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List:       kde-look
Subject:    Re: Icon Usability
From:       "Aaron J. Seigo" <aseigo () mountlinux ! com>
Date:       2001-03-23 8:27:21
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Hi...

> Timing the task has a technical solution, but not a practical one, since
> you can't control for Joe User getting up to make a cup of coffee or
> watch a Babylon Five marathon in the middle of the task.

This is assuming:

  1) you accept all data as correct (ignoring that 30 minute lull in activity 
in relation to the 5-30 seconds all the other tasks took) and don't filter 
accordingly

  2) you don't tell the tester that time is critical, please focus on the 
task while doing it, otherwise the data is useless (even going so far as to 
be there while they do it)

  3) you don't give the tester a "Pause" button.

the idea isn't to trick people into doing usability studies, but to allow 
volunteers to spend time providing data because they want to add to the pool 
of data and then to manipulate the data inteligently.

-- 
Aaron Seigo

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