As part of my career in software design, I used to run A/B testing and usability tests. This meant sitting with users and watching them use the software. Since IUE (initial user experience) was very important, this often included inexperienced users.
The data was absolutely worth it, and definitely improved my designs, but it took a lot of patience to watch people struggle and fail without intervening or saying anything that would affect the results. It was rewarding, but sometimes excruciating.
Nothing that techy. I did include power users in tests, but their requests were usually for specific hotkeys or to have their favourite (and lesser used by most users) feature front and centre.
It can be difficult to balance a UI for inexperienced and power users, but watching them interact with prototypes and the actual software does help.
As part of my career in software design, I used to run A/B testing and usability tests. This meant sitting with users and watching them use the software. Since IUE (initial user experience) was very important, this often included inexperienced users.
The data was absolutely worth it, and definitely improved my designs, but it took a lot of patience to watch people struggle and fail without intervening or saying anything that would affect the results. It was rewarding, but sometimes excruciating.
How did you manage not to strangle anyone, nor jump out of the window?
They’d probably have to put me behind glass or just make me watch a tape like it’s an old handegg practice session.
Nah, they’ll just lock you in a cuck cage
Yeah, sometimes it really hurt.
Did you ever get any power users who raged at the lack of command line switches or something like that?
Nothing that techy. I did include power users in tests, but their requests were usually for specific hotkeys or to have their favourite (and lesser used by most users) feature front and centre.
It can be difficult to balance a UI for inexperienced and power users, but watching them interact with prototypes and the actual software does help.