[Sigia-l] Does geography effect usability and user testing

[Jared M. Spool]

At 04:58 AM 11/22/2005, Matthew Goddard wrote:
>My experience and that of my friends is that in the UK we prefer a more 
>inquisitorial approach (which I've heard called a cognitive interview) 
>where the facilitator constantly probes for information over the think 
>aloud method, where the users are primarily left think out loud with the 
>facilitator only asking questions when they need to clarify a point.

I think that all the available studies (including Rolf Molich's CUE work) 
have shown that facilitator or study-organizer differences are far more 
substantial than any other variable, including geography. Collect 'n' 
usability practitioners in a room and you'll find 'n' approaches for 
usability and 'n' sets of results from evaluating the same interface.

Any differences in client expectations probably come from the way those 
expectations were set in the first place.

That's my take on all this.

Jared


Jared M. Spool, Founding Principal, User Interface Engineering
4 Lookout Lane, Unit 4d, Middleton, MA 01949
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