[Sigia-l] User Research - fast!

[Leo Frishberg]

I have the enviable(?) opportunity to get in front of potentially hundreds
of bona fide users (or prospective users) of my client's web site over the
next few months.  These engagements will fall into several categories:

1) one-on-one interviews and site visits for mini-in-situ
discussions/observations (limited to a handful)
2) one-on-one phone interviews (limited to a handful)
3) one-on-one (or group) "activities" at user focused conferences on the
showroom floor (as many as I'm able to do)
4) one-on-one (or group) "activities" at user focused conferences in the
hospitality suite (as many as I can stomach)

The client has expressed an interest in making these last two "user
research" activities a part of the "things going on in the booth", rather
than pulling people off the floor to a break out room.  Using drink tickets
as incentives in the hospitality suite is considered a perfectly reasonable
approach...

It is these last two contexts (3 and 4) for which I am interested in hearing
people's suggestions.

What activities, appropriate to the latter two contexts, would provide
reasonable results?

Feel free to respond to me directly, and I'll post a summary back to the
list.


  Leo Frishberg
  Senior Information Architect

  W H I T E   H O R S E
  4640 SW Macadam Ave. Suite 100.
  Portland, Oregon 97201.
  503.471.4200 / Fax: 503.471.4299.
  http://www.whitehorse.com.