Field Usability Testing: Method, Not Compromise
This paper discusses a user research method the authors have refined over several years: field usability testing. The authors describe two approaches or models of field usability testing: ethnographic and structured. Three case histories illustrate the method, giving examples of the ethnographic model and the structured model. In the Proceedings of the 2007 IEEE International Professional Communication Conference (IPCC).
Organizing Qualitative Data from Lab and Field: Challenges and Methods
Analyzing qualitative data collected in usability studies can be challenging. How can we efficiently organize our observations to discover usage patterns and build personae? What are the advantages and tradeoffs of different approaches? This paper describes three methods of organizing usability data based on study complexity and reporting requirements. Presented at the 2005 Usability Professionals’ Association Conference.
Technology and Techniques for Conducting Instant-Messaging Studies
Designing usability lab tests of instant-messaging services, whether conducted on a hand-held device or a computer, presents unique challenges for the testing team. This presentation describes three instant-messaging studies and the technology and techniques used to instill realism and maintain rigor. Presented at the 2005 Usability Professionals’ Association Conference.
Alternative Methods for Field Usability Research
This paper introduces three field research methods—condensed contextual inquiry, ethnographic interviewing, and field research—illustrated with a short case history of each method. The paper then describes when and why to use each method for different data-collection goals. In the Proceedings of the 2003 Association for Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Documentation (ACM SIGDOC).
Field Research in Commercial Product Development
This paper describes two field research methods appropriate in commercial settings and reasons to employ them: condensed contextual inquiry and ethnographic interviewing. The paper and accompanying slides also describe case studies using each method. Presented at the 2003 Usability Professionals’ Association Conference.
Usability in Practice: Field Studies
Field methods are a collection of tools and techniques for conducting studies of users, their tasks, and their work environments in the actual context of those environments. The promise of such methods is that they help teams design products that are both useful and usable by providing data about what people really do. Based on a position paper prepared for CHI 2002, this paper reviews ways to adapt these methods to practical constraints, with brief case study summaries.
Stalking the User: Practical Field Research
Understanding the target audience has always been a key element in effective communication. Describes how technical communicators can use field research—observing people in their workplaces, homes, and schools—to gain a better understanding of user behavior. For example, one of these methods is the “think aloud” protocol in usability testing, in which people say out loud whatever comes to their minds as they use a product. In Intercom (December 2003), the magazine of the Society for Technical Communication.
Voice Recording: Tips for Non-Audiophiles
This paper describes how to achieve optimal sound quality when recording field usability sessions. In the Proceedings of the 2004 Usability Professionals’ Association Conference.
