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List:       kde-usability
Subject:    Re: Request for Update: Lauri and her Users?
From:       Irwin K <emerald-arcana () rogers ! com>
Date:       2002-06-29 20:18:15
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On Friday 28 June 2002 11:15 pm, Aaron J. Seigo wrote:
> On June 29, 2002 12:00, Irwin K wrote:
> > Did anyone send to her a "template" or a "plan" for her to conduct a
> > usability study with?
>
> no.. i was supposed to but then i got felled by this flu... i'm finally
> both feeling better today AND (mostly) caught up w/work ... so i was going
> to put together stuff this weekend myself... but please, feel free to run
> with it ...
>
> oh, and i think i agree w/everything you said in your email =)

I'm running into a slight problem here:

It's very difficult for me to conceptualize the usefulness of a usability test 
if no one will be there with the user to guide them through the testing 
process.

From the schedule that you posted (here's the repost):


 1) a few systems out on the warehouse floor for the staff that works there.
they will print things out from a custom app and check email. basically they
spend a few minutes here or there using the systems throughout the day.


It might be better for the users not to follow a set "task list" if this is 
not necessarily a directed, "Someone sit down and use this for ten minutes" 
kind of test.  If this is more like a, "Here's a system that we've set up, 
use it" situation, it would be better to have a "guidelines" sheet telling 
employees what to look for and what to remember, and then they'll answer the 
questions in the sheet and provide comments when they are finished.


 2) 3-4 weeks from now the office staffers and sales personel get linux
desktops w/KDE. these people do word processing (kword) and spreadsheets
(probably gnumeric for now) along with the standard email/web stuff


Here, it would make more sense to do a task list, since these employees work 
more with computers.  You might also be able to convice Lauri that asking 
users to take 15 minutes to perform the test can serve as a familiarization.  
In addition the questionaire can be provided to their own management/IT 
department to evaluate how the users reacted to the system.

In a way, this is just as much as THEIR test as it is ours.  I'm sure that 
their company a vested interest if we conduct a test because they can look at 
the same test to see if KDE is beneficial for their workplace.

-- 
-- Arcana  (Irwin)
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