[Sigia-l] Testing Designer's Skills

[Listera]

"Pradyot Rai" wrote:

> Is there any theory, framework to test designers' aptitude for IA/ID/UX
> kind of job positions?

I wouldn't recommend a written test. Go digital!

I find it's best to talk or, dare I say, think with the testee through a
specific and challenging set of problems that you prepare ahead of time and
place on a PC.

Suppose you want to find out if they know the fundamentals of color
compression for web work. Create two 3x3" squares, filled with alternating
thin black/white stripes. Ask him if the square with vertical or horizontal
stripes would create a smaller file. Ask him why? Most web designers won't
know the correct answer, but the most important thing here is for them to
think aloud, and for you to observe if they can think at all.

The testee may not have a technical background but suppose you want to know
if he can spot patterns. Create a bunch lists of dozen items with embedded
redundancies and ask him to refactor. To me that's far more valuable then
asking him if he knows card sorting. Observe him while parsing the lists.

Show him a bunch of UI blunders: a web page where checking a radio button
performs a Form submit and takes you to another page. Ask him what's wrong
with that. Or a Windows wizard with three rows of dancing tabs. Ask him to
refactor all that into another UI paradigm. Ask him to think aloud as he
considers his options.

Ask him open-ended questions: should contextual help be shown on a separate
web page, a new window, an iframe, etc? Show him some samples and ask why in
each case. Show him a real busy homepage and ask him to do a quick surgery
on it to bring focus and clarity. Observe the questions he asks, for his
mini requirements gathering. Better yet, find a really well designed
shopping cart or a log-in sample from the web and ask what's wrong with it,
strongly suggesting that something is. See if he can complicate what's
simple and efficient.

With a written test you lose all the interaction, the back and forth, the
unexpected turn, etc. To see how well they can/will do, it's best to observe
people as they solve challenging problems. Of course, if you really wanted
to be 'efficient' you could ask them to recite some 'standard' or 'rule' and
be done with it. :-)

----
Ziya

A doctor can bury his mistakes,
but an architect can only advice his clients to plant vines.