[Sigia-l] Usability testing software for Mac?

[Will Parker]

On Jan 31, 2007, at 2:02 PM, Josephine Choi wrote:

> My company's working on a new Mac product that we will be doing
> usability testing on.  We use Morae for our Windows products and like
> the features it provides.
>
> We're looking to find something comparable for testing Mac software.
> We are doing testing on-site, so remote testing software is not
> necessary.  However, we would like reliable screen capture.  Remote
> observer capability and real-time marking/flagging would also be nice
> to haves.  For those who have experience with testing Mac software,
> would you be able to share your experiences and process?  What
> products do you use?

Josephine:

I worked in the Macintosh Business Unit at Microsoft, primarily as a  
QA engineer on Mac Office. I participated in a number of usability  
tests there as an observer. I was not directly involved in the design  
of the usability tests, so I won't comment on processes, only the on  
the observation tools.

We had one dedicated usability engineer for a group of about 150  
employees; I understand that has since risen to two or three. We had  
access to traditional usability labs, consisting of a series of  
observation booths with one-way mirrors. The usability engineer could  
record the user's conversation and physical actions. I recall we had  
at least two video cameras in each room, so we had access to close-up  
views of the subject's face, as well as her hands on the keyboard,  
mouse, etc. We also had access to a synchronized view of the computer  
screen at all times.

This being Microsoft, the lab setup was not exactly Mac-optimized.  
All of the above was accomplished using dedicated audio-visual  
recorders, and we didn't have a way of capturing software/hardware  
events apart from seeing it happen on the video.

For your lab, you should consider using Apple Remote Desktop (http:// 
www.apple.com/remotedesktop/) to do remote viewing during usability  
tests. In order to prevent the appearance of lag at the viewing  
machine, you'll want both your test and viewing machines to be  
reasonably fast and connected via a reliable Ethernet connection.  
Don't depend on WiFi or 10-BaseT, and don't saddle your usability  
people with the oldest Macs in your inventory.

As a bonus, ARD also allows control of remote desktops (including  
Windows and Linux boxes running VNC), so you can walk users through  
an interface layout or task by taking control of their cursor.

The best stand-alone screen capture tool I've seen on the Mac, though  
not integrated into a usability suite, is Snapz Pro (http:// 
www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/snapzprox/). It takes screenshots, full- 
screen, window or menu, with or without cursor, and captures full or  
partial screen movies, fixed or following cursor, with or without  
computer and external soundtrack. Throw that on your viewing machine  
running ARD, and again don't skimp on processor power.  Another bonus  
is that your testers and documentation people can easily generate  
static screen-caps

These are tools I've used.

Alternatively, Ziya's recommendation of Redstone's Eggplant is a good  
one if you're looking at something you could also use for automated  
testing. However, if we're talking about just remote screen  
recording, their VNC-based Vine viewer/recorder (http:// 
www.redstonesoftware.com/products/vine/viewer/index.html) might be a  
better choice. I haven't used these, however.

- Will
Will Parker
wparker at ChannelingDesign.com

"The only people who value your specialist knowledge are the ones who  
already have it." - William Tozier