Re: [Usability] Ideas for Usability Hackfest

[Máirín Duffy <mairin linuxgrrl com>]

On 09/28/2009 06:36 PM, Brian Cameron wrote:
> Methods to get more effective usability data might include things like
> encouraging developers to test paper prototypes with family and
> friends, instrumenting development builds of software (cf. InGimp:
> <http://www.ingimp.org/>), or devising self-administered usability
> tests where users run through tasks that are provided in an email or
> on a website, and either record themselves doing it (using something
> like Pongo again) and/or fill in a questionnaire afterwards.

To the latter point, simply watching a user interact with their computer 
and let them dictate what tasks they need to do can result in a quick 
(in this case 1 hour) set of data, without requiring any special 
equipment at all:

http://live.gnome.org/GnomeShell/UserObservationData

~m