Comments on: Interruptions: Nuisance or Valuable Data Source? (A UBlog Rerun…) http://www.usabilityblog.com/2007/11/interruptions-nuisance-or-valuable-data-source/ Blogging about usability, user experience and design Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:40:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Saputtettew http://www.usabilityblog.com/2007/11/interruptions-nuisance-or-valuable-data-source/comment-page-1/#comment-9020 Saputtettew Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:31:31 +0000 http://www.usabilityblog.com/index.php/2007/11/06/interruptions-nuisance-or-valuable-data-source/#comment-9020 Howdy - Ive been checking the website lots of times, Wanted to speak up Howdy – Ive been checking the website lots of times, Wanted to speak up

]]> By: Vance http://www.usabilityblog.com/2007/11/interruptions-nuisance-or-valuable-data-source/comment-page-1/#comment-117 Vance Tue, 06 Nov 2007 20:14:54 +0000 http://www.usabilityblog.com/index.php/2007/11/06/interruptions-nuisance-or-valuable-data-source/#comment-117 Why are you rerunning old articles? I look forward to your posts, but keep seeing these old ones come up. Why are you rerunning old articles? I look forward to your posts, but keep seeing these old ones come up.

]]> By: Lyle http://www.usabilityblog.com/2007/11/interruptions-nuisance-or-valuable-data-source/comment-page-1/#comment-116 Lyle Mon, 11 Apr 2005 16:52:59 +0000 http://www.usabilityblog.com/index.php/2007/11/06/interruptions-nuisance-or-valuable-data-source/#comment-116 I think having fewer distractions during testing can be a Good Thing. Granted, it may falsely set the application up to succeed or to do better than it might in the real world. But even given that kind of benefit, most applications will have many problems uncovered during testing. In your hypothetical example, you have to question whether the reason the app earned undeservedly high marks was due to a lack of interruptions or due to some other issues with the usability testing methods applied. For example: Were the tasks too simple and not representative of real world tasks? Were the evaluators truly representative of the user base? Did the facilitator ask any leading questions? etc... Of course, your theory about distractions might be right for the hypothetical situation...and you could use other UCD methods to validate or reinforce that theory. For example, you might use a little ethnographic field study with tech support and managers and observe them using this application and others to determine if distractions were the cause of user errors that didn't turn up when there were no distractions. P.S. Glad to see you blogging! I think having fewer distractions during testing can be a Good Thing. Granted, it may falsely set the application up to succeed or to do better than it might in the real world. But even given that kind of benefit, most applications will have many problems uncovered during testing.

In your hypothetical example, you have to question whether the reason the app earned undeservedly high marks was due to a lack of interruptions or due to some other issues with the usability testing methods applied. For example: Were the tasks too simple and not representative of real world tasks? Were the evaluators truly representative of the user base? Did the facilitator ask any leading questions? etc…

Of course, your theory about distractions might be right for the hypothetical situation…and you could use other UCD methods to validate or reinforce that theory. For example, you might use a little ethnographic field study with tech support and managers and observe them using this application and others to determine if distractions were the cause of user errors that didn’t turn up when there were no distractions.

P.S. Glad to see you blogging!

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