tests if we ask people to think aloud as they work through
the exercises.”
“It may be a bit awkward at first, but it’s really very easy once you get
used to it. All you have to do is speak your thoughts as you work. If
you forget to think aloud, I’ll remind you to keep talking. Would you
like me to demonstrate?”