... Blatantly biasing the participant from the beginning. ... The goal of a usability test is to evaluate a proposed hypothesis. This is why it is recommended...
1498
Donna Maurer
donnam_maadmob
Aug 31, 2005 7:58 am
... Yes, that's bad. A more usual goal would be to identify whether usability issues exist that would cause people difficulty in achieving what they need to...
1499
Ron Jeffries
ronaldejeffries
Aug 31, 2005 9:40 am
... I'm with you. While we certainly hope that some new design is a good one, it seems that a more unbiased outlook could only be helpful. Ron Jeffries ...
1500
Desilets, Alain
alain_desilets
Aug 31, 2005 2:20 pm
This one line, << The invention may have required a lot of help from savvy marketing, but the need had to be there otherwise no amount of marketing would have...
1501
bunkybrian
Aug 31, 2005 2:22 pm
Will -- This project is an agile one. Personally, I am of the philosophy that processes do not work. It is people that do the work (which is one of the...
1502
Jon Meads
jonmeads
Aug 31, 2005 2:24 pm
Brian, What a lot of people don't realize is that good usability testing requires (1) Designing the test to answer specific questions about the usability of ...
1503
acockburn@...
aacockburn
Aug 31, 2005 3:21 pm
... I found this an intriguing question and more appropriate for this group. ============================================== Alistair Cockburn Humans and...
1504
Jon Meads
jonmeads
Aug 31, 2005 4:02 pm
Alistair , It's important to realize how much power the software engineer has over the development of a product. Much of what they do from coding environment...
1505
Elizabeth Whitworth
eliz_nz
Aug 31, 2005 5:07 pm
... One way to partially "save" users, can be to only *gather* data from users - get their feedback, but do not provide any feedback, discussion, or ...
1506
Desilets, Alain
alain_desilets
Aug 31, 2005 5:19 pm
It's important to realize how much power the software engineer has over the development of a product. Much of what they do from coding environment to code...
1507
Ron Jeffries
ronaldejeffries
Aug 31, 2005 5:48 pm
... It's also important to realize that in (a) agile methods, and (b) actually any healthy organization, it doesn't work that way. Progress is visible, and the...
1508
Jamie Nettles
jamienettles1
Aug 31, 2005 6:21 pm
As I've been following this discussion, it seems like many of the emails have been concerned with coming up with some large and overarching principle which can...
1509
Desilets, Alain
alain_desilets
Aug 31, 2005 6:39 pm
Here are some small theories that I would like to confirm or infirm. Not sure there is an easy way to get the answer. A) you are more likely to come up with a...
1510
Frank Maurer
frankomaurer
Aug 31, 2005 6:59 pm
Hi Alain: As a researcher, I agree with you on these hypothesis. Here are some small theories that I would like to confirm or infirm. Not sure there is an easy...
1511
Martha Lindeman
gainsdesign
Aug 31, 2005 8:01 pm
Alistair, Some suggestions to specifically address your reasked (and very on-target) question: First, choose a scale containing both positive and negative...
1512
Ron Jeffries
ronaldejeffries
Aug 31, 2005 8:05 pm
... But really, Alistair ... do you want to know how these people think about things ... or whether to get the machine? Ron Jeffries www.XProgramming.com How...
1513
Jamie Nettles
jamienettles1
Aug 31, 2005 8:16 pm
I like the way you phrased the questions when you said "more likely". To answer these questions rigorously it is not sufficient to look at successes only, you...
1514
Desilets, Alain
alain_desilets
Aug 31, 2005 9:16 pm
I like the way you phrased the questions when you said "more likely". To answer these questions rigorously it is not sufficient to look at successes only, you...
1515
Jamie Nettles
jamienettles1
Aug 31, 2005 9:55 pm
... Right. In order to calculate the numbers you mention you need the numbers I mentioned or their mathematical equivalent. How many people, I wonder, use...
1516
Jamie Nettles
jamienettles1
Aug 31, 2005 10:41 pm
... <snip> ... Except in a few exceptional fields (e.g., nuclear physics, space exploration) basic research tends to be dirt cheap. I know that if I quit my...
1517
William Pietri
william_pietri
Aug 31, 2005 11:01 pm
... That's absolutely the case. I may have mentioned it here before, but there was a great presentation from some PARC researchers a few years back at a BayXP...
1518
William Pietri
william_pietri
Aug 31, 2005 11:05 pm
... Indeed! I agree completely. I'm sad to hear that they've gone to the trouble of following a process without embracing the spirit behind it. That's a good...
1519
Jon Meads
jonmeads
Aug 31, 2005 11:30 pm
An interesting response. IMHO, maximizing anything at all costs is usually a sure path to disaster. And I have seen plenty of products where the functionality...
1520
aacockburn
Sep 1, 2005 12:20 am
... I had already ordered it even before posting the first question. So that is not in issue. And I don't have a clue what I'm going to use it for - that part...
1521
Desilets, Alain
alain_desilets
Sep 1, 2005 12:33 am
OTOH, good usability engineering, properly done [please note qualifiers!], can often save significant development time and cost. And, while budget and schedule...
1522
Ron Jeffries
ronaldejeffries
Sep 1, 2005 12:35 am
... I've owned, I think, every pen computer ever made, plus a Blackberry and a Treo. I fired the BB and Treo within days of getting them, for much the same...
1523
Desilets, Alain
alain_desilets
Sep 1, 2005 12:46 am
-- Alain Désilets wrote: I agree with you that getting a good product out late and over budget is often better than getting a bad product on time. But that...
1524
Jon Kern
jonkernpa
Sep 1, 2005 1:51 am
Martha, a developer friend of mine was working on some software for this cool little mini computer (it was running Linux) picture is here:...
1525
Jon Kern
jonkernpa
Sep 1, 2005 2:52 am
hmmm. i think i have some things i could sell you, alistair <g> though most people do not buy a device and then look for a usage (rather, they have a need and...
1526
aacockburn
Sep 1, 2005 3:33 am
... <<hmmm. i think i have some things i could sell you, alistair <g>>> Probably not. I kicked around the idea of a Palm for 3 years before I gave in decided...
