Talking down a hostage-taker requires extraordinary empathy and close attention to communication patterns. Bryan McClain and Demetrius Madrigal of ActiveComm Labs show us how we can apply these skills when conducting user research.
Continue readingFred Beecher categorizes prototypes along two dimensions of fidelity –visual and functional — and explains how to choose the right kind of prototype that answers the right questions.
Continue readingVideo game research is mostly focus groups and controlled lab play. For EA’s Spore, Bolt|Peters set out to do better by letting the users play the game in a natural environment, without interference from other players, researchers, or arbitrary tasks.
Continue readingYou’ve already learned how to use QTUT to reduce usability study prep time. Now, in part two of his article, Paul Nuschke describes how to expedite usability test sessions, and analysis & reporting.
Continue readingSometimes we need to take a step back to ensure that our motivations are in the right place. It can be easy to forget that, when people participate in our studies, they are our partners. Dana Chisnell has taken the time to examine these attitudes and help us understand how to avoid falling into such traps.
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