Moderating Usability Tests: Principles and Practices for Interacting: Principles and Practices for Interacting(Interactive Technologies)

Many aspects of usability testing have been thoroughly studied and documented. This isnOCOt true, however, of the details of interacting with the test participants who provide the critical usability data. This omission has meant that there have been no training materials and no principles from which new moderators can learn how to interact. Moderating Usability Tests is the place for new and experienced moderators to learn about the rules and practices for interacting that have never been described in one place before. Authors Dumas and Loring draw on their combined 40 years of usability testing experience to develop and present the most effective principles and practices - both practical and ethical --for moderating successful usability tests. To help usability professionals, students, and novices understand these principles, the authors provide videos from their lab that demonstrate good and poor interaction as well as commentary from a panel of testing experts on why certain techniques succeed or fail. The videos are accessible from the publisherOCOs companion web site. OCo Presents the ten OC golden rules? that maximize every sessionOCOs value OCo Offers targeted advice on how to maintain objectivity OCo Discusses the ethical considerations that apply in all usability testing OCo Explains how to reduce the stress that participants often feel OCo Considers the special requirements of remote usability testing OCo Demonstrates good and bad moderating techniques with laboratory videos accessible from the publisherOCOs companion web site"

Review :
Joe and Beth really know their stuff, and they ve put together a book that s enormously valuable for usability professionals and usability amateurs. Whether you ve conducted hundreds of tests or are about to try your first one, you owe it to yourself--and your team...and your test participants--to read this. - Steve Krug, author of Don t Make Me Think Interacting with participants in a calm and neutral manner may well be the most difficult part of doing usability testing. Now you no longer have to worry about how to do that. Just follow Dumas and Loring's wonderful, practical advice and you will be prepared not only for typical encounters, but also for the unusual and unexpected, for doing remote testing, and for working with special populations. Moderating Usability Tests is a great resource for anyone who interacts with usability test participants. - Janice (Ginny) Redish, President, Redish & Associates, Inc. Everyone talks about research methods, but the formal aspects of those methods only get you so far. The difference between getting a little data or a lot of data, only discovering problems or getting ideas about solutions, bias or validity, throw-away data versus generalizable insights, often depend on the soft skills, the ability to effectively moderate testing. In the past, you were expected to get these skills through apprenticeships or trial and error. Moderating Usability Tests: Principles for Interacting with Participants removes the mystery and provides practical advice on how to get the most out of research. It will be invaluable to students learning about usability testing for the first time, people newly charged with evaluating products, and even old hands looking to refine and improve their technique. - Arnold Lund, Director of User Experience, Microsoft You may not think that being a Gracious Host? is among your assignments in moderating a usability test, but you will learn why this and other roles with similarly illuminating.